Back inside the pocket farm, Eliza marched straight to the iron cage and dragged Sophie out."


    She''d been lying low, trying to recover some strength and wait for a chance to escape. What she hadn''t expected was for Eliza to return so soon-like a lioness unleashed, radiating fury,


    Tm going to kill you, Eliza growled, then pped her hard across the face. "This is yourst chance. Tell me where is my mother''s body?"


    Sophie coughed, struggling against her grip, then grinned through the pain. "Dream on. You can kill me right now and I still


    wouldn''t tell you"


    Caroline''s body was herst card, her only bargaining chip for survival. There was no way she''d hand that over easily. No she was going to make Eliza beg for


    it.


    Fine, Eliza said coldly. "Then let''s pick up where we left offst night."


    She hauled Sophie up to the second floor and forced her down on the preparation table, tying her tightly before shoving a pre-prepared dose of poison straight into her mouth.


    Sophie coughed again, eyes wide with rm. "What did you just make me take?!"


    Last night''s torment had already left its mark. And now, as the drug slid down her throat, a chilling tremor passed through her entire body. Her instincts screamed at her-this wasn''t just a sedative.


    You think if you keep your mouth shut long enough, I''ll run out of options? Eliza stared down at her, cold as a butcher above a b of meat. "Don''t worry. By the end of today, you will talk."


    It didn''t take long. Sophie''s body began to tremble. Her vision blurred. She felt her thoughts slipping away into the dark. But her eyes remained open. Her pupils unfocused. Shey still-ck, obedient.


    Tell me your name," Eliza ordered.


    "Sophie."


    "Who are your parents?"


    "Gabriel... and Zoie Case"


    So that''s her mother. Eliza had suspected for a while that Sophie was Gabriel''s illegitimate daughter, but Zoie''s name was


    new


    The Case family. I''ve never heard of them in Hasen City. Either Zoie hid her identity very well-or she wasn''t from here at


    Putting that aside for now, Eliza leaned forward, voice sharp. "When did you steal my mother''s body? And where is it now?" "Over twenty days ago... Father had me whipped-fiftyshes. I was furious. So I summoned Nonus Ophidian. I told him to dig up your mother''s body so I could flog the corpse to vent my rage"


    Another p, harder than thest. Eliza''s hand trembled with fury. "You vile, disgusting creature. You don''t even deserve to


    Couldn''t harm the living, so she desecrated the dead? Even animals had more de


    decency.


    Eliza grabbed Sophie''s hair and struck her again and again, her voice rising with each blow. "Where is she? Where''s my


    11:45 PI, 18 Apr


    mother! Say it. Tell me where my mother''s body is!"


    "1. I didn''t make it is time. I was captured. The body. it''s still with Nonus."


    Eliza froze. That meant Sophie had sent him just one day before she''d been kidnapped. If she hadn''t ordered Tina to snatch her when she did, Caroline''s body might''ve already been deliled.


    Eliza''s chest tightened. "Who is Nomus


    1. I don''t know... He''s always been there. Since I was born... he and the others...


    He and the others! Eliza''s eyes narrowed.


    Nonus Ophidian... Nonus... Is he part of a group? Could it be that Sophie wasn''t acting alone?


    Or maybe... she wasn''t the only one Eliza had already encountered.


    Because Nonus was here now.


    No more dys. Once she recovered Caroline''s body, Sophie had to die. No more risks.


    "Where is he? How do you contact him?" Eliza asked tightly.


    "I don''t... know where he is. But when I need them... they just appear..."


    Sophie''s body began to twitch. Her limbs shook


    Eliza knew-the drug was wearing off.


    She gazed down at Sophie with detached chill. "So theye when you need them, do they?...That makes things easier." With a n now forming in her mind, she dragged Sophie bark to the cage and locked her up again.


    Then she sent a message to Gilbert.


    Come to Saint Grace Nunnery. Urgent. By dusk the next day, Gilbert arrived at her courtyard, whistling as he strolled in. "What''s the rush? Couldn''t wait to see me? he teased, eyes gleaming with his usual grin. "Don''t tell


    me


    you missed me."


    Eliza gave him a t stare.


    He scooted up beside her, grinning like a cat who smelled cream. "C''mon, tell me-did you find the form?"


    Eliza didn''t respond right away. "I found part of it, she said atst. "Got it off Sophie."


    Gilbert sat bolt upright. His eyes lit up. "You''re serious? Did you read it? Is it legit? Can it work?"


    He fired off questions like bullets-clearly he''d been desperate for good news.


    Eliza didn''t reveal everything. Instead, she gave him a carefully measured answer. I''m still analyzing it. But most of the ingredients do match the characteristics of your toxin"


    That was enough to give Gilbert hope-far more than anything he''d gotten from Sophie.


    "Fantastic. Then I''ll leave my life in your hands. He grinned again. "And if you do save me, I guess I''ll just have to...


    marry


    you in return?"


    Eliza shot him a withering look.


    11:45 Fri, 18 Apr


    Don''t tter yourself. Just do what I asked you to do. And actually-I didn''t


    summon you here about the antidote


    Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Ol'' Then what is it?"


    Twant to ask you about someone, Eliza said. "You worked with Sophie for a long time. Have you ever heard the name Nomu Or... Nonus and others?"


    8b%


    The moment that name left her lips, Gilbert''s expression changed. His yful grin disappeared. His eyes narrowed, and a dangerous glimt shed across his face.