Imprisoned While Pregnant, She's Back for Payback novel Chapter 444

Chapter 444 Condition

Chapter 444 Condition

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Ken had been taken, and terror still clung to him like a lingering shadow. He bit down on his lip, silent, but his small body shivered in thin waves he could not stop.

“My demand is simple.”

Max’s stare burned into Tess. His hand slid from Ken’s shoulder to the fragile skin of his neck.

Tess’s brows pulled tight. Her eyes turned sharp as blades. “What are you trying to do?”

Max’s mouth curved, but the smile never reached his eyes.

“To make you the wife of Hunt Group’s president.”

His words hit like chains.

Tess answered in a heartbeat. Her voice was hard and final. “Never.”

Max’s lips pressed together. The light drained from his eyes until they turned dull and shadowed.

“Then tonight. Kenobi Lake Residence. Have dinner with me.”

Tess blinked, stunned. “That’s it? That’s what you want?”

“That’s it. Anything else, you’d never agree to.”

He let out a soft laugh. His tone sounded plain, but his gaze sank deeper, heavy enough to set unease crawling through her chest.

Her pulse raced, but one look at Ken’s pale, frightened face left her no choice. She curled her fingers tight and gave her answer. “Alright.”

The instant she spoke, Max released him.

Ken froze, then bolted like prey fleeing a predator. He ran behind Tess and clutched her arm

with both hands.

His fingers shook with fear as they locked around her sleeve.

Tess glanced down at him. Her heart twisted.

What had Max done to leave him this broken?

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Chapter 444 Condition

“Tess. You must come.”

Max’s voice drifted like fog. It was soft but dangerous, like mist hiding a cliff’s edge.

Was the next step safe ground or a fatal drop? The sound made her skin prickle.

“Max, has anyone told you that you’re acting insane?”

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Her voice rang out, sharp and fearless. Max stopped. He did not turn back, but a cold laugh spilled from his lips.

“If madness is the price to win you, then I’ll stay mad forever.”

He exhaled deep and walked away with long strides.

Tess felt a chill crawl through her body. She closed her eyes for a moment, then turned.

Max’s footsteps faded into the night. She led Ken inside.

“Don’t be scared. Tell me what they did. Tell me everything.”

Her hand rubbed his back in gentle circles, her voice steady. Ken stayed silent for a long time before he whispered, his tone broken with tremors.

“Don’t go. Please don’t go.”

He clung to her clothes with desperate strength. His eyes pleaded, but he refused to say more.

Tess frowned deeper. She whispered calm words to him, but her thoughts grew sharp. Her fingers moved fast as she sent messages to Lyra and Raven.

They arrived quickly. Raven burst in first, her steps loud and fierce.

The three of them sat together, and Tess repeated every detail. By the end of it, all it gave them was suspicion.

“He went through all of that trouble just to ask you to dinner?”

Raven’s lip curled. Her palm slammed the table. “That dinner is not just dinner, Tess. You can’t go!”

“She’s right. Ken is safe now. You don’t need to take the risk.”

Lyra’s voice added strength to the warning.

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Chapter 444 Condition

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Tess pressed her lips tight, unease growing heavy inside her.

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“Think about it. He should have taken Ken. At least he should have used the dinner to keep him from me. Why did he let Ken return so easily?”

Her words fell heavy, like stones sinking in water.

Silence followed.

Their eyes met, confusion filling them all.

“Then are you going to go?”

Raven finally spoke, her voice low. Her gaze fixed on Tess.

Tess tightened her fingers and turned to Raven with sudden focus. “Before I decide, tell me. The thing I asked you to investigate–did you find anything?”

For years she had thought Kylie gave Nadine the file. Later she learned the file was not what destroyed her. Something else had been behind it. And another possibility surfaced.

Raven blinked, caught off guard by the shift. Then she pulled a folder from her bag. “Of course.”

She spread the papers wide. “The case from a year ago–the one where they accused you of stealing Lock Group’s secrets–was closed fast. The evidence is thin. But I dug up something.”

Her finger tapped a page.

Tess leaned close, her eyes narrowing. Raven had hacked into the company itself. Screenshots of surveillance footage were laid out on the sheets.

Raven grinned, her teeth flashing white. “I hacked into Lock Group’s system.”

She pointed at the images. “On the day the files leaked, only a handful of people entered the records room. Most were staff. Only one stood out.”

19:50 Thu, Nov 6

Chapter 445 The Postulation

Chapter 445 The Postulation