Chapter 202: Nathaniel Grounds Her

The panic did not announce itself.

It arrived quietly, disguised as breath caught in the wrong place.

Lillian stood in the greenhouse annex at Celestine Heights, where the estate stored rare specimens before donation or auction. She had agreed to review a selection for an upcoming charity display. The task was harmless. Familiar. Flowers had always been her refuge.

Then she smelled it.

Not sweet. Not sharp. Something darker. Resinous. Wet. A floral note that should have been comforting but was not.

Her fingers froze around the rim of a ceramic pot.

The room tilted. Not violently. Subtly. As if the floor had decided to slope with