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Chapter 43

Author: TESSA YOUNG
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-05 23:25:56

Luca’s POV

The chamber was stifling.

I sat on the edge of the long table. My mind wouldn’t shut up.

Julian.

That bastard walking in here like he belonged, like history hadn’t been written in blood between us. Like he hadn’t thrown everything away for his own damn ego.

The door opened.

I snapped my head up. Elijah.

He closed the door quietly.

“You going to say it?” I muttered, staring at nothing.

Elijah stepped forward, arms crossed.

“You already know what I think.”

I finally turned to look at him, tired, aggravated. “That he’s playing some long game?”

Elijah scoffed. “Because he is. And you damn well know it.”

I exhaled through my nose, shaking my head. “I need to be sure.”

“Sure of what?” He moved closer, voice dipping into something more aggressive. “That the snake is still a snake?”

Before I could respond, the sound cut through the tension.

Faint. Almost nothing. But my body reacted before my brain did.

A cry.

A cough.

Not just any cough—wet, rough, tearing.

Something was wr
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