Chapter 239
Elle’s POV
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“The Blair family has always relied on ancient divination,” Martin continued, his eyes distant with memory. “My mother, your grandmother Eleanor, could see things… things that hadn’t happened yet. Twenty–two years ago, she performed the most important reading of her life.‘
My heart hammered against my ribs. This is it. The truth about everything.
“She saw the Blair family’s destruction in this generation. Our bloodline would end with you and Dakota. Martin’s voice grew heavy. “But more than that, Elle… she saw your fate. Your birth chart.”
Stella covered her face with her hands, fresh tears streaming through her fingers.
“What did she see?” I whispered, though part of me didn’t want to know.
“You were born under what we call the Eclipse Fate. It’s the most ominous birth chart possible.”
My blood ran cold. Brad’s hand found mine, squeezing tight.
“It means you bring change, Elle. Violent, unavoidable change. The kind that destroys old orders and creates new ones. My mother saw that keeping you in the Blair family would mean our complete annihilation.
He took a deep breath. “I didn’t believe in fate readings back then. I thought my mother was being superstitious. But she had already put plans in motion.
“Susan lived with my mother for years after her parents died. She was seventeen when she came to us, worked in our household. My mother treated her like a daughter, gave her an education, taught her skills. When Susan was twenty–five, my mother asked her for a favor.”
“My mother asked Susan to go to Moonshade Bay’s human district and wait. She arranged Susan’s marriage to Tony West–a poor man who needed a wife and wouldn’t ask too many questions about her past.”
“Wait.” My voice cracked. “She arranged the marriage?”
‘Yes. And before Susan left, my mother gave her a Blair family remedy. A special pill.” Martin’s voice dropped to almost a whisper. “The pill made Susan unable to conceive. But more than that… it slowly consumed her life force.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“If someone who has taken that pill ever becomes pregnant,‘ Martin continued, his voice thick with pain, ‘without the Blair family’s specialized antidote, both mother and child will die. Susan promised my mother she would love you as her own daughter,” Martin said softly. And she did, Elle. She kept that promise every single day for more than twenty years.”
‘Tell me about the day I was born,‘ I demanded. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Martin nodded grimly. “Dakota was born first, but she was in critical condition immediately. Breathing problems, developmental issues. They put her on life support, in an incubator. I never left her side–1 was terrified we were going to lose her.”
Stella’s sobs grew louder.
My chest tightened. My fault. Because I took her strength.
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Chapter 239
When you were born thirty minutes later, you were perfectly healthy. Strong. But…” Martin’s voice faltered. “Someone came to Stella with a dead infant. They told her the second baby had died from oxygen deprivation during delivery.”
Stella collapsed from grief. She was unconscious when… when the real switch happened. While everyone was focused on saving Dakota and reviving your mother, my mother had you secretly taken away.”
The room was dead silent except for Stella’s crying.
“You never cried,” Martin added wonderingly. “Not once during the entire transfer. It was like you knew you had to be quiet.”
Because I was Eclipse Fate. Even as a newborn, I was dangerous.
“Blair family rules dictate that stillborn children can’t be buried in the family cemetery, Martin continued. “They have to be… disposed of quickly. So no one
questioned when the ‘dead baby‘ was taken away immediately. Stella didn’t wake up for three days.”
“And by then, I was gone.”
*You were with Susan. My mother had already established Susan’s cover story–she had been trying to get pregnant for years, finally succeeded, and her
husband was overjoyed. No one in the human district questioned it.”
‘And Dakota? What happened to her?”
She lived, but barely. The doctors said she wouldn’t survive past sixteen. We spent everything–our entire fortune–building medical facilities, herb gardens,
research labs. We kept her alive until she was twenty–one.”
My heart clenched. “She died because of me.”
The day Dakota died,” Martin continued, “my mother left the Blair estate and didn’t come back for two years.”
“When she returned?”
‘She talked with Stella and me all night. That’s when we learned the full truth about what she’d done. About you.”
I stared at Martin and Stella through the screen, these people who were my biological parents but felt like strangers. “You want me to come back, don’t you?
That’s what this is about.”
‘Elle, please don’t hate my mother, Martin pleaded. “The Blair family owes you everything. And perhaps… perhaps meeting Iris Blair in Moon Lake City was fate. Everything that’s happened was destined.”
“The Blair family isn’t so easy to return to, is it?” I said coolly. “No matter how many coincidences there are, they don’t prove anything.”
Stella suddenly exploded. “Go! Just go away! As far as possible! Never come back!” She turned on Martin with fury. “This is all your fault! If it wasn’t for you, my daughter wouldn’t have suffered all these years in the outside world!”
Martin’s face crumpled with shame. “I’ll take responsibility for everything. It’s my fault.”
‘Please, Elle, Stella sobbed. “Don’t come back to bear the Blair family’s burden!“,
Burden. The word hit me like a physical blow. “There are conditions to returning, aren’t there?”
Martin’s silence was answer enough.
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Chapter 239
“What are the conditions?‘ I pressed. “To save Susan, what would I have to do?
Martin’s voice was barely audible. The antidote is in the Blair family’s forbidden sanctuary. Only Blair family bloodline can enter.
“And the price?”
His beautiful features seemed to age ten years in an instant. “The price is… cutting all ties with the Rayne family.”
The world tilted on its axis. “What?”
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“My mother’s divination shows that the Blair and Rayne families will become mortal enemies. Your first act upon returning would be… cutting ties with Brad
Rayne.”
Brad’s grip on my hand became almost painful, his Alpha presence flaring with barely controlled rage.
“There’s more,” Martin continued miserably. “Decades ago, the Carter family paid an enormous price to protect the Blair family. A marriage contract was signed. The Blair family’s heir of this generation must marry into the Carter family. This contract cannot be changed by anyone.”
My mind raced, pieces clicking together. “When Dakota agreed to Raymond Carter’s pursuit… she didn’t actually love him, did she? She only agreed because
of the contract?”
Martin nodded silently.
“And the person Dakota really loved… it was Peter Hamilton, wasn’t it?”
Another nod.
I sank back into the sofa, the full picture finally crystal clear. That’s why Peter lost control when he saw me. That’s why he kept seeing Dakota in me.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
