Chapter 218

A light laugh slipped from Verena as she slid a piece of toast onto lvan's plate."Consider this my peace offering. Breakfast on me should count for something, right?"

Ivan took a bite, chewing leisurely before speaking."Verena, you can fool others, but not me. I know when something's weighing on you."

"You've still got that sharp eye," Verena teased, though her smile dimmed as she lifted her glass of milk.After a sip, her tone grew steady. "There's something I need to ask. While we were abroad, did you ever let my true background slip to anyone? Think carefully. There's no rush."

The question didn't surprise him; he knew exactly what she was circling around. "So you're ready to dig into the truth about your grandmother's death."

She didn't bother to confirm, but the silence was enough. Ivan straightened, setting his toast down."Alright.I'll give it some serious thought." As minutes stretched on, Verena finished her milk while he sat in heavy contemplation. Finally, Ivan exhaled and said, "I've always been careful. I promise I never revealed who you realy are to anyone."

A crease formed between his brows, and he leaned back, clearly unsettled. "But if your grandmother was truly murdered by your enemies, then why target her? What would your enemies gain by killing her instead of coming after you directly?"

Verena's eyes dropped to the table, her thoughts circling the same troubling question.

Ivan broke the silence, his tone measured. "If I'm being honest, aside from hurting you, there doesn't seem to be much point. Grief fades eventually, and you'd recover. It wouldn't weaken you long term or give them any real advantage. Unless..." He paused, rubbing his chin as the idea took shape. "Unless their goal wasn't to kill you at all, but to use your grandmother's death to block you from doing something."

A crease formed between Verena's brows, her expression sharpening. "But what would they want to stop me from doing?" she asked quietly, confusionflickering in her voice."Back then, I didn't have many patients whose lives depended solely on me. So it couldn't have been about stopping me from treating someone."

Ivan exhaled, frowning deeply. "That does sound far-fetched. Still, if not that, then what else could justify such a move?"

Verena pressed her lips together, staring blankly at the table as her mind churned through scattered possibilities.

The silence thickened until Ivan suddenly lifted his head, his eyes flashing. "Wait-something just came back to me, Verena."

Her gaze snapped toward him, alert."What is it?"

"| remember a phone call we had before you came back to Akoitha,"he said slowly."You mentioned you might accept Isaac's pursuit and be with him...Hold on!"

Ivan's voice shot up, sharp with urgency. "Think about it-wasn't Isaac in that car accident right around the time you came back? What if the whole thing was orchestrated to stop you from being with lsaac? They drew your attention away with your grandmother while going after lsaac." Verena's brows pulled tight, her eyes clouded with confusion. "Stopping me from being with lsaac...but why would anyone go that far?"

Ivan leaned forward, rapping his fingers against the table for emphasis. "Why else? Do you realize how many people you've saved? If I hadn't already given my heart to someone, I might have fallen for you myself after the way you helped me back then. Plenty of those you pulled out of danger couldn't help but admire you."

At the word"admire," Verena's face darkened, anger flashing in her gaze.

"So because of some twisted obsession, someone thought killing my grandmother would keep me away from Isaac?" Her voice shook with fury. "They dare call that admiration? It's sick. If that's the truth, then whoever is behind it will pay dearly when I find them."

Her rage struck a chord, and Ivan's own expression hardened. "Anyone that vile deserves to be ripped apart for what they've done."

Verena's hands curled into tight fists, every ounce of rage she carried forced back down into her chest.

Her voice was low, unsettled. "But besides Isaac telling me how he felt, none of the patients I treated ever confessed anything like that."

"Are you sure?" Ivan muttered, scratching the side of his head as if chasing a thought.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Hold on-I just remembered someone."

Her gaze sharpened instantly."Who?"

Ivan's tone grew grave. "Back during the Dragon Quarter riot, you saved two men. One was Isaac. The other was a thin, sickly young guy. I'll never forget the way he stared at you. It was... strange. And he used to trail behind you at the hospital, though he tried to stay out of sight. I caught him more than once."

"You mean Carl Aguilar?" Verena asked, doubt flickering in her expression.

Ivan gave a firm nod."Yes. Carl."

Carl Aguilar. A patient she had pulled from the brink. He was painfully thin, his frame almost skeletal, his eyes hidden beneath messy strands of hair.

He rarely spoke, always quiet and withdrawn, yet when approached, he'd respond with a soft smile that seemed harmless enough.

Could it really have been him?

The thought hovered, but Verena quickly dismissed it with a shake of her head. "No. That's impossible. He had no means, and he never knew who I really was."

Ivan, unwilling to let it drop, leaned in with his reasoning. "You've been looking only at the people you trusted enough to tell directly. But what if the one behind your grandmother's death learned your background in passing, without you ever realizing it?"

Verena understood then that narrowing her suspicions to only a handful of people was a mistake. "But Carl hasn't reached out to me since he left the hospital," she said, her brows knitting together in doubt.

Ivan leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. "That guy always rubbed me the wrong way.Around you, he played the part of the polite, cheerful patient. But men like him often keep another side hidden.My advice? Look into him."

Verena's fingers drummed softly against the table as she weighed his words.

Ivan wasn't wrong-sometimes a man could see through another man's facade more easily than a woman could.

If Carl really harbored feelings for her, he certainly wouldn't have let her see anything dark or dangerous.

No one ever reveals their ugliest side to the person they admire.

Ivan had a sharp eye, and his instincts rarely missed. If he was wary of Carl, there had to be a reason.

At last, she stilled her hand and lifted her head, her tone firm. "You're right. I'll start investigating him."

Once her decision was made, hesitation had no place. Rising from her seat, Verena prepared to act on it immediately. "Heading out so soon? You're not even going to sit a little longer and finish breakfast?" Ivan called after her.

Verena lifted a hand in a casual wave. "I've settled the bill aIready. Relax and enjoy the rest."

Once she parted ways with him, she pulled out her phone, scrolled to a number she rarely used, and pressed the call button.