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Chapter 45: The Edge of the Knife
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2024-12-22 21:45:10The sun was just beginning to rise when I left the confines of my room. The villa was silent, as if holding its breath in anticipation of the storm brewing within its walls. My mind was a chaotic whirlpool of thoughts—Rowan’s revelations, my mother’s death, my father’s betrayal, and the tangled web of deceit that had ensnared my life.
The dining room was empty when I entered, save for a pot of steaming coffee on the sideboard. I poured myself a cup and sat at the table, staring into the dark liquid as if it held the answers I so desperately sought.
"Up early?" Rowan’s voice broke the silence, startling me.
I glanced up to see him leaning against the doorway, his shirt slightly wrinkled, his hair disheveled as though he hadn’t slept.
"C
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