Chapter 123

"How about a game of chess?" Weston said with a smile.

He didn't expect Citrine to win. In fact, he'd already decided to go easy on her-no need to embarrass the girl-and maybe get a sense of her skill level so he could offer a few pointers.

"Sure," Citrine agreed without hesitation.

At first, Weston didn't take the game too seriously. But as Citrine pressed forward, move after move, he found his pieces forced into a corner, backed up with

nowhere to go.

His relaxed confidence slowly gave way to a look of concentration. He hovered over the board, fingers poised over a black knight, trying to find a way out. After a long pause, he finally made his move, narrowly escaping disaster.

Weston let out a silent sigh of relief, thinking he'd dodged a bullet. What he didn't realize was that he'd just stepped right into a trap Citrine had set several moves in advance.

From that point on, every turn played out exactly as Citrine intended.

her

by one, her white pieces claimed territory, cutting off black's escape.

simply, pulling her hand back and looking calmly

who taught you to play like this?" Weston stared at the endgame, unable to hide his shock. The skills he prided himself on had just been dismantled by a seventeen-year-old

myself," Citrine replied, her

of glee on her face-her

serene as ever.

furrowed. He remembered how harsh his own chess instructor had been

not joking. It's the truth," Citrine answered

on Mirage Cay, every day had felt endless. To distract herself from the pain, she'd started playing chess against herself with pebbles she found on the island. Over time, her skills

were now.

Weston said, satisfaction shining in his eyes—he couldn't have

about it, the prouder he felt. Weston burst out laughing, a deep, booming sound that echoed through the house-loud enough that Raymond, just stepping in from the driveway, heard it from

guard.

barely set down his briefcase when

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