?Chapter 592:


    As Hugh made his mortified exit, Heather swayed withughter, absolutely delighted. Kieran and Damian exchanged matching looks of exhaustion before peeling off in opposite directions.


    Kieran returned to his patrol route, and Damian resumed his post at the gate like nothing had happened. Clifton hadn’t seenst night’s lipstick disaster firsthand, but he’d gathered enough from the chaos to sketch out the general shape of Heather and Hugh’s bizarre dynamic. Not that he had any interest in untangling that mess.


    Clifton had more important things to do—like scrubbing Elliana’s candy room. Once the house quieted down, he grabbed a rag and made his way upstairs to tackle the sugar-scented sanctuary.


    Heather, still clutching her haul of sweets as if she’d won a prize at the fair, skipped cheerfully back to her room.


    Elliana, meanwhile, copsed face-first onto her bed and didn’t move again until four in the afternoon. After demolishing ate lunch, she locked herself in herb, disappearing into her work until ten the next morning.


    She had no idea when Lance or Jeff had returned, nor what either of them had been up to all night. By the time she drifted downstairs, the house had resumed its usual rhythm: Lance was already off to work, Jeff off to school. Clifton was deep in his cleaning groove, Kieran patrolled the grounds with clockwork precision, and Damian stood firm at the gate like a statue in sunsses. The candy crates had all been sorted and stacked neatly in her designated candy room.


    But the biggest change of all? Heather—normally glued to her side—was nowhere to be found.


    Heather was always the first to wee Elliana into the living room, rushing over with a bright smile, eager to ask if she was hungry and shower her with care. So when Elliana walked in today and didn’t see Heather anywhere, it felt strange.


    Just as Elliana was puzzling over Heather’s absence, Clifton and Kieran stepped forward, wearing identical smiles.


    “Where’s Heather?” Elliana asked.


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    Kieran pointed at the door. “Heather’s gone a bit… silly.”


    Elliana frowned. “Silly? What do you mean by that? Did she fall? Did she hit her head?”


    Kieran let out augh. “She had too much candy. Now she’s… well, acting strange. You’ll have to see it to believe it.”


    Elliana nced at Clifton, and her eyes widened. “Good grief, Clifton! You look like a ghost!”


    He looked awful. His skin was pale, dark circles were under his eyes, and his lips were cracked and peeling. His hair was dusty and tangled. He swayed a little, clearly drained fromck of sleep.


    Before Clifton could speak, Elliana wrinkled her nose. “No sleep, no shower… What were you doing all night?”


    “Doing?” Clifton sighed heavily. “I’m tasked with cleaning this ce three times a day. I barely have a second to breathe.” He ran a hand through his messy hair. “I’ve had only thirty minutes of sleep since yesterday. I managed to eat half a slice of bread while scrubbing a toilet. That’s it. I’ve been going non-stop!”


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