The mont I saw Camilla smile like that, sothing inside tightened.
I grabbed Lewis’s arm without thinking.
"Lewis... I have a bad feeling. Do you think Camilla is planning sothing again?"
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest, calm and controlled. That was his way never reacting too fast, always thinking three steps ahead.
"Logically," he said evenly, "after everything the Morrigans have been through, she shouldn’t move now. But Camilla doesn’t always follow logic."
He glanced at . "Do you want to follow their car?"
"I’m worried she might try to wipe them all out," I admitted.
Camilla was not soone you could asure with common sense. She moved like soone who had already prepared for every outco.
Lewis didn’t hesitate.
"Theo," he said into the intercom, his voice carrying that quiet Alpha command that made others straighten without realizing it. "Follow the Morrigans. And send extra n to guard Grandma’s floor."
"Yes, sir."
We moved.
Our car stayed several lengths behind the SUV ahead.
Even though the Morrigans had been cold to in my past life, I didn’t want them dead.
Death is too easy.
I want them to know the truth.
To see who Camilla really is.
To regret every choice.
Nolan died without understanding anything. His end was quick. Almost rciful.
But the Morrigans still haven’t seen the real face of the daughter they protected.
When her mask falls, she won’t look human at all.
"Lewis," I said slowly, thinking it through. "The most dangerous place is often the safest. My return ruined Camilla’s plans. She’ll change her strategy."
He nodded slightly, listening.
"Now Nolan is dead," I continued. "If the entire Morrigans family dies... who benefits?"
"She does," Lewis replied calmly. "She and Yenik never bonded. She would inherit everything alone."
"Exactly," I said, my chest tightening. "The Morrigans’ shares. Their properties. Grandma’s assets. All of it."
I inhaled slowly.
"Killing them one by one would be slow. But one clean sweep? Risky... but the reward is massive."
Lewis’s jaw tightened slightly.
"If the Morrigans die," I continued, "she becos the poor orphan. The grieving daughter. She gains the Hudson family’s sympathy. With that money and her unborn child she strengthens her position."
I swallowed.
"The Hales would support her too. For the sake of that child. Step by step, she infiltrates both families."
Lewis finished my thought quietly.
"The Morrigans are no longer useful to her. They can die."
The idea made my heart pound harder.
She wasn’t just cruel.
She was calculating.
"If we’re right," I whispered, "then soone has tampered with that car. Nolan’s death was just the beginning."
Suddenly sothing clicked in my mind.
"The road back to the Morrigan residence," I said urgently. "That stretch is isolated. If sothing was done to the car... that’s where it would show. We need to stop them."
"Don’t panic," Lewis said calmly.
He pulled out his phone and made a call. His tone shifted direct, authoritative. From what I could tell, he was speaking to Josh’s business partner, soone with enough influence to alert them without raising suspicion.
Up ahead, the SUV turned at the next intersection.
For a mont, I let out a breath.
Then I saw it.
The brake lights flickered strangely.
"Oh no," I breathed. "The brakes "
The SUV suddenly surged forward.
From across the road, we watched it pick up speed unnaturally.
My heart slamd against my ribs.
Inside that car were people who had no idea their lives were hanging by a thread.
Thankfully, it was a cold night. Few pedestrians. Few vehicles.
The driver must have realized what was happening. The SUV swerved sharply.
It smashed into the guardrail and plowed into the flowerbed.
The scraping sound of tal against rock cut through the night.
Then
Stillness.
The car stopped.
My fingers dug into Lewis’s sleeve without realizing it.
One by one, the Morrigans stumbled out of the SUV. Shaken. Pale. But alive.
No ambulance was needed.
They had survived.
But this wasn’t luck.
This was a warning.
Camilla had moved.
"Let’s go ho," Lewis said quietly.
I pulled my eyes away from the wreck without emotion.
If the Morrigans hadn’t changed their route at the last second, they would have taken the old road.
The sa stretch where Nolan died.
That road had no guardrails. No lights. Just a sharp drop and darkness.
Camilla had chosen the sa place. The sa thod.
Not just to kill.
But to break their minds.
That was her cruelty. She didn’t just want bodies. She wanted fear. mory. Trauma.
Lewis’s hand tightened around mine. His palm was damp.
He was afraid.
Not for the Morrigans.
For .
I turned my hand and held his back.
"It’s okay," I said softly. "What goes around cos around. The worst has already happened to . From now on... it’s my turn to live."
He didn’t argue.
He just pulled into his arms.
His embrace was firm, almost desperate. I rested my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat strong, steady, powerful.
That sound always cald the restless instinct inside .
But my mind drifted back.
That night.
If I had called Lewis instead of Julian... would everything have changed?
His deep voice broke into my thoughts.
"What are you thinking?"
I hesitated.
"I was thinking... if my last call had been to you... even if you couldn’t save in ti, you would have uncovered the truth sooner. I wouldn’t have been torn apart like that. I wouldn’t have disappeared without a trace."
His body stiffened.
"If you had chosen in your last life," he said quietly, "do you think I would have let you walk into danger alone?"
His eyes darkened, not with anger but with sothing deeper.
"Elena, whether it’s this life or the last, I would protect you."
He was right.
A strange relief washed over .
Without that pain... would I have this peace now?
Back then, he saved more than once. I just never understood it. He cared in silence. Hid everything behind distance and restraint.
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