Sophie chimed in, “The princess had her reasons. After the Griffiths Dynasty collapsed, the imperial tombs were ransacked. Grave robbers didn’t just steal…”

Jewels and treasures—they desecrated our ancestors’ remains. The princess saw it as a grim lesson and refused to let future generations suffer the same violation.”

Elliana inclined her head slightly.

“Bring Maxine onto the plane. We’ll transport her back for cremation and select a day to scatter her ashes across the waters.”

To Elliana, this tradition, at least, carried wisdom. Among the Griffiths family’s labyrinth of cruel and twisted laws, it emerged as a rare stroke of foresight.

Clifton, Kieran, and Damian stepped forward together, lifting Maxine’s body with careful hands and carrying her away into the gathering dusk.

A deep, trembling sigh from Adah fractured the quiet. Elliana turned toward Adah, concern softening her features.

“What weighs on you?”

Adah stared at the empty imprint in the snow where Maxine had lain, sorrow threading through every word.

“I never found the chance to ask Maxine about my mother’s background. Not that it would have changed anything. My mom was merely your mother’s housekeeper, invisible to the Griffiths family. Maxine probably never gave her a second thought.”

Elliana rested a warm hand on Adah’s shoulder.

“How Maxine viewed your mother means nothing. My mother cherished your mother as a true friend, perhaps the truest she ever had. Once we locate my mom, we’ll unearth every answer you’ve been searching for.”

Adah nodded, and then her expression transformed.

“Speaking of which, did Maxine reveal anything? About your mother’s true origins?”

The question suspended itself in the frigid air like a held breath, and suddenly, every pair of eyes pivoted toward Elliana, all of them waiting with an intensity that bordered on hunger. The question had haunted each of them.

Maxine had stolen Rita away and cultivated her like some rare, precious bloom. That alone whispered of extraordinary lineage—suggested that Rita’s parents must have possessed qualities that transcended the ordinary. Rita’s own striking beauty and formidable talents testified to that inheritance.

L?tt chαpt?rs ιn glnov?l.m

Now, they craved the truth with an almost painful desperation. For Sophie, who had once walked beside Rita as her closest companion, the question carved especially deep.

Surrounded by faces she trusted implicitly, Elliana found no reason to guard the secret any longer. She drew a steadying breath and began, “Maxine revealed that my mother was…”

A sudden disturbance shattered the moment like glass. They spun to witness a figure materializing from the same direction Maxine had emerged earlier.

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