?Chapter 401:


    Jason didn’t follow. He knew some battles lived too long in the heart to be undone by reason.


    After a beat of silence, Jason turned to Jeff. “Go outside and y for a while.”


    Jeff didn’t wait to be told twice. Already fed up with the tense air and endless scolding, he scooped the cat into his arms and vanished without a word.


    Once the door clicked shut behind him, Jason faced Irene again. “Mom,” he said quietly, “I may not fight Cole for power like you want me to—but when ites to dealing with Elliana, I’m with you.”


    Irene spun around, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”


    Jason’s gaze didn’t waver. “Honestly? I can’t stand her. She’s not good enough for Cole—never was. Watching Cole get entangled with someone so beneath him? It’s maddening. And worse, she’s a stain on the Evans name. So yes, I’ll find a way to get her out of the picture.”


    Irene’s expression lit up, her earlier anger reced with a flicker of vindictive joy. She didn’t care what fueled Jason’s disdain—as long as it led to Elliana’s downfall. Elliana had humiliated her too many times and made her look small in the eyes of the very family she had fought to rise in. Only by erasing Elliana could she begin to feel whole again.


    “There’s one thing we can’t ignore,” Jason added, his tone turning firm. “She did contribute the Venacure. Without that, Barbara might not have survived. We owe her. That means we keep our hands clean. No public scenes, no reckless attacks. Understood?”


    Irene bristled. “She didn’t give that cure out of kindness! She was trying to curry favor with Ruben and Cole—securing her ce in this family.”


    Jason raised an eyebrow. “Whatever her motives, the fact remains—we benefited. And that carries weight. Whether we like it or not.”


    Irene said nothing, but the stiffness in her jaw told him she’d swallowed the bitter pill.


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    Jason didn’t linger. His mind was already pulled toward another storm—the simmering tension between Star Society and Moonveil. Without another word, he left.


    Downstairs, the sun filtered through the trees, casting dappled light across thewn. There, beneath a canopy of green, sat Elliana—alone, quietly admiring the bloom ofte-spring flowers.


    Jason approached her, his voice low but direct. “Elliana, there’s something we need to talk about.”


    Elliana woke up that morning to find the dining room shrouded in silence,pletely deserted. She quickly crafted a sandwich, filled a ss with milk, and then carried her makeshift breakfast outside to a towering oak at the vi’s perimeter.


    Although the spot appeared idyllic for a peaceful meal, Elliana had chosen it with calcted precision. The tree offered a perfect view of the main drive, revealing every person who entered or left — particrly Jason.


    Moonveil had always sought to devour Star Society whole, and Elliana harbored deep suspicions that members of Moonveil had orchestrated the recent sh, using it as a weapon for justified aggression. If her instincts proved right, Jason had pulled every string from the shadows. And the moment this crisis escted into chaos, he would step out of hiding.


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