Chapter 1787:


    “You want to go after the Wades,” Alban said, his guard still firmly in ce. “Why should I believe any of this?”


    Part of him still hadn’t let go of the suspicion that it had been the Jones family behind the attempt on his life years ago.


    “Because you have poison in your blood,” Christina said, holding his gaze without flinching. “And that particrpound belongs to the Wades.”


    Alban’s brow tightened as his mind caught up with the implication. How did she know that? How could she be this certain?


    ???o????е?? yo?? ??on’?? ?????? ???????? оn ??а??????????????.с????


    The only answer that held up was that she had already investigated the Wades thoroughly — and found something concrete.


    “Was someone in your family poisoned as well?” he asked. His first thought was Bain, though Bain’s energy and sharp temper didn’t quite fit the picture.


    “Yes,” Christina said.


    A brief pause. Then: “So. Are we doing this?”


    “Fine,” Alban said. “But I want something in return.”


    She could have refused outright. Instead, she said evenly, “What is it?”


    “Help me with Gillian.” He said it inly, without pretense. He was out of ideas — he couldn’t even get her to ept a message from him. “I’m asking you to help me get her to let me in.”


    “No,” Christina said, without hesitation. “That’s not something I’ll involve myself in. If you want Gillian, you earn her. That’s between you and her, and it has nothing to do with our arrangement.”


    She had no interest in manipting anyone’s personal life, least of all in matters of the heart. She didn’t know Alban well enough to stake Gillian’s happiness on his intentions, and making that kind of introduction and having it go wrong was not something she was willing to carry.


    “To be direct with you,” she continued, “you have nothing to bargain with here. I’m the only person who can remove that toxin from your system. Even if they stopped dosing you today, you would still die without treatment. That’s simply the reality.”


    She wasn’t saying it to be cruel. She was being precise. He had no leverage, and she wanted him to understand the terms clearly before they went any further.


    She was working with him because having the Martels as allies — rather than a constant threat at her back — would make everything faster and cleaner. Without him, she could still do what needed to be done. It would simply take longer and carry more risk. With the Martel family neutralized as an adversary, the Jones family could focus entirely on the Wades without watching both directions at once.


    Her real objective was to go home. But she couldn’t leave while the Wades remained a danger to the people she loved.


    Alban was quiet for a moment, the weight of it settling over him. “I understand,” he said finally, looking genuinely defeated. “But could you at least — as a small favor — ask her to unblock me? Or ept a request?”


    Christina felt theugh rise before she could fully stop it. She contained it, keeping her expression measured.


    “That’s still not my ce,” she said. “What I can offer is this: I won’t turn you away when youe to visit. What happens from that point forward is entirely up to you.”


    She had no intention of making it easy for him. This was, in part, a test — she wanted to see how far his feelings for Gillian actually ran, and what he was genuinely willing to sacrifice for Gillian and their daughter. If she had truly wanted to keep him out, she would never have allowed his grandfather through the door in the first ce.


    When Alban processed what she’d said, the exhaustion on his face gave way to something that looked very much like hope.


    .


    .


    .