In the deep of the night, Alyssa was soundly asleep by Jasper''s side while he pored through the financial reports and project proposals. All of a sudden, he heard a knock on the door, followed by Rosie''s worried voice. "Mr. Beckett, Madam Alyssa, are you asleep?" Jasper tiptoed to answer the door to avoid waking up Alyssa. "Mrs. Rosie, it''ste. Why aren''t you sleeping yet?"


    "Mr. Beckett, Mr. Axel is here!"


    "Mr. Axel? Lyse''s brother?" He was taken aback.


    "Yes! He looks quite upset. He''s in the living room. Please check on him!" Mrs. Rosie reported.


    At that time, Alyssa rubbed her eyes groggily and shuffled up to Jasper in her fuzzy slippers. "Jasper, did you just say that Axel was here?"


    "Sorry for waking you up." He gently held her by the waist with a tender look.


    She leaned against him, their bodies separated only through ayer of silk fabric. "I''m fine, but I''m worried about Axel. He won''t show upte at night for no good reason. Jasper, let''s meet with him now."


    ...


    Jasper''s and Alyssa''s jaws dropped when they saw Axel standing in the living room with torn clothes and a blood-stained face. Alyssa had never seen Axel in such a disheveled state in her life. He had always appeared invincible.


    Of course, Axel would never reveal to Alyssa the times he flirted with death during his missions.


    "Axel, what''s wrong? Are you injured?" Alyssa hurried up to him and ran her fingers across his shoulders. Her face turned white from the shock.


    "Lyse, I''m fine," Axel replied.


    He was an empty shell of his self. His eyes were vacant, and his voice low. Worried sick, she asked, "How could you im you''re fine? What happened to your face and your clothes?"


    Momentster, Axel looked up with restrained feelings that threatened to inundate him. Breathing slowly, he began, "Lyse, I''ve not asked you for any favors these years. This time, I need a favor from you. Please."N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Jasper widened his eyes in shock at Axel''s sorry state. He had seen Axel''s many sides. Axel was cynical, yful, and sometimes ruthless, but he had never revealed such desperation.


    Alyssa shook Axel by the shoulders and croaked, "Axel, what''s with the formalities? Just ask away!"


    "Can you save her?"


    "Who?"


    He choked on his emotions. "Amber Altman."


    Jasper and Alyssa were caught off guard. This was the first time they heard Axel mentioning a woman''s name.


    Axel lowered his gaze and grabbed the pack of blue pills from his jacket. He ced them in Alyssa''s palm.


    She put on a look of disbelief. "Axel, where did you get your hands on these pills?"


    "It was Amber." Pressing his lips, he gathered himself and recounted the eventful night. Jasper and Alyssa listened intently, holding their breaths. The heart-stopping story gave them goosebumps, making their hair stand.


    "Jameson Schmidt is still the


    mastermind in the end. Right?" Jasper clenched his fists resentfully. "He falsely presented these mysterious pills asmon drugs and made Aidan Lovce market them. At the same time, he exports these pills overseas by buying out the drug dealers.


    "This might appear like a typical drug smuggling operation, but Jameson was in fact running experiments on the drug users. It was never his intention to make money from these pills!"


    Alyssa chimed in, "Drug trials are a


    notoriouslyplicated and lengthy


    process, spanning from initial


    research to clinical trials and


    regtory approval. This could take anywhere from five to ten years. Besides, animal testing cannot beat


    human experimentation in terms of precision."


    The deeply hical nature of the scheme incensed Alyssa further. "By amassing sufficient test subjects, they could gatherprehensive clinical data and elerate the R&D timeline from a decade to a mere two or three years!


    "We could only assume that the drug was pretty potent from Jameson''s bold decision to undertake such risks. If his efforts paid off, he could monopolize the market!


    "On another note, Nichs Novak might have been behind Xavier''s arrest thest time. Colluding with authorities had always been a tactic out of the Schmidt Group''s ybook. I''m sure he has been helping out the Schmidts in the drug experiments as well!"


    With exceptional logical thinking, Alyssa immediately pieced the puzzle using the clues provided by Amber.


    "I wanted to leave with Amber, but


    she refused. She wanted to stay by Jameson''s side to spy on him." A


    elhet


    piercing pain shot through Axel''s et


    chest when he recalled the


    determined final look from Amber. "Lyse, I need Amber to be safe. I don''t want anything happening to her!"


    Alyssa clutched his cold hands and questioned, "Axel, are you..."


    He choked up while staring at Alyssa''s lovely face. Though Amber once resembled Alyssa, she was now unmistakably her own person instead of a substitute.


    Amber was unique; she belonged to him and only him.


    Overwhelmed by a flood of emotions, Axel dered with unwavering resolve, "Alyssa, I''ve fallen for her. I love Amber Altman."