The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 378

The training room plunged into absolute silence.

Sebastian sat heavily on the wooden bench, his bare, heavily bruised torso gleaming under the overhead lights. The dark purple welts starkly contrasted against his pale skin, painting a violent, savage picture.

He kept his head down, his eyes burning holes into the bright screen of his phone.

[Mr. Thorne, someone just put a hit out on you. Watch your back.]

His demeanor instantly shifted.

Just seconds ago, his eyes had been clouded with the deep exhaustion of brutal combat training. Now, they were razor-sharp, wiped clean as if submerged in ice water. His pupils contracted slightly, a tempest of emotions swirling in their depths—high-alert vigilance, glacial fury, and a twisted sense of mockery.

The color drained from his face.

The flush of exertion vanished, leaving him deathly pale. His lips pressed into a bloodless, razor-thin line, and a muscle feathered along his tightly clenched jaw.

Beside him, Lance was still rambling nervously, "I just don't get it. Why put yourself through this? You get the hell beaten out of you just to court a woman, then you come here to get beaten up again, and tomorrow—"

His voice abruptly died in his throat.

Because he saw the look on Sebastian's face.

Lance had only ever seen that specific, terrifying expression once before. It was five years ago, when Thorne Enterprises was targeted in a vicious short-selling attack that nearly bankrupted the entire conglomerate. Sebastian had read the emergency damage report on a red-eye flight back to the Bay Area, wearing that exact same look.

A cold sweat instantly broke out across Lance's back.

"B-Boss..." his voice trembled. "What's wrong?"

Sebastian didn't say a word.

He simply held the phone out.

Lance took it, his eyes darting down to the screen.

The words hit him like a physical blow.

All the blood instantly vanished from his face.

"A... a hit?!" his voice cracked in sheer panic. "Someone hired an assassin to kill you?!"

Sebastian remained dead silent.

Lance's hands shook so violently he nearly dropped the phone.

"Boss, do... do you think it's Christian?" he hissed, his voice dropping to a frantic whisper as if the walls were listening. "The way he looked at you this morning was psychotic! You pushed him completely over the edge, he definitely wants you dead!"

Sebastian just looked at him, offering no confirmation or denial.

The more Lance thought about it, the more convinced he became. He started pacing in frantic circles.

"Boss, what if we hire our own guys?" Lance slashed a hand across his throat. "Strike first! We take him out before he can make a move!"

Sebastian finally spoke, his voice dangerously flat.

"We take him out. And then what?"

Lance froze.

Sebastian leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes.

"He is the CEO of Lancaster Group. He is an incredibly powerful man back home. If he mysteriously turns up dead in the middle of Paris, do you have any idea the kind of geopolitical storm that will trigger? When the authorities dig into it, do you really think we'd be able to walk away clean?"