جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 170

ALEXEI“You must tell me everything you’ve been up to, since the last time I saw you,” I asked Ivan, tickling his neck with my kisses.As expected, he wiggled against me, giggling his head off.It felt so good to hear his laughter again.We were both in the drawing room. Olivia was with us. So was Lyra.Lyra was in the middle of plating snacks for all of us, while Olivia told me about the quality time she had been spending with Logan.“They are like newly weds these days,” Lyra snorted, shooting her mother a teasing look. “I’m envious of you and father. I can only wish that Henrik and I are half as cute as you two, when we become old.”“I’m not that old, and neither is your father,” Olivia was quick to rise to their defence.I chuckled, enjoying the easy banter.Olivia shot her daughter one last chiding look before she turned to me. “Your sister came to see me yesterday, about the fundraiser.”“Oh,” my eyes lit up at the mention of the fundraiser that Juliette and I had discussed at l

HENRIKLyra was due to return home tomorrow.An opportunity like this didn’t happen all the time.Logan and Olivia had shown up yesterday, without warning, asking for Ivan.They had come to retrieve him.If only they had placed a call earlier, giving us some time to anticipate their visit, then perhaps I would have had more time to plan some way to get samples of their blood.It was what the witch, Lyra had asked for.I’d already promised her that I would find a way to get the blood samples and I would do it.About Ivan, I had every intention of slipping him a powerful sleeping potion that evening at dinner and sneaking into his bedroom to draw a bit of his blood.But then, Logan and Olivia had shown up to retrieve him, dashing my plans.But no matter.Lily showed up at the manor at exactly 2 pm. She was a stickler for punctuality and I could just tell that my tardiness the other night had annoyed the shit out of her.“Hello partner,” I met her in the foyer, right after she’d been let

ENRIQUE POVI stopped at the next traffic, waiting for the light to turn green.Lyra had called me earlier to come pick her up from the pack house. Apparently, Alexis had gone into town with her mother in law in search of a venue for the fundraiser, so she had to babysit Ivan before she got back.Irrespective of the fact that I didn't care about Lyra, I hated how much of a tool she was. It was insulting to me.I was still yet to draft out a perfect plan on how I was going to get those blood samples from all of them on the same night.Ivan’s won't be a problem. I could pay one of the maids in the house to get a sample from Alexis. Although, I'm not sure that would be as easy as imagined.The main problem now, was Nikolai.How on earth am I supposed to get a blood sample from him without him noticing it? Or me looking suspicious.I had to think of something fast. The fundraiser is literally in two days time, and it's then or never. I couldn't have our plan be delayed any longer.And Lil

ENRIQUE - POVI parked near an unfinished building on the outskirts of town—just a few miles beyond the city center. The area was under redevelopment, all dust, heaps of sand, and rusted yellow tractors.Perfect place for a secret meeting.I checked my watch. 11:10 AM. She was late.My doubts crept in.Was she really competent enough for this job? If punctuality was already a problem, what guaranteed she wouldn't mess up something far more delicate?Then the car door opened, and Jina slid into the passenger seat. She was breathing heavily as she peeled off her black sunglasses and let out a sigh.“You’re exactly twelve minutes late,” I said flatly, each word deliberate.“I’m sorry. The traffic was insane. I had to ditch my car and grab a cab,” she said, smoothing her hair back into place.I didn’t budge. “Listen. I need to know I can trust you. No slip-ups. No mistakes. Can you handle that?”She turned to me slowly, her gaze sharpening like a blade. Cold, calm, unshaken. No hint of in

JINA’S POVI carried him back up and placed him on a folded jacket at the family table.Alexei was back at the table. “Juliette said he was complaining about his stomach?” She had a quizzical look.“Yes, but he's much better now.” I smiled sweetly at her.She didn't have any suspicious look in her eyes, so I guess she's just as clueless as she ought to be.She nodded. “Thanks a lot Jina.” she gave me a tired smile. “Poor thing,” she said. “Must be food poisoning.”“Maybe,” I replied, “If you'll excuse me, the over there needs my attention.”“Of course.”Enrique messaged me at 9:17 PM. “Wrap-up begins soon. You know what to do.”I did.The event was beginning to wind down, people were clapping for final donations, and dessert trays were being passed around.I slipped away to the far edge of the room where I kept my purse. I reached inside brought out the second vial. This one wasn’t for a child.I poured it into a champagne glass and blended it with orange fizz. The color stayed the sa