The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 589

She bit down gently on her lower lip.

The document loaded. The screen was filled with dense paragraphs of text, interspersed with several high-resolution surveillance photos.

She began to read.

Page one. Page two. Page three.

Her mood hadn't been great to begin with. The guilt over Louis's injuries, the grim reality of Pierre's fate, the elusive mastermind lurking in the shadows... it was all twisted into a tight knot that kept her brows locked in a permanent frown.

But when she hit the fourth page, her expression shifted.

It wasn't a smile of relief.

It was the unmistakable look of someone who had finally uncovered the missing piece of a very dark puzzle.

Her frown relaxed just a fraction. The corner of her mouth twitched. A sharp, calculated glint flared in her eyes.

Sebastian had been watching her the entire time.

"What is it?" he asked.

Evelyn didn't look up. She just kept reading. Flipping to the next page, and then the next.

Finally, she turned the laptop around, angling the screen so Sebastian could see it.

"Read this."

Sebastian took the laptop. His eyes dropped to the glowing screen.

The very first line made his pupils contract.

He kept reading.

The further down he went, the deeper his frown carved into his forehead. His knuckles went white as his grip on the edge of the table tightened.

The file wasn't long—maybe seven or eight pages in total—but he took his time dissecting every single word.

He wasn't a slow reader. He just needed to completely process the magnitude of what he was looking at.

Sitting across from him, Evelyn absently pinched a small piece of pastry between her fingers until it was completely crushed. She didn't eat it, nor did she put it down. She just kept rolling the crumbs, watching him intensely.

Sebastian finished reading.

He turned the laptop back around, leaned heavily against his chair, and let out a long, slow exhale.

"Who dug this up?"

"I had my people look into it. It cost a massive amount of resources, but it was worth every penny."

Evelyn dropped the mangled pastry onto her plate and brushed the crumbs from her hands.

"With this, we don't have to just play defense anymore. We can strike back."

Sebastian looked at her. "When do you want to make the move?"

"Once you're safely in France."

Evelyn's voice was eerily calm.

"You go first, and I'll clean up the loose ends here. As soon as I finish handling the situation in Switzerland, I'll fly back and meet you in Paris."

Sebastian was quiet for a long moment.

"I don't like the idea of leaving you here alone."

"Charles has his men stationed here."

Evelyn met his worried gaze steadily.

"Besides, Logan's target was you, not me. He thinks you're out of commission, so he won't be watching my every move. I'm perfectly safe. The fact that he chose to strike at you proves he's too scared to make a direct move on me."

Sebastian didn't argue.

He reached across the table and took her hand in his.

Evelyn didn't pull away.

"Promise me one thing," he said.

"What?"

"No matter what happens, contact me the second something feels off. Don't try to handle it all by yourself."

Evelyn looked at him, a faint smile touching her lips. "I promise."