Chapter Ninety-Seven
Author: Aura Lyr
last update2025-12-09 17:50:55

Sonia sat on the edge of her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs as she stared blankly at the opposite wall. She had been trying to calm her thoughts for hours, but her mind refused to settle. The atmosphere inside the house felt strange—heavy in a way she could not explain

She rested her chin on her knees and drew in a deep breath. Every instinct inside her whispered that something was wrong, even though no one had said a word to her. The silence was not peaceful. It pressed against her chest and made it difficult to think clearly.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps in the hallway.

Sonia lifted her head instantly. Without hesitating, she rose from her bed and moved to the door. She opened it slowly and peered out.

Rico was walking toward his room.

The sight of him made her breath hitch. He looked pale and shaken, almost as if he were recovering from a fever or a shock. His eyes were empty, and his shoulders slumped forward as though they were carrying a weight far too he
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  • Chapter One Hundred and Six

    For a fraction of a second, Sonia didn’t react at all. She stood there as if her body had forgotten how to move, how to respond. Then her eyes focused properly on the phone in Damian’s hand. And she saw it. Whatever color had still been clinging to her face drained away so fast it was almost unsettling to watch. Her lips parted, but nothing came out. Her eyes widened—not in anger this time, not in defiance or irritation—but in something exposed and unguarded. It was the kind of reaction that happened before a person had time to think, before they could put their defenses back in place. “Enhhhhh…” The sound slipped out of her without permission, uneven and breathy, more reflex than response. The moment the sound left her mouth, she seemed to realize what she had done. Her jaw tightened. She swallowed hard, her throat working visibly, and she looked away, turning her face slightly as if the screen itself was too much to bear. Her fingers twitched at her sides, opening and closing o

  • Chapter One Hundred and Five

    Damian knocked on the door and waited. When there was no response, he knocked again, slower this time, his knuckles rapping against the wood with deliberate restraint, as if giving her a second chance to answer before he allowed himself to worry. He held his breath without realizing it, listening for any sound from inside. “Sonia,” he called out. His voice was even, controlled, but beneath it ran a thread of tension he couldn’t quite mask, no matter how much he tried. There was still nothing. The silence stretched on, thick and uncomfortable. Damian frowned slightly, a faint crease forming between his brows. She had come upstairs earlier and shut herself in—at least, that was what he had assumed. He stayed where he was for a few more seconds, listening intently, hoping for something small and ordinary: the shuffle of feet, the soft creak of the bed, the sound of a drawer opening. Anything that would confirm she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Nothing came. His unease

  • Chapter One Hundred and Four

    Back at the mansion, Damian stood in his father’s chambers, trying to steady his breathing. His eyes kept darting from the phone in his hand to the Patriarch and back again. His palms were damp, but he clasped his hands behind his back to hide it. He could feel the tension pooling in his chest, that familiar tightness he always felt when he was seconds away from disappointing the one man he shouldn’t. “Who took it?” the Patriarch asked again, his tone sharper, quieter, more controlled—the kind of control that meant he was two steps away from exploding. “No one,” Damian answered. His father stared at him like he had lost his mind. “What do you mean no one?” Damian shifted slightly, forcing his voice to stay steady. “The CCTV stopped recording when we left.” The Patriarch’s expression hardened immediately. His jaw ticked, the muscle twitching—Damian knew that sign too well. That was the expression he wore when he felt insulted, when he felt lied to, when he believed someone under

  • Chapter One Hundred and Three

    Ramon got into the car heading back to the house to save Melinda or rather see who was breaking in or if she was breaking out, and trying to leave like she did before. He threw himself into the driver’s seat, hands shaking so badly he nearly dropped the keys. His chest felt tight—too tight—as if every breath had to fight its way out. He tried to shove the key into the ignition, but it kept slipping between his trembling fingers. Sweat clung to his palms, making everything worse. “Come on,” he muttered under his breath, voice uneven, breath shaky. Davis followed him and slipped into the passenger seat, still slightly out of breath. “You were trying to leave without me, weren’t you?” he said, watching Ramon closely. Ramon didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at him. His hands were shaking too hard, his jaw locked tight as he fought to get the key into the ignition. It kept slipping, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. After what felt like forever, he finally managed to slide the

  • Chapter One Hundred and Two

    Meanwhile, in the mansion, minutes crawled like hours. Every creak of the floorboards, every rustle of paper, made Damian flinch. The room, once imposing and orderly, now felt impossibly small, almost suffocating, as if the walls themselves were pressing in on him. His pulse drummed relentlessly in his ears, each beat echoing in the quiet like a warning. Sweat slicked his palms despite the heat rising in his cheeks, and his hands shook slightly, betraying the panic he tried to hide. And still… he had found nothing. The glowing blood—the one thing that should never have left his control—was gone. Damian had searched every drawer, every hidden compartment, every possible corner. It was like it had disappeared into thin air. Anxiety clawed at his chest, sharp and unyielding, making it hard to think, let alone speak. Damian straightened slowly, forcing his ragged breaths into shallow, urgent gasps. He ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands as if he could physically rear

  • Chapter One Hundred and one

    Ramon stared at the glass in his hand for a long moment, letting the burn settle in his chest. He did not take another sip because he could not. His thoughts were too loud, too tight, and too tangled to allow anything else to occupy his mind. The chatter of the bar faded in and out like a broken radio signal, fragments of laughter and conversation slipping past him without ever fully connecting. For a fleeting second, he felt utterly alone, even though the room was crowded. It was as if every other person had faded into the background, leaving only his racing thoughts and the echo of his own guilt.Davis was laughing at something one of the girls said, his voice carefree, a bright contrast to the heaviness settling in Ramon’s chest. But when Davis turned and saw the expression on Ramon’s face, the smile fell instantly, replaced by a flash of concern.“Bro,” Davis said, nudging his arm lightly, “you’re thinking too hard again.”“I’m thinking the right amount,” Ramon replied, forcing ea

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