The truth was muddy. Grandma still could not speak clearly, and too much of the past remained buried. But the graves on Rosbel Island were real. They could not be denied.
Yael turned his head slightly toward Lewis.
"And you," he said, "do you think my mother treated you badly? She has never smiled at us, not once. But for the past ten years, she has sent people to protect you, cooked for you, and cleared the way for you in secret. Why do you deserve that? You’re not her son. I am."
Lewis said nothing.
And the truth was, besides trying to kill , Amber had never truly mistreated him. Lewis had once told that during his illness, Amber took care of him. anwhile, her own son had held onto the mory of one simple ravioli al for years.
Yael licked his lips and kept talking.
"Elena, if Whitney leaves Vito, she may never find soone who treats her as well as he does. Do you think he refuses to let her go because he wants to control her? Or because he’s afraid? If she leaves, the rest of the Blackwells may target her. Don’t forget what happened to you. So what matters more? Freedom or survival?"
His voice turned sadder.
"You think Whitney is the only one who suffered. But from where I stand, Vito is the one being wronged. Without him, her fate might have been even worse than yours."
As Lewis silently wrapped his wounds, Yael looked tired and deeply sad.
"All I ever wanted," he said quietly, "was for my mother to notice . To smile at . But all her attention went to you. Do you know how much I envied you?"
"Is that why you took Elena?" Lewis asked calmly, refusing to rise to the bait.
"At that ti, Mom ordered Theo to kill Elena. He had no choice but to hand her over to . I liked her. I wanted her beside . What’s wrong with that?" Then Yael added, with a pointed look, "She doesn’t belong to you alone."
Lewis’s voice turned colder.
"Don’t be greedy."
The more ti I spent around Yael, the more I realized that despite his age, the way he thought was still childlike. Arguing with him felt like arguing with a stubborn kid.
Later that afternoon, Vito kept his promise and let Whitney go through the dical checks. Her body and my heart were fully compatible, and her condition after the surgery was recovering well. Her health was fine, and removing the chip was only a minor procedure. There was no major risk.
Relief rushed through .
"Then let’s remove it as soon as possible," I said at once.
Vito glanced at , and his expression darkened. "I’ll remove it. But I have one condition."
"What condition?"
"I want Camilla to marry in a proper ceremony before I remove the chip. If you can’t agree to that, then forget it."
I should have known.
The mont the chip was gone, Whitney might walk out of his life forever. Marriage had beco so kind of deep obsession for him. And from the way he spoke, I knew there was no room to bargain.
So I turned to Whitney.
"What do you think?"
She was quiet for a mont. Then she pressed her lips together and said softly, "Alright. I’ll do it."
I pulled her aside at once.
"If you’re not comfortable with this, we can find another way. Marriage is serious."
Whitney gave a weak smile. "Elena, there is no one else I would ever marry. This is how I want to end things with him."
Amber, on the other hand, showed no interest in any of it. She did not care about Yael’s injury. She did not care about Vito’s upcoming wedding. The only person she openly disliked was , while she kept treating Lewis with strange kindness.
Later, I saw her go to the kitchen early to prepare dinner.
I could not stop myself from asking Vito about the man who stayed around Amber like a shadow.
"Who is that?"
"He’s my mother’s bodyguard," Vito said. "I only know his code na is Hawk. Stay away from him. He’s dangerous, and he only listens to my mother."
I nodded, feeling uneasy all over again. There was sothing deeply unsettling about that man’s presence.
Then Yael, pale from blood loss, suddenly spoke up.
He wet his dry lips and looked at .
"Elena, Juilian has been to this villa before."
My whole body went still.
"What did you just say?"
Juilian and I had shared sothing deep for twenty years, the kind of bond that didn’t need words to be understood. Still, it had already been six months since we went our separate ways. Hearing his na again now felt strange, almost unreal, like soone had suddenly opened a door to a life I had already left behind.
Not long ago, he had co to Jaford because of one single call from . We had only t briefly, and even now I still couldn’t understand why he would co anywhere near Blackwell Residence. That place was heavy with danger, secrets, and the kind of old grudges that stained everyone who stepped inside.
"Where is he now?" I asked at once.
Yael hesitated. His eyes flicked toward Lewis as if he was scared to say too much in front of him. Then he finally answered, "He ca with Mr. Hale. But he didn’t co close. He just stayed far away and watched you for a while before leaving."
Lewis explained the rest in his usual calm way. "Your fake death hurt him badly. He stayed in Jaford because he probably wanted to make sure you were really alive."
I nodded faintly.
My thoughts drifted to Juilian. I could not help wondering what was going through his mind now. He was Oliver’s son. His blood tied him to too many things, too many hidden truths. No matter how far he tried to stand from everything, he was still connected.
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