Chapter 528

Felix Valdemar lounged lazily on the sofa. "Patrick rarely comes back. We should show him a good time."

Ethan Roscente kept his eyes on the laptop screen, responding indifferently. "Hmm."

Patrick Alpinus leaned over and frowned at the Dark Web content on Ethan's screen. "Since when did you take interest in this?"

"Just browsing," Ethan replied calmly.

Patrick scrolled through the latest updates. "Are these sources reliable? I've never heard of them."

"Fake," Ethan stated decisively.

Patrick eyed him suspiciously. "How can you be so sure?" His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait... did you plant these false leads?"

Ethan remained silent.

"Why would you do that?" Patrick pressed. "Do you know who broke Liam out?"

Felix looked baffled. "What are you two talking about?"

Ethan closed the laptop. "Nothing worth discussing."

But Patrick persisted. "I already have a suspect."

Ethan tensed. "Who?"

"Shadow," Patrick whispered. "This whole operation reeks of his style. Only Shadow could extract Liam without leaving a trace."

"But Shadow vanished over four years ago. Rumor says he's dead." Patrick rubbed his chin. "Still, I can't think of anyone else capable of this."

Ethan suddenly asked, "When exactly did Shadow disappear?"

"Four and a half years ago," Patrick recalled. "Vanished mid-mission."

The timeline made Ethan's pupils constrict.

Memories of that rainy night flooded back—when he'd found Vivian Laurent drenched and unconscious on a foreign street. Doctors said she suffered from severe malnutrition, her body frighteningly frail.

Background checks showed she was just a discarded heiress. Out of pity, he'd brought her home.

Now, the coincidences sent chills down his spine.