2026-06-08 23:20:11
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Chapter 566
That night, Julia couldn't sleep.She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, while Philip breathed softly beside her. The moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting pale silver shapes on the walls. The house was quiet. Too quiet. No creaking floorboards, no humming appliances, no distant traffic from the road. Just silence, pressing against her ears like water.She thought about what Steven had told her.You were always connected to the O'Connor family, even before we ever had a thing.Our meeting wasn't an accident. It was destiny.Destiny. The word felt heavy, ancient, like something from a storybook. She had never believed in destiny. She believed in hard work, in timing, in luck. But the photograph haunted her. Her own face, her own eyes—golden instead of blue. The handwriting on the back: She was always there.And Steven's confession: I fell in love with you because I recognized you.Recognized her from where? From drawings his dead mother had made? From dreams he couldn't e
Chapter 565
Chance left the clinic with a prescription for sleep aids and a referral to a neurologist. The key still burned in his pocket. The sun was lower now, the shadows longer.His phone buzzed.Chloe: I'm done, Chance. Don't contact me again.He stared at the message. A part of him wanted to apologize, to explain, to make her understand. But another part—a deeper part—remembered Elara's warning.The Obsidian will try to make you forget again. It will send distractions—people who seem familiar, memories that feel real.Chloe had called him out of nowhere after weeks of silence. She had insisted on a joint date with Gary and Courtney. She had sent him to an address that led to an empty lot—an empty lot where he had met a woman who claimed to be a guardian.Maybe Chloe was being paranoid. Maybe she wasn't.Either way, Chance couldn't afford to be distracted.***Julia stood at the kitchen window, watching Chance's car disappear down the long driveway. The morning sunlight caught the dust motes
Chapter 564
Chance's phone buzzed in his pocket as he walked out of the kitchen. He ignored it at first—probably Steven with another question about the Henderson merger, or Susan checking in after his strange behavior. But it buzzed again. And again.He pulled it out.Chloe: Seriously? You stood us up?Chloe: I waited for an hour. Gary and Courtney are pissed. I'm pissed.Chloe: You said you'd be there. You promised.Chloe: ???Chance stared at the screen, his thumb hovering over the keyboard. His mind churned.He had been there. He had driven to The Grey Dove, walked through the door, spoken to Elara, received the key. He had been there.Hadn't he?He looked at his other hand. The key was still there, warm against his palm, its obsidian eye glinting in the morning light. Solid. Real.But so were Chloe's texts.He called her. She didn't answer. He called again. Voicemail. A third time. Nothing.Chloe: Stop calling me. I don't want to talk to you right now.Chance typed: I was there. I don't under
Chapter 563
Elara's golden eyes held his, and for a moment, Chance saw something beneath the ancient calm—a grief so deep it had carved canyons into her soul."Because I loved him," she said simply. "And love doesn't end. Not even after centuries. Not even after death. Not even after everything the Obsidian has done to him."Chance thought of Julia. Of his father. Of the family he would burn the world to protect. He understood."What do you need from me?" he asked.Elara reached into the folds of her gown and pulled out a key.It was iron—ancient, rusted, pitted with age. The head was shaped like a bird in flight, its wings spread, its eye a tiny chip of obsidian that seemed to gleam in the candlelight. Chance reached for it, and the key burned against his palm—not with heat, but with something older. Memory. Purpose. Hunger."This key," Elara said, "opens the hall of portraits. Not the copy in your estate. The real one. The one hidden between worlds."Chance turned the key over in his hand. It w
Chapter 562
The interior of The Grey Dove was nothing like its exterior.Chance had expected a cramped restaurant—sticky floors, mismatched tables, the smell of old grease and cheaper wine. Instead, he stepped into a vast hall, its ceiling lost in shadow, its walls lined with candles that flickered but never melted. The air was cold and still, heavy with the scent of old stone and older secrets.The tables were empty. No Chloe. No Gary. No Courtney. Just white linen cloths and silver cutlery that gleamed in the candlelight, place settings for ghosts.Chance turned, reaching for the door behind him. It was gone. In its place was more wall, more stone, more shadow."You're trapped," the woman said. "But not in the way you think."He faced her. She stood in the center of the hall, her hands clasped before her, her golden eyes unblinking. She was beautiful—not in the way of fashion magazines, but in the way of ancient things. Timeless. Unforgettable."Who are you?" Chance demanded."My name is Elara
Chapter 561
Chance sat in his car in the parking lot of O'Connor Enterprises, his phone still in his hand, Chloe's words echoing in his ears. Tonight. Seven o'clock. Don't be late. He stared at the screen, willing himself to remember. The charity gala. The conversation with Chloe. The suggestion of a joint date with Gary and Courtney.Nothing.He scrolled through his call log. Chloe had called him four times in the past three days. He hadn't answered any of them—not because he was ignoring her, but because he genuinely hadn't seen the notifications. Or had he? The fever had made everything hazy. The days blurred together, a fog of sweat and nightmares and half-remembered dreams.He called her back.She answered on the first ring. "Chance! I was starting to think you'd changed your mind.""No," he said. "I just... I need to ask you something.""Okay." Her voice was cautious now."What's this about? The joint date. I don't remember—"Chloe cut him off. "You were the one who suggested it, remember?
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