New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 454 A Coma?

Eligos was livid. No, scratch that he was absolutely furious. The heavy oak desk in his study groaned under the force of his fist slamming down onto it. Papers and pens scattered, and the neat stack of documents he prided himself on now resembled the aftermath of a tornado.

"How does this keep happening?" he growled, glaring at the surface as if it had personally wronged him. His men had failed, again. Claire had slipped through their fingers, and Eligos was not one to take failure lightly. "Am I leading a team of circus clowns?" he muttered under his breath.

Pacing the room like a caged tiger, his thoughts kept circling back to one thing: Claire Peterson. Did she really forget who Allan was? It was almost laughable. She's the one who told Matthew to investigate him, Eligos thought bitterly. And now she's acting like the name doesn't even ring a bell.

Eligos let out a bitter chuckle, though it lacked humor. "And this is the woman running Metacortex," he muttered, the sarcasm dripping from his words. He ran a hand through his slicked-back hair, his frustration palpable.

But he wasn't one to let things go. Oh, no. If Claire thought she could just dance her way around this, she was sorely mistaken. He vowed, right then and there, that he would hear the truth from her lips. And I'll be the one to make her say it, he promised himself, his eyes narrowing as his resolve hardened.

Meanwhile, Alexander is still at the Saint Laurent mansion lounging in the lavish living room, holding a glass of wine in one hand while his phone rested on the armrest of his velvet chair. He had been keeping tabs on Adrian through a private investigator-discreetly, of course.

The phone buzzed, and Alexander picked it up, his face unreadable as he listened. "He went where?" he asked, his voice calm but with an undercurrent of curiosity.

"A forest," the investigator replied. "At least, that's what it looks like on the map. No buildings, no landmarks just trees."

Alexander frowned, swirling the wine in his glass as he pondered this new information. "A forest," he repeated, almost to himself. "How... quaint."

The investigator continued, "I kept a safe distance as you instructed. Couldn't see much from where I was, though.'

Alexander nodded, even though the investigator couldn't see him. "And you're sure you didn't spot him meeting anyone?"

"No one, sir. If he did, it was deeper in the woods."

back in his chair, staring at the ceiling as if it held the answers. "Thank you. That will be all for now." He hung up and set

his own birthday party and yet here he was wandering

a weird

no doubt this had something to do with Claire. It always did. But he couldn't exactly ask her about it. That

in the shadows. Claire, ever vigilant, kept her eyes and ears open, ready for any

the calm; it felt like the eerie silence before a storm. But

genuinely excited about: Alexander's hotel in Vegas was about to have its grand opening in just a few weeks. Claire had been working on a robotic concierge prototype, and this was going to be its big debut. If the feedback was positive, she planned to produce the robot on a larger scale under

strategizing and scheming. She could almost see it now-guests being wowed by the sleek design and efficiency of her creation. The image made her giddy, a nice change from the usual stress. Her phone rang, jolting her

the other end. "This is

her heart sinking. "Yes? What's this

you that Matthew Finnegan has been involved in a

couldn't bring herself to finish the question,

every possible worst-case

Daniels replied, his tone grim but measured. "I believe

practically sprinting out of her office. She didn't even bother to tell

to open the car door before

she ordered, her

replied, his own sense

her fingers tapping anxiously on her bag. "He's strong," she muttered to herself, trying to shake off the knot in her stomach

tougher than this."

she tried to reassure herself, the officer's voice and the weight of

hospital, Claire barely waited for the driver to stop completely before jumping out. She hurried to the

she said breathlessly to the