All Chapters of Clasp of Life : Chapter 111 - Chapter 113

The estate was quiet, deceptively so, as Falvio Ashford stood by the tall French windows of Gabin’s study. Beyond the manicured gardens, the distant lights of Paris glimmered faintly through the pre-dawn mist. The silence was almost suffocating, broken only by the occasional creak of an aged floorboard and the soft rustle of trees swaying in the early morning breeze. Falvio had arrived two days earlier and Gabin had welcomed him warmly, offering the usual distractions of estate hospitality—fine whiskey, sweeping lawns, and the heavy weight of family history—but Falvio had no intention of idling. He spent the evenings reviewing maps of the Marne outskirts, cross-referencing addresses, and memorizing the layout of Raphael and Ines’s villa. The villa had become a fortress in his mind, each corridor and wing cataloged, each shadow scrutinized. Falvio’s obsession was quiet but relentless. He did not sleep much; he walked the estate at night, drinking in the faint glow of Paris and imag

The wind whipped through the narrow path along the cliffs outside Paris, tugging at Ines’ coat as she pressed forward, clutching the child tightly. Her breaths came in shallow gasps, heart pounding. Every step took her farther from the city, farther from the tangled streets where Falvio could stalk them with patience and precision. “Keep moving,” she whispered to herself, rocking the child gently. “You’re safe. You’re safe…” She had left Analees and Raphael behind, deliberately splitting from them to draw any potential threat away. The plan was simple: get the child to safety, somewhere Falvio could not follow. Somewhere far from his calculating gaze. And yet… a sense of dread clung to her like a shadow. --- Far above on the ridge, Falvio watched, unmoving, the wind whipping his coat around him. His eyes followed Ines, unwavering, calculating. “So… she carries him,” he murmured, voice low, almost to himself. “And she thinks she can hide him from me? She underestimates the pa