Chapter 461

Evelyn Carter burned with curiosity about the unresolved tension between Liam Blackwood and Julian Whitmore. Yet she bit her tongue. Some wounds were too private to probe, and she knew better than to meddle in affairs that weren't hers.

She checked into a luxury suite with Rosalind Baskins at The Grand Aldenria.

The following week blurred into a haze of funeral arrangements. Margaret Hoffis had requested simplicity - just family gathered quietly. Evelyn honored this by selecting a secluded hillside cemetery where morning mist curled between ancient oaks.

She deliberately shut out the world. No news alerts. No corporate emails. Just the four walls of her hotel room and the gaping hole in her chest.

Meanwhile, her fingers traced the contours of Valtoria's map each night, searching for patterns in the topography that might reveal where Julian had stashed her missing relatives.

Rosalind returned one evening bearing a tray from the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant. "You need to eat," she insisted, setting down roasted duck with black truffle. "You're wasting away."

"Not hungry," Evelyn murmured without looking up from the coastline she was scrutinizing.

Rosalind slid the plate directly over the map. "I wasn't asking."

Evelyn finally met her gaze. "Tell me honestly - did you bug Wright Manor?"

A shadow crossed Rosalind's face. "Every device was found and destroyed within hours."

Evelyn's nails bit into her palms. Julian's counter-surveillance skills confirmed her worst fears - this was no amateur criminal.

"Is Genevieve Prescott under watch?"

Rosalind smirked. "Between Liam's team and mine? That woman couldn't sneeze without us knowing. The moment she contacts Julian, we'll have them both."

Evelyn pushed aside the map and drew Rosalind onto the velvet sofa. "I need you to do something for me."

"Name it."

"I'm returning to Solterra alone. Stay here and keep searching for my family."

Rosalind's spine straightened. "Absolutely not. My orders are to protect you."

Evelyn's grip tightened. "You're the only one I trust with this. Please."

"But Liam has teams-"

"I can't face Solterra without knowing you're here fighting for them." The raw plea in Evelyn's voice shattered Rosalind's resolve.

With a reluctant nod, the bodyguard agreed.

Evelyn's final play would come during her ovulation window - she'd bargained for those extra fifteen days. This wasn't just about scientific duty anymore.

It was about reclaiming everything Julian had stolen - her family, her legacy, her chance with Liam.

The morning she arrived at Royal Heights, mist clung to the wrought iron gates of Blackwood Manor like spectral fingers. Benjamin Hudson nearly dropped his coffee when she materialized in his foyer.

Gone was the naive artist he'd met months ago. Before him stood a woman tempered by loss, her once-vibrant eyes now holding depths of sorrow and steel.

"Benjamin," she said without preamble. "I need your help."

He blinked. "With what?"

Her answer sent his cup crashing to the marble floor.

"I want Liam Blackwood."

The silence that followed could have choked a dragon.