Chapter 104
Cecilia’s pov
I leaned close to the thin wall.
A warm, smoky scent seeped through the cracks—rosewood and incense—mixed with something metallic, faint but sharp, like rusted iron or old blood.
It settled in my chest like static.
The air was thick with tangible, festering emotions.
On the other side, I saw Mrs. White–Luna of the Shadow Pack.
She was kneeling on a mat, her spine too straight to be relaxed, but her whole body trembling just enough to betray her fear.
One of her heels had snapped, the other still clinging to her foot like it refused to give up.
Her expensive cream-colored coat was wrinkled and half-off her shoulder, exposing a silk blouse sweat-stained along the collar.
Her hair, always sleek in public, was loose in places. A few strands stuck to her temple.
She looked like a statue collapsed under the weight of its own pride.
The tension in the room was suffocating. “Save me, please!”Mrs. White begged.
Madam Amber remained silent, her weathered face betraying nothing while Mrs. White’s composure continued to crumble before our eyes.
“Please, say something! Money isn’t an issue!” Mrs. White’s voice cracked with desperation. “I can pay whatever you ask! Name your price!
Madam Amber’s lips quivered slightly, as if she wanted to speak but was restraining herself.
Harper—still brilliantly maintaining her disguise as the assistant—spoke in Madam Amber’s place. “If Mrs. White refuses to tell the truth, then please leave.Madam Amber cannot help you.” She paused dramatically before adding, “Not even for mountains of gold p>
Madam Amber’s face contorted with what looked like sympathetic anguish, her lips moving again in silent communication.
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!” Mrs. White gasped like a fish out of water, her complexion ashen as her eyes darted nervously around the room. “Just give me one more chance. I won’t hide anything this time p>
Harper nodded gravely. “Then speak quickly! Trust Madam with everything p>
I watched her eyes dart back and forth, clearly still calculating what to reveal and what to withhold.
Finally, she stammered, “When my daughter was in high school, she had a… close friend. Somehow that child… had an accident and died. But it wasn’t my daughter’s fault! It truly wasn’t! It was an accident. No—perhaps that child misunderstood her intentions! Yes, a misunderstanding. My daughter is a good girl. She’s always been a good girl p>
She took a shaky breath before continuing. “My daughter is getting married, having a child soon. But I’ve sensed something’s wrong with her emotions. It must be that… thing. It has to be p>
Though her story was disjointed, I noticed how she deliberately blurred the crucial details. Cunning and shameless.
I finally understood who Mrs. White was referring to when she mentioned the one who’s already dead.
They weren’t worried at all about me refusing to sign that release form.
Of course—what power did I have to fight the Shadow Pack or the Blood Moon Pack?
And now with the Locke family’s backing, they didn’t see me as a threat at all.
They were simply busy securing Cici’s happy future.
“Mrs. White! You’re still not telling the truth!” Harper’s voice turned ice cold.
Mrs. White insisted, “I am telling the truth! It’s just that the child misunderstood my daughter p>
Harper refused coldly. “Mrs. White, if this is your approach, we truly cannot help you p>
She suddenly hugged Madam Amber’s leg, “Madam Amber, Amber, you must have a way, right p>
The air in the room shifted. Even from behind a wall, I felt the tension snap taut like a wire pulled to the edge of breaking.
Mrs. White’s eyes widened. Her pupils dilated. Her breathing grew shallow.
Harper stepped forward with ceremonial grace, her movements precise and deliberate. She carried a black velvet box in both hands like it held a fragment of fate.
She opened it slowly.
Inside was a gold chain with a blood-red gemstone—cut into a teardrop, dark and gleaming. Even from this distance, it looked heavy.
Harper’s voice was soft. Controlled.
“This pendant is for those who carry blood debts. If you believe your daughter is in danger—this is your chance to protect her p>
Mrs. White stared at the necklace. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. She didn’t blink.
It was like she’d been transported—back to that night. The one she thought she’d buried.
“How much?” she whispered.
Harper didn’t hesitate. “Twenty million p>
Mrs. White barely flinched.
“I’ll take it,” she said, voice shaking. She reached out and gripped the pendant with both hands, pulling it to her chest like she was trying to claw back time.
“You’re dead!” Mrs. White screamed—not at Harper, not at Amber.
“Stay away! Stop haunting her p>
I stopped breathing.
She wasn’t talking about me.
I turned to look at Sebastian. He stood beside me, still as stone, his jaw tight, his eyes dark and unreadable. His presence filled the cramped space like a storm cloud.
“She’s not afraid of us,” he said, voice low and rough.
“She’s afraid of the darkness she let fester p>
I swallowed hard. My fingers curled against the wall. I leaned just slightly into him, and my nose brushed against the fabric of his jacket.
Sandalwood. Clean metal. The scent of him—steady and grounding.
Mrs. White clutched the pendant like it was the only thing keeping her from collapsing. Her body trembled, her breathing uneven, her eyes still fixed on the space in front of her where no one stood.
She wasn’t just trying to protect her daughter from scandal.
She was trying to protect her from something far worse.