?Chapter 823:


    Understanding dawned in Alice’s eyes. Without another word, she joined in the hurried packing. We also gathered Makenna’s most crucial possessions.


    Bags in hand, we fled toward my grandma’s house.


    My trembling fist struck the weathered door, my lungs burning from our desperate flight.


    Grandma’s weathered face appeared in the doorway, her expression shifting from wee to worry as she took in our panic-stricken appearances.


    “What’s happened?” The words barely left her lips before I cut in.


    “Grandma,” I managed between gasps, “everything’s fallen apart. Makenna’s secret is out—the king wants her in chains. We have to vanish. Now.”


    Understanding shed across Grandma’s face like lightning. In one fluid motion, she turned and scooped up Winfred, who, as if sensing the gravity of our situation, curled silently against her chest.


    With Grandma as our guide, we slipped through the pce grounds like shadows. Guards seemed to lurk around every corner tonight, but Grandma, with decades of pce life etched into her memory, led us through a maze of forgotten passages until we reached a forgotten corner of the grounds.


    Nature had reimed this spot, wild and untamed. Grandma dropped to her knees, pushing aside a curtain of thick weeds to reveal a crude tunnel—justrge enough for a person to squeeze through.


    “My insurance policy,” she whispered, a hint of pride breaking through her tension. “Dug it years ago, praying I’d never need it. Funny how life works.”


    One by one, we crawled through the earth-scented passage. Beyond the pce walls, we hurried down an abandoned path, using our sleeves as makeshift veils. Too many eyes had seen us with Makenna—we couldn’t risk recognition now.


    Only when the pce’s looming silhouette had faded into the distance did we dare to slow our pace.


    The night air hung heavy with silence, broken only by our ragged breathing.


    “Where can we possibly go?” Grandma’s voice trembled with uncertainty.


    Alice’s face suddenly brightened with inspiration. “The bar—my mother’s gift before I joined pce life. It’s perfect. It’s a ce teeming with all kinds of people. We’ll be ghosts among the living there.”


    Without another word, we set our course for Alice’s bar, our footsteps carrying us toward what we hoped would be sanctuary.


    Bryan’s POV:


    After Evelyn’s departure, the defiant sex ve continued to hurl insults, blissfully unaware of the gravity of her predicament.


    With a simple wave of my hand, the guards understood my unspokenmand. A few stayed behind, ready to extract the truth and deliver justice to the sex ve who dared harm Makenna.


    As we ascended from the suffocating depths of the dungeon, yton cut through the silence, his words sharp and loaded with discontent. “Why did you let Evelyn off so easily? You didn’t even interrogate her properly!”


    He crossed his arms, his frown deepening with suspicion. “The more I think about it, the more something feels off about her.”


    Already at the edge of my patience, I shot him a stern look. “Evelyn is still Anthea’s sister, yton. And Anthea’s mother is on her deathbed, barely hanging on. I can’t turn a blind eye to that.”


    I sighed, a pang of guilt pressing on my chest. I added, “We owe Anthea a debt, and I intend to repay it. I don’t expect you to agree, but this isn’t up for debate.”


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