A Second Chance at Forever

Chapter 1421
Yates arched a skeptical brow, seemingly caught off guard by Bernard’s offer.
Was it sheer desperation to save Eleanor, or did he have an ulterior motive?
Yates didn’t trust Bernard all that much, yet he was dying to know who the founder of the Siren Organization really was. His
eyes, seasoned by years of life’s trials, spun with the complexity of human nature.
“If you’re playing me, you’ll never see Eleanor again.” The cunning and shrewd always overthink, resorting to threats.
That was what made Yates detestable, and Bernard found it utterly contemptible.
“What right do you have to threaten me now?”
Bernard’s voice, deep and clear, flowed through the intercom into Yates’ ears.
“I’m only negotiating because of my wife.”
The unspoken message was clear: if Eleanor wasn’t in Yates’ clutches, would Bernard even bother with negotiations?
He would have stormed the biozone like he had other territories, capturing Yates without a second thought, not patiently hashing
out terms.
Now, a thoroughly defeated Yates truly had no ground to stand on. He couldn’t possibly harm Eleanor, could he?
After all, how could Yates harm Eleanor, the granddaughter he had finally-found?
But Yates suspected Bernard’s offer was a ruse.
After much deliberation, Yates finally pressed the intercom button again.
“Tell me who it is first, then I’ll release Eleanor.”
A mocking smirk tinged the indifference in Bernard’s eyes.
“Expecting information without releasing her? Do you think that’s possible?”

“Then come and get her.”
Yates, cool and composed, gave Bernard the location of the escape room.
“At the end of the biozone corridor, behind the square white wall, you’ll find the escape room. The console code is 794203. Come
alone.”
Careful actions are the last resort of a defeated man, and Yates exemplified this to the fullest.
Evan and Gianna were speechless at this development, almost simultaneously shaking their heads at Bernard, signaling him not
to go.
Bernard glanced at them, his gaze drifting past the 48 corpses lying in glass coffins, towards the end of the corridor.
“Yates, I’ll say it again, you’re in no position to make demands.”
His eyes, cold as winter frost, shone with an unearthly glow, hinting at an obscure darkness and chilling indifference..
“You better hand over my wife personally, or you’ll get no information, and your people will die.”
Yates knew full well that Bernard had the upper hand, whether in setting terms or making demands.
But even in defeat, Yates, still a camel in his own right, was loath to be dictated to by a younger man like Bernard.
“You claim to love Eleanor, yet you’re unwilling to come for her yourself. How can I trust you with her?”
Yates’ righteousness seemed to suggest that if Bernard didn’t personally retrieve Eleanor, his love was insufficient.
“And you, claiming to be her grandfather/why won’t you deliver her yourself?”
The negotiation had turned into a contest of who could be more heartless.
Obviously, Yates would always win such a contest.
So, Yates, unable to argue further, simply broadcasted the surveillance footage of Eleanor to the biozone.
Bernard who had been ready to outlast Yates changed his mind the instant he saw Eleanor. His pupils contracted sharply.
She sat alone on the bed, fragile as a leaf despite her pregnancy, her complexion deathly pale.

Isolated, deaf and blind to the world around her, she epitomized loneliness.
Seeing Eleanor so forlorn and helpless, Bernard’s heart ached unbearably. Within seconds, he conceded.
Without a word, Bernard strode toward the escape room, his silhouette exuding fearless resolve.
He had the confidence to continue the standoff with Yates, but he didn’t want to prolong Eleanor’s suffering.
He also needed to trade the information, hoping Yates and Xavier would turn on each other in a deadly struggle.
Bernard’s eyes were filled with a deadly calm, as if his long-suffered patience had morphed into a raging storm.
From afar, he resembled a warrior descended from the heavens, radiating an icy, bone-chilling aura.
The head of the Siren Organization certainly had the capability and courage to go it alone, but his subordinates feared for his
safety.
Evan, Gianna, Aidyn, and Robin didn’t bother with caution. With a wave of a hand, they followed Bernard.
Seeing this entourage on the monitors, Yates’ voice, heavy with the weight of years, boomed from the intercom throughout the
biozone.
“Mr. Laurence, if you insist on bringing a crowd, then our negotiation is off.” After a pause, Yates added another line, “I’m taking
Eleanor away right now.”
Yates’ circle had dwindled to a few operators and some men in black.
At best, they could protect him as he fled, no match for Bernard’s crew.
Yates had to be cautious, but that didn’t mean he feared death.
After all, without the Siren Organization’s founder’s information, he needed to stay alive.