Chapter 213 Nearly Fooled


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    Finished


    “You’re really going to use me based on that?” Jean’s eyes were like sharpened des, the edge in her gaze cold enough to slice through steel. “Is this the level of a Secret Servicemander?”


    “Jean!” Queenie snapped, her jaw clenched so tightly it distorted the line of her face.


    This girl-


    She was even sharper than expected. Unflinching, defiant,pletely unlike the usual suspects Queenie had interrogated.


    The realization made Queenie’s expression settle into something darker, calmer.


    Then, she let out a low chuckle. “Still pretending, huh?”


    “No matter,” she said with a glint in her eyes, cold and mocking. “In a moment… you’ll tell the truth.”


    She pulled out the incense burner she’d prepared in advance and carefully ced it on the wooden table between them.


    Her movements were delicate, precise.


    A long, slender stick of incense was already set in the center of the burner.


    With a swift flick, Queenie lit it.


    The moment the tip began to glow, pale gray smoke curled upward, its scent instantly filling the air–an odd mix of cool sandalwood tainted by something chemical, like a faint trace of paint thinner.


    Jean wrinkled her nose and instinctively leaned back.


    But then something even stranger happened-


    Behind Queenie, the massive wall painting–the haunting ink–drawn eye–shifted.


    Barely. Almost imperceptibly.


    But it moved.


    Jean froze, eyes flying wide.


    Her attention locked on that eye. In the center of the ck, bottomless pupil, a swirling vortex of shadow seemed to spin.


    It wasn’t ink anymore. It was alive.


    A cold, endless energy began dragging her in.


    Her body stiffened. Her face emptied of emotion. Her limbs wouldn’t move.


    Jean sat frozen, unmoving. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, yet somehow still bound by something unseen.


    13:32 Tue, 6 May <ol><li>MM. </li></ol>


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    Chapter 213 Nearly Fooled


    Seeing this, Queenie knew-


    It had begun.


    Now was the perfect time.


    “Jean.” Queenie’s voice rang out, clear andmanding.


    Finished


    Jean blinked slowly. Then she turned her head toward Queenie with docile eyes, the defiant edge from earlierpletely gone.


    Gone was the spiky, sharp–tongued girl-


    Now she looked empty. Quiet. Submissive.


    Queenie’s lips curled in satisfaction.


    “Tell me,” she said smoothly, “are you a member of the Abyssal Choir?”


    Jean’s lips parted faintly.


    <i>Abyssal </i>Choir…


    The words echoed in her mind. Her unfocused eyes remained locked on Queenie.


    “I…” Her voice stuttered, thin and broken. “I… I am…”


    At that moment, Queenie’s heart surged with triumph.


    <i>Got </i><i>you</i><i>. </i>


    So she <i>had </i>been lying. About everything.


    Jean had nearly fooled her–fooled all of Secret Service.


    But her instincts had been right. And if she hadn’t taken this interrogation a step further, they never would’ve known the truth.


    And then-


    Jean suddenly pressed her lips together.


    Silence.


    The moment broke.


    Queenie frowned, confused. “Jean? Why’d you stop?”


    Jean’sshes fluttered. Her body trembled faintly.


    What Queenie couldn’t see–were the clenched fists resting at Jean’s sides.


    Her hands, curled so tight the knuckles turned white. Veins bulging. Nails digging into her palms.


    ??


    13:32 Tue, 6 May


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    Chapter 213 Nearly Fooled


    Then Jean spoke.


    “I… I am… just a regr person.”


    Her voice was t. Her eyes empty.


    But her words were <i>not </i>what Queenie had wanted to hear.


    Not even close.


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