CHAPTER 271

ADRIANO WOKE UP with a violent jolt, his body snapping upright before his mind fully caught up. For a moment he didn’t know where he was, his hand instinctively reached toward his side as if searching for something as the living room came into focus slowly.The dim hallway light, the blanket draped over his chest. The house was very quiet as if nobody was home. Then his memory returned. Nana's sumptuous meal, and the two minutes he had promised himself. He turned his wrist and checked the time on his watch and his brows shot up in surprise. “Six hours?” The words came out as a low growl. He had been asleep for six good hours.He swung his legs off the couch and ran a hand through his hair, irritation flashing across his face. He had meant to just rest his eyes long enough to clear the fog in his head but instead, he had slept like a corpse.He stood, the blanket sliding from his shoulders and pooling on the couch behind him.His annoyance simmered for another second before he realiz

CHAPTER 272

THE NIGHT AIR carried a quiet chill. Nadia stood at the far end of the west wing, her fingers resting lightly against the cold marble railing as she stared out into the darkness beyond the estate. From the outside, everything looked calm, but inside the mansion, everything had shifted and Nadia could feel it in every breath she took.Her jaw tightened slightly as she turned away from the balcony doors and glanced back into the dimly lit sitting room behind her.The five men were already waiting. she had known since she was a child.Men who had stood beside her father, Sergei Petrovna, through years of power, war, and blood.She needed that loyalty, now more than ever.Nadia stepped into the room slowly.The soft click of her heels against the polished floor drew their attention immediately, every pair of eyes lifted toward her.For a moment, no one spoke.“Miss Petrovna,” one of them finally said, his voice respectful but cautious.Nadia’s lips curved faintly.“At least someone still

CHAPTER 274

The Petrovan estate felt wrong. That was the first thing that Dmitri noticed immediately he stepped onto the grounds.It wasn’t something obvious, but it lingered in the air like a quiet warning. The guards stood a little stiffer. The servants moved a little faster, their heads lowered more than usual. Even the wind that moved through the tall trees seemed restrained, as though the entire estate was holding its breath.Dmitri stood on the wide stone patio, his hands resting loosely in the pockets of his coat as his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings without appearing to. He had been here countless times before. Back when Sergei was alive.Back when he was still a wide eyes teen, growing up on a the street while being close friends of young teenage Nadia too. A servant approached quietly from the side, holding a polished silver tray with a glass of amber liquid resting on it. “Sir,” the man said respectfully, offering it forward.Dmitri’s gaze flicked briefly to the drink, then back

CHAPTER 275

LAURA PARKER HER car in the driveway and got out. The house was eerily quiet, she noticed it the moment she stepped through the front doors of the mansion. The echo of her heels against the polished floor seemed louder than usual, bouncing off walls. Now, it felt empty.She paused briefly in the foyer, her eyes scanning the wide staircase, the silent hallways, the untouched furniture. There was a time when the house had been full of staffs, maids moving about doing their duties, but not anymore. It was like they all left a sinking ship. The few that remained had grown careless and azy. They dragged their feet, cut corners, whispered among themselves like they had already accepted the decline of the household.Laura didn’t have the strength to correct them anymore. She slighed slightly as she walked further into the house. Her fingers curled slightly around her purse as the thought settled heavier in her chest.Things were changing, and they were not in their favor.Dante was hardly e

CHAPTER 276

AVERYI WATCHED HER break. It didn’t happen all at once. I could see her trying to make sense of what was happening. Her breathing was uneven, her eyes darted, and her fingers trembled ever so slightly at her sides.But she tried to hold on. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, but the words lacked conviction.I didn’t move, or interrupt. I just watched her. Being a therapist, I knew that sometimes, silence did more of a damage than Because sometimes silence did more damage than voiced pressure ever could, and Laura was unraveling under it.Her gaze flickered to the door, then to the windows, and then back to me, but she could not hold my gaze. She was trying to find a way out, but there was none.“You shouldn’t be here,” she said again, weaker this time.I tilted my head slightly, studying her. “Funny,” I murmured. “That’s the second time you’ve said that.”Her lips pressed together.Silence stretched again.Then she cracked. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.” The w

CHAPTER 277

MY HANDS WERE shaking when I got into the car. Not from fear. I was nor afraid anymore. But from something else. Adrenaline, maybe, ohe weight of everything that had just happened finally settling into my bones. I slammed the door shut and gripped the steering wheel, my chest rising and falling unevenly. Laura’s voice echoed in my head. "It was Clarance."" I let out a slow breath.“I know,” I whispered to myself. But now, I had proof. My fingers tightened around the wheel as I pulled out of the driveway and sped onto the road. The engine roared louder than necessary, tires screeching slightly as I merged into traffic. I didn’t care. My phone was already in my hand before I even realized it. I hit Adriano’s number. It barely rang once before he picked it. “Avery.” He picked up immediately. Relief hit me instantly at the sound of his voice. In the background, I could hear the soft, rhythmic beeping of hospital monitors. He was back with Iris. “I have it,” I said without preambl