Chapter 193 I Can Help You

The night in Sunset City had grown deep and still. The top-floor ward had no windows, so there was no sound of wind outside, only the steady hum of the central air conditioning through the vents.Isabelle lay on her side on the narrow bed, her breathing already slow and even.Avery stood at the doorway for a moment, watching her. Only when she was certain her mother was truly asleep did she pull the door gently closed and step back into the corridor.Drake was leaning against the wall beside the elevator. He straightened when he saw her."I'm not going back tonight," Avery said. "The room next door is empty, right?""Already h

Chapter 194 Things Are Spinning Out of Control

Just past ten in the morning, the doorbell rang.Avery came out of the kitchen and looked through the peephole. Evan stood at the door in a dark grey coat, empty-handed. She opened the door.Evan saw her and spoke first. "The nurse said the VIP room was empty last night." He paused. "You brought your mother home?""Yes."He nodded without pressing further. "Need any help?"He stood at the door for a few seconds, as if waiting for her to say something. Avery looked at him, smiled briefly, and stepped aside to let him in. She didn't answer his question directly, and he didn't push.

Chapter 195 The Name in the Box

The afternoon of the day after Evan's visit, Avery's phone lit up.Dominic had sent a message with only one line:【The box is open. The contents have been sent back. They'll arrive in two days. Sending photos first.】Three photos followed immediately.The first showed the front of a brown paper file, yellowed with age. The edges were worn soft, the corners rounded from years of handling. In the lower right corner, a date from seven years ago was written in faded ink—two weeks before the Clair Laboratory burned.The second photo showed the first page inside the file. The title was printed, in an old format: "Experimental

Chapter 196 Don't Hide from Me

Sunset City's morning light was thin, as if filtered through a layer of gauze before it reached the ground. The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains, spreading a pale, hazy glow the cream-colored floor. Dust motes drifted lazily in the light, suspended in the stillness.It was Avery's day off. After dropping Dorothea off at school, she turned back toward the apartment building. At the entrance of the stairwell, she spotted an insulated box sitting on the ground. The cardboard was plain, unmarked. There was no shipping label. No sender information. Only a handwritten line across the top: "For Avery." The handwriting was unfamiliar, the strokes slightly uneven, as if written in a hurry.She crouched down and used her keys to cut through the tape. Three layers.

Chapter 197: I Want to See You Today

At seven in the morning, when Avery pushed open the door, Drake was already standing at the entrance of the stairwell, holding a small paper box in his hands."The Boss asked me to bring this." He handed it over, his tone efficient, and stepped aside to clear the path.Avery opened it on the spot. Inside was a folded light grey silk scarf. She lifted it and glanced at it—the fabric was impossibly soft, with no tags at the edges, carrying the distinct coolness of a private custom order.

Chapter 198 Complete Surrender

At the end of the gangway, Dominic stood at the edge of the runway.The afternoon wind lifted the hem of his black coat, sending the fabric snapping against his legs. He stood in the heat haze rising off the tarmac, his silhouette sharp against the grey sky. No sunglasses. His unfocused dark eyes turned toward her the moment her foot touched the last step, as if he had tracked her descent through sheer will alone.Two steps remained when he raised his hand.His palm closed around her wrist with unerring precision. His fingertips found her pulse, his grip heavy enough to press her heartbeat into his skin. His thumb slid slowly down the inside of her wrist, tracing the delicate veins beneath the skin, his warmth sinking into her flesh like a brand of o