?Chapter 849:


    Eva stated, “No need to rush with an answer. Think it through and tell me your decision. Keep in mind that if we choose this path, we will both gain a strong ally. Otherwise, when Arthures for me, we will go down together.”


    After Eva ended the call, restlessness consumed Cole like a fever. He craved answers from Eva but feared pulling himself deeper into whatever web she had spun around him.


    Minutes stretched as Cole weighed his options, until rity struck. His grandfather would have the truth he needed.


    Cole’s car glided to a stop in front of the Evans Mansion. He stepped onto the gravel drive and froze at the unexpected sound of cat meows.


    Animal fur had triggered his allergies since childhood. The mansion’s irond rule banned all pets. So where had this cat materialized from?


    His eyes swept the grounds until theynded on a snow-white kitten, positioned three meters away, watching him with unblinking curiosity while meowing incessantly.


    Just then, Jeff appeared out of nowhere and scooped the kitten into his protective embrace before Cole could process what he’d witnessed.


    “Your cat?” Cole’s question cut through the tension.


    Jeff’s face hardened with poorly concealed displeasure. “Yes.” The word dropped like a stone between them. He pivoted away, cradling his felinepanion.


    Cole’s jaw tightened as confusion clouded his features. Ever since his return from overseas, Jeff had treated him like a stranger—no, worse than a stranger. What transgression had hemitted to earn such hostility? The pet rule stood absolute, yet Jeff unted his defiance by letting the creature roam freely in his presence. The audacity stung.<fnc9b9> Checktest chapters at fin?novel</fnc9b9>


    Lance’s return broke the standoff.


    “Hey, Cole.” Lance’s greeting carried practiced politeness.


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    Maturity had taught Lance to mask his emotions, while Jeff wore his on his sleeve. Though grievances simmered beneath Lance’sposed surface, he maintained the facade of family harmony.


    But Cole read between the lines—Lance harbored the same mysterious displeasure toward him.


    Months of enduring their cold shoulders had worn Cole’s patience thin. “Lance, I need the truth. What did I do? Why do you and Jeff treat me like I’vemitted some unforgivable sin?”


    Lance’sposure faltered for a heartbeat. Both he and Jeff understood the cruel irony—Cole bore no responsibility for most of what had transpired. Elliana’s death and Cole’s memory loss of her had wiped the te clean. Logic demanded they move forward and leave the past buried.


    Yet, neither Lance nor Jeff could release their grip on Elliana’s ghost. Their admiration for her had transformed into distaste toward Cole, irrational though it seemed.


    “You’re reading too much into things,” Lance said, his voice carrying a forced lightness. “Jeff and I recently lost someone precious to us. Grief has made us poorpany, nothing more.”


    Cole’s prating gaze searched Lance’s face, hunting for cracks in the carefully constructed lie. “Someone precious? Who?”


    “A friend Jeff and I cherished. Someone who meant nothing to you.”


    Ruben’s decree echoed in Lance’s mind—Elliana’s name must never pass their lips, especially not within Cole’s hearing. Cole had forgotten Ellianapletely. Her death had severed all connections.


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