Even after Her Death by Rita Bond

Chapter 381 Another Death

Chapter 381 Another Death 81%

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The old woman's gaze lingered on the Soul-Stabilizing Pendant, her face unreadable.

Without hesitation, I dropped to my knees. "Please, malam, if you know anything, tell me. This could mean everything to someone I care about."

Her eyes shifted toward me, calm yet piercing. "The man who came with you before-he's not with you this time?"

Zoey quickly knelt beside me, her hands gesturing in reassurance. "No, he's not here! Don't worry, he's far away. Look, if it'll help, I'll bow too. Just tell my sister what she needs to know."

"Both of you, get up," the old woman said, her tone firm but not unkind.

Zoey and I obeyed, settling cross-legged on the floor as she had.

"After you left last time," the old woman began, "that man returned to see me."

A sharp chill ran through me. Of course Carter would take matters into his own hands. A mere mention of him, and he'd already found her.

"What did he say?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

She ran her fingers over the smooth surface of the ocarina. "He gave me money. Told me to leave this place."

My hands curled into fists. "He's afraid you'll tell me the truth. But since you stayed, he won't let this drop!

Carter's nature was all too clear to me. His kindness was a mask he wore only for me.

If this was important enough to him, he'd stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

"I left," the old woman said, her voice calm, "but I knew you'd come."

Her words struck like a thunderclap. Zoey and I exchanged stunned glances.

"You knew we'd come?" Zoey asked, disbelief plain in her voice. "How could you possibly know that? It doesn't make sense!"

The woman's smile deepened, her eyes softening. The wrinkles at their corners somehow made her look gentler, as though she'd known us for years.

It was strange. Though I'd never seen her before, something about her felt familiar, like the echo of a memory I couldn't place.

"What do you want to ask me?" she said, ignoring Zoey's question entirely.

I drew in a shaky breath. "The last time we spoke, I told you I thought I understood what this was. But now, I'm not so sure. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe someone lied to me. You know what this is. Please, tell me the truth. What is this stone? What does it do? Is there a second one? And what did you mean by the things you said before?"

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Chapter 381 Another Death

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for mystone. Her hands, worn with age, moved slowly as her fingers traced the surface again and again, as if each pass

were right-there is another piece. The black one represents

widened. "Chloe, how on earth did you figure

My focus remained on the old woman "What does it

me, her gaze steady and

overturn destiny itself. If you live a life of wealth and ease, another will share in your blessings. But if your life is cut short, their fate will mirror yours. Neither escapes unscathed I had suspected something like this, but hearing it laid out so plainly felt like

"But how could he have known you were going to

woman's expression didn't shift. "Life and death are already written. No one gets something

of us in a game we didn't fully understand. I grabbed her hand, unable to mask my desperation. "Please, tell me more. How does it work? What has to happen for it to take effect? Is it

a chance you'll

ones who deserve it are those monsters, not her! Ma'am, you must know a way to save her.

a deep sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly. "You two...

anything reckless. If she's still here waiting for us, there's a chance we

someone who can help. Like a guide or something." Her

determination, could only find a life-for-life

this unless he

even the faintest hope, I had to hold

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to a cherry blossom tree, its branches

Chapter 381 Another Death

stone well, its

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petals, and the bells hanging from the tree chimed, their clear

you believe in

stopped me cold. My head snapped toward her, disbelief clouding my mind. I had never

didn't," I said finally, my

face what's waiting for

one of its lower

shook as I held it over the black void of the well. Taking a steadying

chime disappeared into the darkness, and the still water below began to shift. Its inky surface rippled, then transformed, as though revealing

the air heavy and electric. For Zoey, standing beside

saw it-every detail of the past we

as love without reason. Bonds don't form by chance;

debt so profound that he chose to repay it with the only thing

my thoughts. "What did you see? I

old woman's sleeve. "You know who I am. You know my past. Please, tell me

works over 81 days. How long have

"It's been a little over two months.