Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 558

Chapter 558 The Bloody Drive

The grip suddenly vanished.

Icarus’s arm fell limp. His head slumped to the side, completely still. The chaotic flashing lights of the bar danced over his lifeless face.

Xavier froze. His heart hammered against his ribs like it was trying to break out. The edges of the object in his hand dug painfully into his palm.

Trembling amidst the screams and the smell of death, he slowly, carefully opened his hand.

A silver metal USB drive, barely larger than a fingernail, lay in his sweaty palm. It was smeared with Icarus’s warm, thick blood, which was already seeping into the lines of his hand.

Cold metal, warm blood.

Xavier snapped his hand shut, his nails biting into his skin. He looked up, terrified, at the bar that had

urned into a slaughterhouse.

Bullets could be coming from any dark corner. Every panicked face seemed to hide a killer.

Who fired? Was the target the bartender or Icarus? Or was it him?

carus’s final look of terror and his unfinished warning stabbed at his brain.

Otherwise, you’re in danger…

Don’t trust anyone!

And then there was this drive, passed to him with a dying man’s blood. What was on it? Was this what got

carus killed?

Kavier felt a chill surge up his spine. For the first time, he realized he was standing on the edge of a nassive, dark abyss and something was staring back.

He tucked the drive away and shoved his way through the crowd. To avoid being spotted, he ditched his acket, grabbed a stray hat off the floor, and managed to slip out.

Sirens wailed in the distance as he reached the hotel.

The moment he pushed the door, he knew something was wrong. The lock had been picked.

His heart sank. He pulled out the gun Tatiana had given him before they left.

He rushed in. The room was empty but trashed. It looked like a gang of looters had gone through it. He saw the bed had been shot up, feathers from the pillows scattered everywhere.

Someone had broken in and fired directly into the bed to kill whoever was sleeping there. When they missed, they tore the place apart looking for him.

He turned and bolted for the room next door.

1:3

10:50 am PPP

Chapt

ot The Pondy Prise

“Tammy!”

It was just as messy.

The good news was that there was no blood.

The bad news was that Tammy was gone.

Panic set in. He didn’t waste a second and called Tatiana.

. U

Late that night.

Tatiana arrived the moment she got the call. She wore a simple disguise to hide her face, but she couldn’t hide the frost in her eyes.

“What happened?”

Xavier told her everything, his voice thick with guilt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t protect her. I failed you… I’m so sorry…”

He put his head in his hands, spiraling.

“Calm down,” Tatiana said. “First, tell me why there’s blood on your hands.”

Xavier hadn’t even thought about himself since finding Tammy missing. His hands were still stained with Icarus’s blood. Hearing Tatiana mention it, he realized the hit at the bar and Tammy’s disappearance were likely connected.

“The drive! I have the drive!”

His fingers shook as he felt the cold metal. The memory of Icarus’s pale face wouldn’t leave him.

He took a deep breath and plugged the drive into a laptop. The moment the folder opened, a massive amount of files and video thumbnails filled the screen. Xavier clicked the first encrypted file labeled Financial Records.

Let me do it!” Hubert cut in.

Tatiana hadn’t wanted to leave the kids behind, so she had brought them along. Xavier knew what Ann and Hubert were capable of and immediately moved aside.

Ann cheered him on. “Go, Hubert!”

As Hubert worked on the encryption, Xavier sat nearby, his hands clenched tight.

Jasper came back from a phone call and whispered in Tatiana’s car. “The hotel security footage was wiped beforehand. No records. No witnesses. We only found the waiter who was supposed to deliver the food; he was drugged and dumped in the kitchen.”

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