Chapter 1072

Emmanuel’s voice cracked with fear. “What are we supposed to do now? Where could they have possibly taken Taylor? What are they planning to do to my son?”

“Stay calm, Emmanuel,” Jason responded in a measured tone. “The person behind this conspiracy is primarily targeting Cole. Taylor is simply being used as a bargaining chip. They won’t eliminate their leverage until they’ve achieved their main ive.”

Lance placed a supportive hand on his father’s trembling shoulder. “Jason’s absolutely right, Dad. We need to keep our heads clear if we’re going to rescue Taylor.”

Emmanuel understood the logical reasoning behind their words, but this was his youngest son they were talking about. Staying calm felt impossible when his child was in mortal danger. His gaze moved to Cole with an unspoken request for assistance.

“I believe the mastermind will make contact with me very soon,” Cole said with quiet confidence. “For now, the best thing we can do is wait for them to reveal their hand.”

Elliana turned toward Jason. “Have you observed any changes in the Serpent Society’s positioning?”

Jason quickly checked the surveillance feed he’d established on his phone and shook his head grimly. “Nothing at all. They’re maintaining their exact same positions, and there’s no sign of Taylor anywhere within the range of my cameras.”

“So we’re not dealing with just the Serpent Society tonight,” Elliana reasoned out loud. “Whoever abducted Taylor represents a completely separate organization.”

Cole nodded with grim understanding. “That matches my assessment of the situation.”

A sense of overwhelming frustration descended upon the entire group. The Evans family was a global powerhouse with generations of accumulated wealth and influence, which meant they had inevitably made as many dangerous enemies as powerful allies over the years. With such limited information available, identifying their mysterious opponent felt like trying to locate a single grain of sand in an endless desert.

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Just as Cole had predicted, the call came half an hour later. It was a video call from Taylor’s phone—the mastermind was on the line.

Cole did not hesitate. He tapped to answer. The phone’s screen lit up with a bleak, haunting image. Taylor stood motionless, framed by the unsteady camera. The wind howled so fiercely that it almost drowned out his voice. He was teetering at the very edge of a cliff, the world behind him swallowed by darkness. The drop below was endless, and one careless move would send him straight into oblivion.

“That’s Beakcliff!” Jason exclaimed, his voice sharp with recognition. ?s s fin?novel.net

There was no mistaking it. Beakcliff marked the most treacherous spot in the entire Stone Forest Scenic Area. Towering over five hundred meters high, its jagged edges looked like the hooked tip of an eagle’s beak.

Beneath the precipice, an ancient forest stretched out, wild and forbidden. No one was allowed inside. Legends and warnings clung to the place like shadows. Time after time, geological survey teams tried their luck, but none ever came back. Authorities wrote off the land as impossible to develop, leaving it an untouched no-man’s-land.

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