---- "Pll cover my friends tab." Salvatore tossed a few coins at the girl, who immediately calmed down and left with her tray to fetch more drinks, "Mind if I join you?" With a confident air, Salvatore cornered his prey.


    Of course, the moment the man saw a new fool willing to spend money, he eagerly agreed.


    The vampire sat down, certain that he would squeeze everyst bit of information from this fool.


    What he didnt know was that his prey was none other than Laurencethe caretaker and tormentor of Katherine at the Sanatorium.


    ad By sheer coincidence, in a discreet corner of the same tavern, sat Mr.


    Rosendothe private investigator Elliot had hired to look into Katherines past.


    The man drank in frustration.


    This was the most important job he had ever taken, yet despite finding very intriguing things, everything led to a dead end.


    The Duchess did have a twin sisterhe had confirmed it in her hometown.


    It took effort and a lot of money.


    Almost no one knew about the other sister.


    ---- He had traced her to a sanatorium.


    It seemed she had beenmitted for mental health issues, but that was where the trail ended.


    "Damn it," Rosendo muttered, downing his drink.


    That institution had been burned to the ground by some patients who had lost control.


    The ce waster investigated rumors of patient abuse surfaced.


    Now abandoned, with almost no staff left, the only person he had found was a secretary.


    For a few coins, she had given him a record and shared limited details about the patient he was interested in Katherine.


    With all the chaos that had urred, no one even knew if she had died in the fire.


    The director had been stabbed to death by a patient.


    That ce had been a nightmare.


    Rosendo was about to leavehe had only stopped by to visit his brother in this duchy before heading back to report to the Duke of Everhart.


    But then, something caught his attention.


    Across the tavern, a man was making a scene.


    Seemed like he was demanding more beer without payingnormal in this ce.


    But Rosendos eyes widened as he recognized him.


    He quickly lowered his head, rummaging through his leather bag, where he kept the documents from the Sanatorium.


    ---- That face...


    it looked familiar...