Chapter 566

Hannah paused, her heart skipped a beat. She wondered what Brixton was about to say-did he still harbor suspicions about her grocery run?

Drawing in a slow breath, Hannah turned and smoothed her expression, forcing calm into her voice."Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Brixton didn't meet her eyes at first. He quietly scooped another bite of beef pasta and then finally spoke with deliberate slowness. "I was clearing my head when an interesting idea struck me."

Hannah tensed, wariness curling in her gut. "What is it?"

His gaze finally settled on her, sharp and unblinking."People say Vincent is madly in love with you, willing to pay any price to have you." A sardonic grin tugged

at his mouth while he spoke, slow and deliberate. "So tell me-why hasn't he tried to reach out and bargain with me, or even bothered to come searching for you after all these days?"

Hannah's laugh was laced with ice as she laid out the facts for him. "I'm your hostage. If anyone should make the first move, it's you. You should be the one sending him terms and a meeting point so he can come get me. How else could he possibly track me down in the middle of the sea?"

Deep down, she held onto the secret that Vincent already had. She pressed the thought firmly into the back of her mind and kept her expression unreadable.

A glint of malice danced in his smile as he added,twisting the moment deeper with every line, "Or maybe there's another explanation. Maybe Vincent doesn't value you half as much as you imagine.Maybe he's been busy enjoying someone else's company-why else hasn't he located you yet? Let's face it-men like him never have to lift a finger.Women practically line up to be at his feet."

His mouth curved into a cruel smirk. "Spending ten billion and giving up those treasures just to reclaim an old flame-maybe he's decided you're not worth the trouble."

Hannah's chest tightened with fury, though she swallowed it down, forcing herself to meet his gaze with composure. "What are you really getting at?"she asked, her voice steady despite the fire in her veins.

Brixton took two unhurried steps closer, his shadow falling over her as his eyes studied every line of her face. The question came so casually that it almost felt like a passing thought. "What about staying by my side for good?"

The words hit Hannah like a slap, leaving her stunned. Had she misheard? Was this man insane?Did he actually plan to keep his hostage as some twisted trophy? Or was he seriously starting to develop feelings for her? That'd be pathetic!She shut down the thought as soon as it surfaced.A man like Brixton, cold as stone, couldn't possibly grasp the idea of affection. To him, she was probably nothing more than an intriguing diversion, a prize he wasn't ready to relinquish.

Brixton's misreading of her silence made him uncharacteristically explain, his tone almost casual."Don't get the wrong idea. I just figured it might not be the worst thing to have a woman stick around for the long haul. You're the first woman who's-actually taken my offhand words seriously-tracking ddown the freshest beef for me. That's pretty interesting."

Hannah's lips curled in bitter amusement. Her frantic attempt at survival had somehow turned into a display of loyalty in his eyes. She shot back, her voice sharp as a whip, "Your subordinates also follow your every order-some would even kill if you told them to. In the end, isn't that just survival? What makes me any different?"

Besides, all of this was just part of her ruse to gain his trust to pull off her escape.Brixton didn't flare up at her jab; instead, a chuckle slipped past his lips, as though her defiance entertained him. "You've got a point," he mused lightly. "They take lives for me, so they get power and wealth in return. You make sure my meals are perfect-naturally, you stay close, and I'll give you privileges. I am good to the people who serve me-l don't screw them over."

His words carried a blunt, chillingly straightforward logic.

Hannah grasped that reasoning with Brixton was utterly useless; his logic was flawed. Choosing to keep her mouth shut, she sat perfectly still, aware that one wrong word might set him off.

To him, though, her silence felt like agreement, and his mood seemed to lift as if a trivial problem had just been solved.

Moving with deliberate ease, he pulled a phone from his pocket and dangled it carelessly. "This is the only device to reach Vincent." It was the only line of contact he routed through Erica whenever he wanted to pass along a message.

Without hesitation, Brixton flung the phone through the porthole, letting it vanish into the waves. Turning back with a lazy smile, he said lightly, "Well, that's it.Now, no one can find you now. You're stuck here forever."

The wind howled through the open porthole,whipping Hannah's hair and sending an icy shiver straight down her spine.

Hannah stayed quiet, her face unreadable, though inside her resolve hardened to steel, and a dangerous calm settled over her. "No. You've got it all wrong. Vincent has already found down," she sneered inwardly.

Afterwards, Brixton said nothing more. Hannah seized the moment, muttering a flimsy excuse before slipping away.

The following day, Brixton gathered all his core subordinates in the main hall on the third-floor deck.Low murmurs rippled through the crowd as everyone speculated about the reason for the sudden assembly.

Drawn by the noise, Hannah kept to the very edge of the gathering, shoulders tense, trying to remain unnoticed. A faint sense of dread gnawed at her.Whatever Brixton had planned, it couldn't be good.

At the front, Brixton lounged in an armchair, his long fingers drumming lazily against the armrest. When the last of his subordinates arrived, he rose slowly.

The hall fell silent, dozens of eyes fixed on him.

Brixton's lips curved faintly as he said, voice smooth and deliberate, "I've called you all here today for one reason-there's something you need to hear."