Chapter 74 No Mercy
The wrong had been done, and the man was gone. No amount of confession, no matter how raw heartfelt, could ever undo it.
Derek had been far too shrewd not to grasp that truth.
Yet Chris had been his younger brother, the one constant in his life, and that made the weight of it different.
Whether it came from the strain of his sobbing or the frailty left by his illness, it left one mark: Chris’s <i>face </i>was pale as unmarked paper.
His eyes searched Tracy’s with desperate hope. “Did my brother… leave me any words?”
Tracy’s gaze flickered, but she gave no answer.
The air between them stretched heavy until she finally spoke. “Aside from that final question, he asked me to tell you that, though he was angry and hurt, he never once med you.”
Tears streamed down Chris’s face. “Then … does that mean he forgave me?”
Tracy pressed her lips together, hesitating before she replied. “He left you something. It’s hidden in the lining of the cover of that storybook you loved most as a child.”
Chris looked at her, bewildered. “What is it?”
She didn’t know. But she repeated his brother’s words.
“He said it’s the veryt hing that can keep you free from Felicia’s control for the rest of your life.”
Even at the end, Derek had been thinking of Chris’s future. That had to mean he had forgiven him.
Pain like sharp needles gripped Chris’s chest again, and his sobs broke loose.
But to Tracy, they were nothing more than a performance.
His grief and regret might be real, yet so were his selfishness and cruelty.
He was unworthy of Derek’s pardon or his sacrifices.
Still, Derek’sst wish had been for her to deliver those words, and she had to keep it.
She had been the only one left aliThe sole survivor of her cohort.
Their final wishes had be hers to carry.
When her duty was done, Tracy opened the car’s door and stepped out.
She had gone only a few steps before Chris followed, calling her name.
He hesitated for a long time before speaking. “Can you … keep this a secret for <b>me</b><b>?</b>”
<b>1/3 </b>
Chapter 74 No Mercy
The past could not be undone. Regret changed nothing. What mattered now was protecting what remained.
He had fought to reach this point, and he believed Derek would not have wanted to see him lose it all
Tracy caught his intent instantly, and the mockery in her eyes surfaced without restraint. Do you know what went through my mind before I stepped out of the car, Chris?”
Chris stared at her nkly,
Herugh was low and humorless. “I was wondering if, after finding out what the Angelic Etiquette Academy did to your brother, you might try to seek justice for him.”
Even if he could never breach the Academy’s gates, he could have tried.
Yet his first thought had been to shield himself, without even the shadow of an idea to avenge Derek..
Chris lowered his eyes, unable to meet the cutting scorn in hers<b>. </b>
She no longer wished to waste words on him. She turned away–only to see Ronald standing <b>a </b>short distance off, curiosity in his gaze.
She paused in surprise. “Why are you here?”
He was still healing from his wounds. He should have been at his ce<b>, </b>recuperating.
Ronald’s smile was bright as he approached. “I’ve been shut in too long. I wanted to get some fresh air and walk you home after work.”
His eyes shifted past her to the man and the car behind. “I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”
Tracy shook her head, offering no introduction, and started walking with Ronald.
Ronald followed without a word.
If she did not speak of something, he would not ask.
But after a few steps, he turned suddenly and fixed Chris with a gaze that was dark, sharp, and edged with <b>a </b>clear warning.
Chris caught it without question.
The move hade so abruptly that he couldn’t hide his reaction.
After a moment of stunned stillness, he forced his face back under control, got in the car, and drove <b>away</b>.
Yet his reddened eyes stayed on the rearview mirror, locked on Tracy and Ronald walking side by side.
Ronald watched the car fade into the distance. For an instant, his sunny face was clouded with a darkness that did not match his youth.
Then it <b>was </b>gone, so quickly that even Tracy, walking beside him, never noticed.
Chris never appeared in front of her again after that day, though he sent <b>her </b>a <b>message</b>.
<b>9/3 </b>
Chapter 74 No Mercy
It warned her to be wary of Winona and revealed the n he had once made with <i>bed </i>the end he rem cautioned her abom Erin.
“I swear, your sister’s a witch. She cast a spell on me. The only reason I went after you way became the pushed me into it. Be careful.”
Tracy didn’t reply.
She knew if Chris hadn’t already wanted to harm her, no one’s persuasion could have made him as
Chris stayed away, but Liam was the first to notice something <b>was </b>off.
He had known from the start what Chris intended to do and had allowed it while keeping watch.
He believed Tracy needed a lesson, but as one of the Jackmans, she could not be pushed too <i>far</i>.
It wasn’t untilter that he learned Chris had been hospitalized with a heart attack on Albert’s birthday, and that Erin had mentioned seeing Tracy leave the house in a gown that very day.