?Chapter 977:


    Before she knew it, Ste’s feet were already moving. The urgency in her chest overpowered the guilt.


    Her heart raced as she walked toward his bedroom. She knew it wasn’t right—snooping around in someone’s things, especially William’s.


    But not knowing was killing her, and she couldn’t fight it anymore. She needed answers.


    She pushed open the bedroom door. The room was immacte. Clean and simple, everything in its ce.


    She took a deep breath and opened the nightstand drawer first.


    Just the basics—chargers, pens, papers. Nothing that made her heart race. Okay, good. Maybe she was overthinking it.


    Her heartbeat was louder as she walked into the closet, hands slightly shaking.


    His clothes hung in perfect order, dark suits and shirts, all tailored, all formal. No surprises there. Just him.


    She knelt down, pulling open the bottom drawer. There, tucked neatly inside, were several dark velvet boxes.


    That must be where he kept his essories.


    He wasn’t the kind of man to wear shy things. A watch, maybe—but never a ring. She’d never seen him wear one.


    She reached for the smallest box, fingers trembling. The second she opened it, everything stopped.


    There it was. A ring—silver, cold, and unmistakable.


    A detailed snake, coiled tightly around a sword, its eyes made of tiny dark blue stones, cold and unfeeling. The craftsmanship was so precise, it almost felt alive.


    Ste froze. It was the same ring she’d seen on Drake’s hand. The exact same—only the gemstones in the snake’s eyes were a little different in color.


    Her blood ran cold.


    g α? ησ ν?? ?s takes you away


    The room seemed to spin around her, and she stumbled backward, crashing into the wardrobe door with a dull thud.


    The ring was still clenched tightly in her hand, the metal biting into her palm, but it felt like nothingpared to the pain surging through her chest.


    Nina had been telling the truth.


    William was part of Erebus.


    The ring wasn’t just a piece of jewelry. It was a symbol. Proof that he was one of them. A core member.


    Everything she thought she knew about him shattered in that instant.


    Why? Why hadn’t he told her?


    Had everything between them been a lie? A set-up, just like Marc and Amon had said? Had William gotten close to her just to use her for something?


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