Chapter 477

The servants believed Evelyn's silence meant ignorance. They gossiped freely, unaware their careless words carried through the marble halls.

A sharp voice sliced through their chatter. "Mr. Lawson won't tolerate such disrespect."

The maids froze mid-sentence. Turning, they found Margaret standing rigid in her perfectly pressed uniform, her glasses glinting with disapproval.

Evelyn remained motionless by the window, her delicate fingers tracing patterns on the cold glass. The afternoon sun painted golden streaks across her hollow cheeks.

"Miss Vanderbilt." Margaret adjusted her cuffs. "Mr. Lawson requests your presence."

Evelyn rose slowly, her movements deliberate. The emptiness in her sapphire eyes mirrored the vast gardens beyond the window.

The study door groaned open to reveal Sebastian Lawson immersed in leather-bound medical texts. Sunlight streamed through stained glass, casting jewel-toned shadows across his angular features.

A glass terrarium hummed in the corner, housing an emerald basilisk that flicked its tongue at Evelyn's approach.

"Still adjusting?" Sebastian closed his book with a thud.

Evelyn's response came measured. "Day by day."

Sebastian produced a crumbling journal from his desk. The cracked leather binding whispered of decades past. "Your mother's writings. When you're ready."

Evelyn's breath hitched. Her trembling fingers grazed the cover but didn't open it.

"No rush." Sebastian's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Grief has no timetable."

"Uncle Sebastian." Evelyn's voice cracked like thin ice. "Was she afraid? When she knew..."

The question hung between them, heavy as the antique chandelier overhead.

Sebastian moved to the espresso machine, the grinding beans drowning out his hesitation. "Your mother never admitted fear. Not even to me."

He handed her a demitasse, the bitter aroma mingling with old parchment. "She left because she loved me too much to watch me suffer."

Evelyn cradled the tiny cup, its heat seeping into her cold palms.

"Love makes martyrs of us all," Sebastian murmured. "We sacrifice while believing it's for their good."

Nathan's face flashed behind Evelyn's eyelids - his smile, his anger, the way his hands felt tracing her spine.

Sebastian observed her carefully. "The past is quicksand, Evelyn. Your mother taught me that."

The porcelain cracked under Evelyn's grip. "I can't move forward while their killers breathe free air."

Nightmares haunted her - Richard's last embrace, Chloe's bloodied uniform, the tiny grave no one dared name. Three ghosts followed her into waking hours, their whispers louder than the living.