Chapter 45

Claire froze for a second. He said he’d been hung up on it, sure. But the way he said it... it sounded less like guilt, and more like longing. Her face flushed noticeably. “Uh, well… thanks for your concern, Mr. Archer.” “I care about all my team,” Julian replied calmly. Michael’s eyes blinked in disbelief— All his team? Seriously? The air turned awkward in a weirdly subtle way… Thankfully, Michael broke the silence with a light chuckle and steered the topic back to the factory. “Claire’s sharp. You got about 80% of it right—pretty impressive.” “What about the other 20%?” Claire asked, curious, using the chance to move past the uncomfortable beat. “You mentioned those two 'ghost workers.' Well, turns out they really were ghosts—they’re dead. Patrick killed them.” “What?!” Claire’s eyes widened. She had guessed they might’ve been friends or relatives of his, but murdered victims? That hadn't crossed her mind. Michael nodded. “Yeah, it’s crazy. We didn’t expect it to actually lead to a m