Chapter 681

In the end, Lydia gave a faint smile. “No. Of course not.”

“Let’s move,” Cale said flatly.

They left the suite at a brisk pace. The hotel corridor looked calm, too calm, with thick carpet swallowing the sound of footsteps and warm yellow lights making everything appear normal. Yet that very stillness felt wrong. Two of Liu’s guards stood in the distance, signaling that the path was clear.

Naomi shivered lightly in Cale’s arms. The heat of her body was unmistakable.

“She’s burning up,” Cale said without looking back.

“We’ll give her more medicine in the car,” Lydia answered, walking beside him. “As long as you don’t drop

her.”

“I’ve never dropped anything.”

“Your arrogance is irritating, you know that?”

Liu pressed the service elevator button. The metal doors opened quickly, and they stepped inside one by one. Once the doors shut, the outside world seemed cut away. Only the hum of the lift and the sound of their breathing remained.

Naomi let out a faint groan. “Uncle…”

Cale clicked his tongue softly. “I’m not your uncle.”

“That wasn’t for you,” Lydia murmured, watching the floor numbers descend.

“I know. But I don’t like her constantly calling for Yiyang.”

Lydia could only shake her head in disbelief.

The elevator opened on the rear level near the staff area. They moved through the quiet kitchen corridor, passed through a steel door, and emerged onto the private parking route. Though it was already midday in Berlin, the air that greeted them was still cold.

Two black sedans were waiting with their engines running.

“The front car is the decoy,” Liu said as he opened the rear door. “The second car is taking us to the airport.”

“The airport?” Lydia asked.

“We don’t have time anymore, Mrs. Lydia. Everything you and Mr. Miller need has already been prepared.”

Cale looked down at Naomi, who was shivering faintly in his arms. His hesitation lived only for a moment before disappearing.

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“All right. We’re going to the airport.”

They got into the second car. Lydia sat beside Naomi, checking her temperature again, while Cale continued supporting the girl’s head on his lap. Liu took the front seat, gave a few brief instructions, and the vehicle glided smoothly away from the rear of the hotel.

At the same time, the main elevator opened on the floor where Cale had been staying in the suite Falcon believed was Naomi’s hiding place. Whoever had helped her hide, that person would not escape his

notice.

Falcon stepped out first with measured calm. His suit was immaculate, his expression relaxed, as if he were arriving for a lunch appointment rather than hunting someone down. Two men followed behind him, alert and watchful.

The suite door opened after the access card was forced to work.

Falcon entered and stopped.

The room was empty.

Even so, it still felt warm. It still carried the traces of people who had left only minutes earlier. On the table sat a glass of water, a bottle of medicine newly opened, and a blanket half-fallen to the floor.

He walked slowly toward the sofa. His fingers brushed the fabric, which still held a faint trace of warmth.

“They just left,” one of his men said.

Falcon did not answer.

His gaze fell on a single long strand of hair left on the back of the sofa. He picked it up carefully, studied it for a moment, then smiled faintly.

“The one protecting you is impressive, Naomi,” he murmured.

“Sir, should we pursue them now?”

Falcon turned toward the large window overlooking city streets crowded with moving traffic. “No need.” The smile had not left his face. “Now the real game begins.”

Far from there, the black sedan carrying Cale and Naomi sped toward the airport, leaving behind a hotel that was no longer safe for anyone.

“I’ll make that man pay dearly,” Falcon said, closing his fist tightly around the strand of Naomi’s hair he had found on the sofa.

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