Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 546

"Is he... going to die?"

Nora asked. In the end, she was still grounded in the real world; taking a life crossed a line she wasn't sure she could handle.

"Don't worry. He'll live."

But he would spend the rest of his miserable life wishing he hadn't!

Holding her hand, Hudson led her out of the passage.

The moment fresh air filled her lungs, Nora felt like she was truly breathing for the first time in her life.

Something fundamental inside her had changed.

"From now on, you have nothing to fear," Hudson said, a remarkably tender smile softening his predatory features. "Do whatever makes you happy."

"I will, as long as we're together." She looked up at him, her beautiful eyes shining with absolute love and reliance.

He reached out, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, but remained silent.

He could give her the world.

But the one thing he couldn't promise her was a future.

His only hope was that, even if he wasn't around to protect her...

She would finally be able to live a happy, fearless life.

That alone would be enough for him.

...

Meanwhile, Silas Lancaster had spent the last few days living in pure terror, completely unable to sleep.

He sat in the living room of his villa, the coffee table buried beneath a mountain of cigarette butts. The room was thick with smoke.

The heavy curtains were drawn completely shut, blocking out the sun.

He had made call after call—airlines, private shipping companies, even smugglers—but every single route out of the country had been systematically severed.

"Useless!" He hurled his phone against the sofa. It bounced off the cushions and shattered against the floor.

Panting heavily, a desperate thought suddenly hit him. He scrambled to retrieve the cracked phone.

Seeing it still functioned, he dialed Lawrence Lancaster's number.

It rang endlessly before finally connecting. Before Silas could even speak, his uncle's cultured voice came through, dripping with ice. "Silas, you actually have the nerve to call me? You completely botched the kidnapping and exposed every single asset I had planted in San Francisco. You truly are my favorite nephew. I told you from the start you were a pathetic failure who couldn't even compare to one of Hudson's fingers. Seems I was right..."

Silas ground his teeth, furious but forcing his tone to remain desperate. "Uncle Lawrence, it wasn't my fault..."

Lawrence scoffed. "Whether it was your fault or not is irrelevant. You ruined the plan, so you handle the fallout yourself. Do not contact me again."

The line went dead. When Silas tried to call back, the number was already disconnected.

Silas stared blankly at the shattered screen, feeling a terrifying chill seep into his bones.

He was finished.

Hudson was utterly ruthless.

He had never seen his brother look so vulnerable.

Silas didn't know why that specific memory kept haunting him over the past few days.

He had hated Hudson for years, hated him so much it kept him awake at night. But now, at the end of it all, that look of betrayal was the only thing he could see.

He covered his face with trembling hands, weeping silently as the tears slipped through his fingers.

...

Back in the underground Vault at Cloudwater Estate, the atmosphere was vastly different.

Hudson leaned back in his chair, his long legs crossed. He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

He had just finished a call with Finnian, who informed him that Silas was completely wiped out. The rest was up to him.

"Good," Hudson replied flatly.

Hearing the horrific wailing echoing in the background, Finnian frowned. "What the hell are you doing? It sounds like you're butchering a pig."

Hudson glanced across the room.

Liam Harrison was crouching beside Arnold, looking utterly disgusted as he stitched up the gaping wound.

Hudson calmly brought the phone back to his ear. "Practicing medicine."

"..."