Chapter 749
Chapter 749:
Beatrice gasped, clutching her pearls in a cliché that would have been funny if the tension wasn’t suffocating. The guards, sensing the shift in the power dynamic, gently but firmly guided the sputtering old woman toward the exit.
Skye didn’t watch her go. Her eyes were locked on Celeste.
“You’re bold, showing your face here. The FBI raided your offices yesterday p>
“And found nothing but legitimate tax returns,” Celeste smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. Her eyes were dead things, shark-like and cold. “I’m here to offer a condolence. And a warning p>
“I don’t need your condolences,” Skye said, clutching her laptop tighter. “And I don’t fear your warnings p>
“You should,” Celeste whispered, leaning in. She smelled of ozone and antiseptic. “How is our mutual friend? The one who thinks he can walk again p>
Skye’s heart skipped a beat. A physical jolt of panic hit her solar plexus.
Julian.
“He’s fine,” Skye lied. “Lucian fixed him. Your poison is out of his system p>
“Is it?” Celeste tilted her head. “Lucian flushed the blood, yes. But did he find the neural lace? The microscopic dormant receivers wrapped around his spinal column? I don’t need to send him drugs to hurt him, Skye. I just need to press a button, and the frequency will make him wish he was paralyzed again p>
Skye felt the blood drain from her face. “You’re bluffing p>
“Am I?” Celeste murmured. “Check on him. I initiated a low-frequency test pulse five minutes ago. It’s not the paralysis that breaks a man, Skye. It’s the phantom fire p>
She reached out and patted Skye’s cheek. The leather glove was ice cold.
“Tell him I said hello. If he’s still lucid enough to understand you p>
Celeste turned on her heel and walked away. She moved with the confidence of a woman who knew she was untracked, unmonitored, and completely dangerous. The town car roared to life seconds later, leaving a cloud of exhaust and a terrified silence in its wake.
Skye didn’t wait for the elevator. She didn’t check the stock price.
𝗔l𝘭 𝗒𝗈𝘂𝗋 𝗳а𝘃or𝘪te 𝗴𝖾𝘯𝗋𝖾𝘀 𝗼ո 𝗯e𝘭𝗻𝘰𝗏е𝘭ѕ.co𝘮
She turned and ran for the parking garage.
The drive to the Vance Estate was a blur of gray highway and white-knuckled fear. Skye drove with a recklessness that would have made Liam proud, weaving through traffic, her mind replaying Celeste’s words on a loop.
It’s not the paralysis. It’s the phantom fire.
When she pulled up to the wrought-iron gates, they were closed. She punched in the code. Nothing. She punched it again.
Denied.
She abandoned the car. She climbed the gate, tearing the hem of her white suit, ignoring the scrape of metal against her palms. She sprinted up the long gravel driveway.
The house loomed ahead, a gothic monstrosity of stone and shadow. The windows were dark. No movement. No gardeners.
No staff.
“Julian!” she screamed, bursting through the front door.
Silence answered her. A heavy, thick silence that smelled of dust and neglect.