Chapter 124

Chapter 124

"I'll miss you too, Mrs. Ashford," Faye said brightly, standing beside Damien.

"My little angel, I'll miss you too." Eloise bent down and gently stroked Faye's hair.

Damien smiled at Faye, picked her up, and turned to leave.

Just as they were about to board the plane, Mona came rushing over with Tobias.

Mona still had bandages wrapped around her, her face tight with worry — though she visibly relaxed when she spotted Damien and the others.

"How could you just leave like that? You've saved me so many times. I want to come with you."

The cool, unflappable Mona Damien had first met was long gone. Right now she looked more like a stubborn little girl throwing a fit.

"Brad is finished. Your biggest threat is gone. You should stay in Lia Region," Damien said, trying to reason with her.

"No. I'm used to being around you. If you won't let me come, I'll go to New York on my own — I know where you are anyway." Mona crossed her arms, completely unreasonable.

For a moment, Damien caught a glimpse of Kaida in her.

But knowing Mona, she'd actually do it. Left with no good options, he let her come along for now — he didn't want her getting herself killed on the way there in this state.

So Mona and Tobias boarded the plane with them.

New York. The plane had landed, and as Damien walked out with Faye, Faye spotted Sophia waiting to pick them up from far away.

"Mommy!" Faye took off running, and mother and daughter held each other tight.

Damien walked over and put his arm around Sophia's shoulder. The three of them headed out together.

"That's Damien's woman?" Mona murmured, almost to herself, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face.

"That's Mrs. Shaw," Ironclaw said, glancing at her briefly.

"They're married?"

Mona had assumed someone like Damien wouldn't settle down so easily — she figured they were just together, not actually married.

Ironclaw gave her an odd look and walked on to catch up with Damien.

Sophia didn't know Mona, but since she'd come back with Damien, she was a guest. So Sophia had rooms arranged for both her and Tobias right away.

"Damien saved my life more than once. I followed him here to repay that," Mona explained, noticing Sophia's curious glance.

Damien raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you going to do to repay me? Just give me money."

Mona flushed with irritation. "I can absolutely repay you — in other ways!"

She was about to say more, but Damien cut her off. He said he wanted to spend time with his family and had no time to entertain her. If she wasn't comfortable staying, she could go back to Lia Region.

Mona was annoyed, but she took Tobias and went back to her room.

"My husband really does have a way with women," Sophia said with a teasing lilt. "Another young girl drawn right to him."

"What are you talking about," Damien said flatly, not about to admit anything.

He took out Eloise's gift and handed it to Sophia.

"You should go see Eloise in person sometime. She and your mother must have some kind of connection."

"I will. I'll thank her properly for the gift next time."

Sophia held the gift close. It was the first thing anyone connected to her parents had ever given her, and she treasured it.

Back in Lia Region, the moment Verity heard Damien had left, she went straight to Eloise and asked her to arrange an escort to New York.

But once she got there, she was completely lost. While trying to track down Damien, she was harassed by some thugs on the street.

Verity was furious and flustered, but had no idea how to handle the situation. The Mordell family had kept to themselves for so long, and Verity — who had barely been out in the world — was completely out of her depth.

Luckily, Ghosthand happened to be passing by and stepped in to help.

"I'm looking for someone — Damien. Do you know him?" Verity grabbed onto Ghosthand like a lifeline, her voice urgent.

"You're looking for him? Sure, I know him. We go way back. I'll have someone take you to him," Ghosthand said helpfully.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Verity said, her face lighting up with relief.

Half an hour later, Verity was standing in front of Damien.

He raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely surprised. "Ghosthand said you were looking for me?"

In truth, he'd seen this coming all along.

Given how she'd grown up, Verity didn't trust people easily. If he'd tried to take her with him by force, she would've suspected his motives — just like when she'd slipped out of the hospital on her own.

So Damien had done the opposite. He gave her space and freedom, and let her come to him on her own terms.

"The Mordell family is gone. I don't know where else to go. You're the only person I know," Verity said quietly, her eyes downcast.

"I know you're powerful, and so is your organization. I want to join you. I want to avenge my family." Verity snapped her head up, her eyes burning as she stared at Damien.

"I'll be useful, I swear. Give me any job — I'll do whatever it takes. Please, let me stay." She bowed deeply.

Damien caught Panther's eye. Panther stepped forward and gently helped her up.

"Do you know where the Celestial Stone is?" Damien asked.

"I really don't. The Celestial Stone went missing over twenty years ago."

Verity spoke quickly, as if afraid he wouldn't believe her, and started sharing things she'd only heard within the family.

"The elders used to say it was the last Holy Maiden — the one chosen to guard the Celestial Stone — who took it and disappeared. It was never seen again after that."

"The family sent people to search for it, but they never found anything. Then, about ten years ago, word came that the Holy Maiden had died — and the Celestial Stone's whereabouts have been unknown ever since."

Grief settled over Verity's face. Her entire family had been slaughtered over a stone that had already been missing for decades.

Damien didn't doubt her. "Get some rest," he said. "I'll have Sophia find something for you to do."

"Thank you. Truly, thank you." Verity's eyes filled with tears.

Damien waved her off, and Panther led her away.

And just like that, every lead on the Celestial Stone had gone cold.

Damien let out a quiet sigh, then said with a kind of resigned acceptance, "Looks like God doesn't want the Blood-Tear Manuscript opened."

Just then, Ironclaw walked in and handed Damien a box.

Damien looked at it and remembered — he'd meant to go pay his respects at the graves of the real Alexander and his mother, but had ended up going to rescue Mona instead.

He'd assumed the box was long gone. He hadn't expected Ironclaw to still have it.

"Send it to Eloise. Ask her to have someone go in my place."

Damien wasn't planning to go back to Lia Region anytime soon, and the real Alexander and his mother were buried not far from there.

Iver had spent all that time searching and never found them — simply because he'd never thought to look in that direction.

Damien handed the box back to Ironclaw — but at that moment, Verity came running back in, out of breath.

"I just remembered — our last Holy Maiden was named Selena. If you look into her life and whereabouts, you might find a lead on the Celestial Stone." She was still catching her breath as she spoke.

The name "Selena" made Damien stop cold. Then he reached back and took the box from Ironclaw, turning it over to look at the inscription on the bottom.

It couldn't be that much of a coincidence — could it? Even Damien couldn't help but let out a small, stunned laugh.

He opened the box and held it out toward Verity.

Inside was a necklace in a European style, with a stone hanging from the end of it.

"Is this the Celestial Stone?"