Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Aubree sent the message and set her phone down, her heart still racing as she watched Brielle. Brielle was busy talking to a pair that Max had assigned to her-a man and a woman who looked like siblings. The sister was Addison and the brother was Aiden.

Both looked pretty skilled; Brielle even checked their fingers and saw the thick calluses at the tips-a sure sign they practiced a lot with guns and knives. She had never seen them around the Dorsey family before. They gave off the same vibe as that uniformed guy she had met in prison, probably another group Max was working with. She never asked Max about these things.

"Ms. Brielle, you can just call us Addy and Nine," Addison said, calm and cool, a small scar on her forehead. Aiden, who had been grinning cheekily, straightened up under Addison's stern look. Brielle had originally planned to keep them at a distance, but after what happened with Tessa, she was okay with having them closer. Who knew how many Tessas were lurking around Beaconsfield?

As Brielle was about to leave, Aubree walked her to the end of the driveway. Looking up, Brielle spotted Ricardo sitting on a low wall in the alley, twirling a switchblade and sizing up Addison and Aiden. Their eyes met briefly before each looked away. Ricardo hopped off the wall and grinned at Brielle. "Heading out, Mr. Haywood?"

Brielle nodded. "I'm hosting a dinner for everyone in a couple of days."

"Sounds good."

Ricardo watched Brielle leave while Aubree, seeing him still playing with the switchblade, chided him, "Have you forgotten about the time you sliced your finger open?"

Ricardo's hand froze, and he quietly pocketed the blade. Meanwhile, in the car with Aiden driving, Brielle asked, "Nine, Addy, do you know Ricardo?"

Addison, sitting next to her, shook her head. "Never met him, but it's rare to see someone handle a blade with such flair."

Brielle couldn't help but recall the day Ricardo had caused chaos, leaving three men barely alive. His strikes bled them but weren't fatal. Was it extreme control or something else? She frowned, unable to make sense of it, and took out her phone to search for updates on Infinity Brilliance. Just as Max had said, they were tight-lipped; even the North American media hadn't unearthed much, so she was even less likely to learn anything from home.

She messaged Mason, but his response was the same as Max's: all they knew was that Owen had suddenly returned to Infinity Brilliance. Brielle's anxiety was pointless. "Addy, take us to where Annie's being held."

Annie and Murray had more to spill,

but both were tough nuts to crack. With a sense of unease, Brielle was prepared to resort to harsher

interrogation if necessary to make them talk. However, when they arrived, they found Annie

asleep on the bed. So Seemingly

felt

off to Brielle, who ordered the door to be opened.

She quickly approached and grabbed the person's shoulder, only to discover it wasn't Annie but an older lady who'd been delivering meals. Annie had performed a classicbait-and-switch and

vel

escaped. The lady's hands were tied in front of her, her mouth stuffed with a wad of paper towel, and turned away from the door, her pleas for help unnoticed.

Brielle's expression darkened as she immediately called the hospital to check on Murray. Luckily, he was still there. "Nine, station some people at the hospital. We can't let Murray be rescued by Annie; he's valuable to us."

She could tell Murray wasn't an enforcer-his skills weren't sharp enough. He must possess another talent. Perhaps he was good at disguises or-

A spark ignited in Brielle's mind, and her eyes narrowed. "Don't let him near any electronic devices."

She'd been deceived by a fake message from Aubree before, and during a misunderstanding with Max, neither could reach the other's phone. According to Patrick, it was the work of a top-tier hacker. If Murray wasn't muscle, then he was likely the hacker lurking in the shadows. She should have realized sooner.

As Brielle was about to call Max, her phone rang with an unfamiliar number. "Hello, I'm Keiran. Is this Brielle? I've got a letter here, sent by my distant cousin, to be read to you," said the male voice on the other end.

Keiran squinted at the screen, reading the letter word for word. "My cousin says-"

Before he could continue, the screen dimmed, and the lights in the living room flickered and died. Keiran furrowed his brow, "Hello, Brielle?"Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.