<h4>Chapter 322: Chapter 322 Shadows in the Night</h4>


    Author’s pov


    The tension from dinner still hung in the air as everyone trickled back into the house.


    People gathered in the living room, pretending to enjoy fruit tters and small talk, but their attention was elsewhere.


    Everyone was thinking the same thing. What the hell happened upstairs?


    About an hourter, Sebastian and Cecilia finally came down the staircase together.


    The shift in the room was instant. Conversations stalled, eyes turned. Even the air felt heavier.


    "Feeling better?" Luna Regina asked, her tone pleasant but her eyes sharp as ss.


    Cecilia kept her expression calm.


    There was no trace of panic, no sign of the emotional storm still swirling beneath the surface.


    "Much better, thank you."


    "Thank you for your hospitality. Dinner was wonderful, and I truly enjoyed the evening," she added smoothly.


    Her voice was polite, practiced-- as if she’d rehearsed every word.


    Then came the pivot.


    "It’s gettingte. I should head out."


    The sentencended like a cue. Guests began to gather their things, offering hugs, handshakes, and half-hearted goodbyes.


    Cecilia stood, her smile tight but convincing.


    Relief washed over her like a wave. Social etiquette to the rescue.


    Luna Regina walked them to the front door.


    "We should set up dinner with your parents sometime," she said casually, like she hadn’t just been watching her son and Cecilia with hawk-like precision all evening.


    Cecilia blinked. The suggestion caught herpletely off guard.


    After everything that had just unfolded, this was thest thing she expected from Sebastian’s mother.


    "They’re traveling at the moment," she answered, trying not to sound as surprised as she felt.


    "When they’re back, then." Luna Regina’s smile returned, soft and unreadable.


    Before Cecilia could respond, Sebastian stepped in and gently steered her toward the waiting car.


    His hand rested on the small of her back. It was steady, bothforting and controlling.


    Three vehicles pulled away from the ck estate, headlights slicing through the quiet night.


    As soon as they cleared the estate’s outer perimeter, the mood shifted.


    A ck sedan merged onto the road behind them. A silver car joined a blockter, keeping its distance.


    A drone appeared above them. It floated in the air, quiet and locked onto them.


    "Alpha, we’ve gotpany again," Tang said from behind the wheel.


    "Not the same pattern as before. They’re being smarter this time."


    "Drive steady. Lose them," Sebastian replied, calm as ever.


    Secondster, the silver car gunned forward, headlights ring as it surged toward them.


    Cecilia caught the tension in the front seats and instinctively turned to look.


    She checked the mirror, but the shadows blurred too fast to make anything out.


    Before she could ask, their car elerated.


    Streetlights blurred into streaks of gold and white as they pushed ahead.


    Cassian and Yvonne’s car, which had been right behind them, fell out of sight.


    What she didn’t see was the silver car behind them turning aggressive, breaking formation and barreling forward like a missile.


    Cecilia grabbed Sebastian’s arm.


    "Someone’s following us?"


    "Don’t worry about it," he said, pulling her gently into his chest.


    His hand covered her eyes, but his voice stayed calm.


    "Tang’s got it. Just close your eyes and breathe. We’ll be home soon."


    "But Harper and the others..." Her voice cracked."They’re still back there!"


    She reached up, pulling his hand away, her heart thudding. She fumbled for her phone, already dialing.


    Then it hit.


    A violent crash shattered the night behind them.


    The sound ripped through the air. Metal twisting. ss exploding. Her breath caught in her throat.


    Her heart lurched, the panic flooding in before she could stop it.


    The impact they’d feared never came. Their car kept moving, gliding smoothly down the road.


    But in the rearview mirror, chaos was erupting like a chain reaction. Cars swerved. Horns red. Headlights scattered across the night like broken ss.


    Tang eased off the gas. "We weren’t the target. It’s Cassian!"


    Cecilia’s heart mmed against her chest.


    She couldn’t get the sound out of her head. That awful crunch of metal mming into metal.


    The image of Cassian’s carefree grin shed through her mind, now tangled with the thought of him bleeding behind a crumpled steering wheel.


    Tears filled her eyes before she even noticed they were there.


    Sebastian kept his eyes on the mirror, his face hard and unreadable, carved from stone.


    But his stillness didn’t fool her. It was the kind of still only people used when they were barely holding something back.


    "Turn around," he said.


    Tang didn’t hesitate. He spun the wheel into a sharp U-turn, tires squealing on the pavement.


    Sebastian’s jaw was tight, his eyes locked forward. Guilt prickled at the edges of his thoughts.


    Sebastian hit redial again and again, but Cassian didn’t pick up.


    No voicemail. No signal. Just ringing silence.


    Without a word, he called emergency services and reported the crash.


    In the passenger seat, Cecilia was already dialing Harper.


    Her hands trembled, but she kept her voice steady as the line connected.


    She needed answers. Now.


    Harper picked up almost instantly, her voice breathless and shaky.


    "Cassian’s been hit. That silver car came out of nowhere. It clipped us and crashed straight into him. He’s off the road, somewhere in the woods. His car’s a total wreck. It’s bad. Really bad."


    The words rushed out in a panic, one on top of the next, barely giving Cecilia time to breathe.


    And then...


    A deafening explosion tore through the connection.


    Cecilia jerked the phone away from her ear, her blood running cold.


    The st was so loud it seemed to shake the air around them.