Chapter 203

"Why the hell should I listen to you?" Stella's nails dug deep into her palm, almost breaking the skin. "Charles, do you really think locking me up in this golden cage makes up for what Firehunters did to my family?" She stormed to the door and pounded her fist against the security lock. "I need access to the surveillance from three years ago, I'll find proof that Firehunters led that massacre!" Charles stood with his back to her, gripping the door handle so hard the metal creaked. "No." His voice was low and rough. "Jade's people are lurking. The moment you step outside, you'll be a target." "So your solution is treating me like some pawn?" Stella laughed coldly. "Gain my trust, then cage me in the name of 'protection'? You're no different from Noah!" That hit a nerve. In a flash, Charles spun around, knocking against the vase behind him. It wobbled dangerously. He caught sight of her reddened eyes. Suddenly, the image of her changing his bloody bandages in the medbay flickered in his