Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1376

The three of them walked in silence until they reached the Murphy family's training grounds. It was an enormous open-air arena, its perimeter lined with racks bearing an arsenal of weaponry. The five children Alastair had mentioned were already assembled, clearly tipped off about the visit. Calling them children was a stretch, as the youngest appeared to be in her early twenties. They stood tall with razor-sharp postures and fierce glares, every inch of them screaming lethal expertise.

Fully aware that a high-profile client was here to make a selection, they instantly launched into aggressive displays of their skills the moment the group stepped into the arena. One was tearing through moving targets at the shooting range, another was effortlessly deadlifting massive weights, a third was rapid-firing arrows, while the remaining two engaged in a brutal, lightning-fast sparring match. In seconds, the training ground transformed into a chaotic exhibition of raw violence.

Watching the dizzying spectacle, Emmy felt an even deeper hollow open up in her chest. She couldn't help but turn to James. "When you originally chose Penny, did you select her like this?"

James's eyes drifted coolly over the desperate performers. "Yes."

"What was she doing?" Emmy pressed, her voice tight. "Was she also... putting on a show like this?"

"No. There were ten recruits in that batch, and the other nine were fighting tooth and nail to prove their worth. Penny didn't do a single thing. She just stood silently in the darkest corner, gripping a dagger, watching the others with the cold, indifferent eyes of a lone wolf. She stood out completely from the rest, so I chose her without a second thought."

Listening to his description, the image of Penny perfectly materialized in Emmy's mind. The quiet, reserved girl who had always offered the most unwavering sense of security. Emmy's heart ached violently. She looked back at the five young women fighting for attention. None of them stood in the shadows, and absolutely none of them possessed the pure, unyielding conviction Penny had carried in her eyes. Instead, their faces were painted with naked ambition, desperate for the prestige of being selected. That glaring hunger for success triggered an instinctual revulsion within Emmy.

Standing off to the side, Alastair stroked his beard, looking quite pleased with the fearsome display of his descendants. He turned to Emmy with a proud smile. "Well, Mrs. Nelson? Do any of them catch your eye?"

Emmy pressed her lips into a thin line, remaining completely silent as she instinctively looked to her husband.

James narrowed his dark, calculating eyes, sweeping a freezing glance over the five recruits. After a brief pause, he turned to Alastair, his tone dropping several degrees. "Do you have anyone else?"

Alastair's proud smile instantly vanished. "None of them meet your standards?" He blew his mustache in obvious irritation. "I bend the ancient rules for you, and you dare to be this picky? These are the five absolute best elites of this generation! Out in the real world, every single one of them can easily take down ten men alone! Exactly what kind of monster are you looking for?"

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