Chapter 825

Evelyn turned sharply to look at Chloe.

The light from the television screen flickered across the little girl's face.

Those eyes, always so timid, were now shining with an intense light.

Chloe was still calling the man on the screen, Montgomery, 'Daddy'.

Over and over.

Her voice was soft, but unnervingly persistent.

Evelyn suddenly remembered the first time she had taken Chloe to meet Montgomery.

The child who usually trembled if a stranger came too close.

That day, she had actively taken Evelyn's hand.

Her small body had been shaking.

Yet she had still followed them into that meeting room.

At the time, Evelyn had thought it was just a child's natural instinct to be close to her father.

But now, thinking back…

Evelyn's fingertips felt cold.

She instinctively looked at Alexander.

The man was looking down at Chloe, the line of his profile somewhat blurred in the lamplight.

Evelyn suddenly remembered the day they got their marriage certificate.

The words her sister Isabella had said as she pressed the certificate into her hand.

"Evelyn, this is to protect you."

Protect.

Such a noble-sounding reason.

But what if Isabella had known all along about Alexander's overseas influence?

What if this marriage had been a calculated move from the very beginning?

Grandmother.

Mother.

Grace.

And herself.

Had everyone, unknowingly, become a pawn?

A vast net was slowly tightening.

And she stood at its center, only now beginning to see the direction of the threads.

Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them again, her gaze was clear.

Elian's voice came at just the right moment. "What are you thinking?"

Evelyn didn't answer directly.

She asked calmly, "If I really do establish a connection with Montgomery, are you certain you'll stand by my side?"

Elian smiled.

The smile held a trace of self-mockery.

"Do you know what it feels like to be starving to the extreme?"

Evelyn looked at him.

Elian slowly raised his hand, looking at his own emaciated wrist.

"It's not about wanting to eat."

"It's nausea."

"Your stomach is empty, but you can't swallow anything."

"My sister gave her body to me because she couldn't stand that torment anymore."

He paused, his voice dropping lower.

"Hunger is more terrifying than death."

"Death is just a moment."

"Hunger is a prolonged, drawn-out torture."

Evelyn's gaze fell on his sunken cheeks.

It was true.

Elian was painfully thin, almost skeletal.

His wrists were as slender as dry twigs that looked like they would snap.

Even after just eating, his whole body exuded a sickly weakness.

She suddenly remembered her childhood days in the Ashcroft house.

Those nights locked in the storage room.

The burning hunger in her stomach.

Until Sophia Ashcroft secretly slipped her half a cracker.

The moment the sweetness melted on her tongue.

She felt she had come back to life.

Evelyn nodded.

"I understand."

Elian let out a relieved sigh.

"So even if you can't secure Montgomery, I'll still help you."

"But there's a more serious problem now."

He looked at Evelyn, his expression turning grave.

"More and more people are realizing you're not Grace."

"You don't have Grace's memories."

"You don't have Grace's account within the Sterling Family."

"Entering the heir competition like this is like walking a tightrope over a cliff."

Evelyn frowned. "Account?"

"Yes."

Elian explained. "Every Sterling Family descendant has a unique account."

"Like an ID."

"It requires a password to verify identity."

"It's the one thing you must never tell anyone."

"Some people get plastic surgery after leaving the Sterling Family."

"No matter how they change their appearance, the account is the proof."

Evelyn was silent for a moment.

"I've searched through everything my sister left behind."

"I found no clues about any account."

"The password is even more impossible to know."

But Elian smiled.

"Who says there's no password?"

Evelyn was taken aback.

"Outsiders certainly don't know."

"But your sister's adoptive mother must know."

Elian looked at her, enunciating each word clearly.

"A three-year-old child wouldn't set a password."

"The password has always been held by the parents."

Evelyn understood his meaning.

"You mean…"

"In twenty days, the gate to return to the Sterling Family will open."

Elian continued. "We'll have a brief opportunity for a family visit."

"We can go to the Sterling Family to find the password."

Evelyn pressed her lips together.

Twenty days.

She had originally planned to use that opportunity to rescue her mother, Sophia.

Elian seemed to see through her thoughts.

"Sophia is actually safest staying within the Sterling Family."

"At least her life won't be in danger."

"Leaving the Sterling Family introduces too many variables."

"Until you become the heir, I suggest letting her stay there."

Evelyn lowered her gaze.

"I'll consider it."

"Good."

Elian changed the subject.

"Now let's discuss the main issue."

"How do you plan to make Montgomery acknowledge his daughter?"

Evelyn raised her eyes.

A faint, subtle curve touched the corner of her lips.

"If we deliver her to him proactively."

"It would seem too deliberate."

"So…"

She looked at the imposing man on the television screen.

"I'll have Chloe appear as the prey."

"Let Montgomery come to claim this daughter himself."