Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 151 - Chapitre 160

"Let me see," Lucian said. Without caring whether Andre was willing or not, he took the lantern from him. He examined it from all angles, paying special attention to the hand-painted cat on top. Just as he thought—it was nearly identical to the lantern he'd seen in Nolan's phone photo, especially the cat painted on it. Elizabeth had been an artist, and growing up around her had given him a keen eye for artwork. The brushwork and style were unmistakably from the same artist—simple strokes, but rich in technique and depth. This was the work of a very talented painter. However, he remembered that the one in Nolan's photo had more animals painted on it, and it was clearly the better piece. This one only had a single cat, which made sense—no one gives away their best gift.After admiring it for a few seconds, Lucian casually tossed the lantern back to Andre and said flatly, "You better return the favor. It's only polite."Andre caught it, slightly annoyed by Lucian's carelessness, b

In the middle of the night, a car was parked in a desolate, shady alley with its headlights completely off. The dark vehicle blended into the thick darkness like a phantom in the night. Alinta gripped the steering wheel tightly with one hand while keeping an eye on the rearview mirror, watching the unconscious man sprawled across the back seat. She spoke quietly into her phone, explaining the situation to Marisol. It was just her rotten luck, really. After Renewal Day, she was swamped with work and drowning in cases. One of them was a financial dispute, and the client had kept pressuring her. Today, both the defendant and the plaintiff had gotten physical, even involving the police.Alinta had rushed over to mediate. It took forever to calm everyone down, and by the time she was done, it was nearly dawn.The client lived in a pretty remote area on the outskirts of town, and she hadn't encountered anyone else on the road. However, halfway through her drive home, someone suddenly b

After Marisol calmed her nerves, she returned to the hospital room. When she pushed open the door, she froze. In the dark room bathed in moonlight, Orion sat on the bed in his fuzzy raccoon pajamas. He was staring blankly ahead until he heard the sound at the door and looked over."Mommy..." His voice broke as he spoke, and he moved to jump off the bed barefoot.Marisol quickly rushed over and caught him on the bed. "It's okay. Don't be scared. What's wrong?""I thought you were gone," Orion said, his voice trembling with fear. "No, no, I just went out for a moment. See? I'm back now..." Marisol had never gone out in the middle of the night before, so she didn't realize how sensitive Orion could be. Besides, she remembered that he was sleeping peacefully when she left. It took a long while of gentle coaxing before Orion finally fell back asleep. However, Marisol couldn't sleep at all. She kept glancing at her phone, forcing herself to stay calm while waiting anxiously for news.

A cab pulled up near the side entrance of Verdant Woods. Then, a woman stepped out. She was wearing a white down coat and a face mask. She moved quickly through the neighborhood and pushed open the gate of a villa decorated with little red lanterns shaped like cats.Inside, Alinta had been pacing anxiously. The moment she saw her, she rushed forward. "Mari!""How is he?" Marisol closed the door behind her, pulling off her mask with one hand while carrying a large bag toward the basement with the other."He's been pretty cooperative," Alinta said, following her closely. She held up a semi-transparent plastic bag with a gun glinting under the light.Ronan hadn't been in great shape, and while Marisol didn't trust him entirely, she also didn't want this to turn into a murder case. So, both sides had compromised.Ronan had tossed the gun behind the basement door and kept his distance while Alinta opened the door, retrieved the weapon, and threw in the medical supplies he'd asked for.

After finishing most of her packing, Marisol rushed back to the hospital. She had barely settled into her hospital bed when the door opened and Nolan walked in with Orion, who had just gotten out of school."Why is your face so red?" Nolan noticed her deep blush, and for a moment, he was caught off guard. Marisol was startled and touched her face. She figured it was from running too fast and trying to beat the clock."Probably the heat. The weather's warming up," she said casually. Then, she bent down to chat with Orion for a few moments before pulling Nolan out of the room.Once they were away from Orion, she spoke up. "I'm about to be discharged from the hospital, and I can't keep Orion by my side all the time. It's not good for him to be too dependent on me. I can't take care of him forever, and you're his guardian, so you should be spending more time with him."Nolan hadn't expected her to bring this up and found himself in a difficult position. He did want to spend more time