Chapter 707

“I missed you too, sweetheart.”
Caitlin hugged her son tightly, kissing him over and over.
It felt indescribably good to hold him again–to be alive and home, surrounded by her family.
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After cuddling her eldest, she took Howard’s hand and began searching for the other kids. Behind another sofa and next to a cabinet, she soon discovered Bruce and Arthur.
“Mommy found you both!”
Howard cheered and jumped up and down while his brothers, Bruce and Arthur, came running out from their hiding spots, throwing their little arms around Caitlin’s legs.
“Mommy!”
“Mommy…”
“Bruce, Arthur!”
Caitlin gathered the boys into her arms, holding all three close at once. Only she knew how hard–won this reunion was–how close she had come to never seeing them again.
Three sons found, but one daughter still missing. Caitlin scanned the room, wondering where her little girl could be hiding.
She called out playfully, “Where’s Patricia hiding? She’s too good at this game–Mommy can’t find her anywhere! Come on, boys, help me look!”
Underneath a long tablecloth, Patricia stifled a giggle behind her tiny hands. She loved hide–and–seek and was sure that this time, no one would find her.
Caitlin had already spotted the faint outline of a small figure under the fabric but decided to play along. She walked closer and sighed dramatically. “No luck! I can’t find her anywhere. Maybe I should just stop looking.”
Hearing that, Patricia’s little heart sank. Her eyes welled up, and when she saw Mommy’s high heels turning away, she scrambled out from under the tablecloth.
“Waaah… Mommy!”
Caitlin turned immediately at the sound of her daughter’s sobs and rushed to scoop her up. “There you are, sweetheart!”
“Mommy doesn’t want Patricia anymore…” she cried, clutching her mother’s neck tightly.
“How could I not want you?” Caitlin whispered, holding her close.
She carried Patricia back to the sofa and sat down, rocking her gently. “It’s okay, baby. Mommy couldn’t find
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Chapter 707
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you because you were so good at hiding. See? That means you’re amazing at this game! How could Mommy ever stop wanting you?”
As Caitlin spoke, she peppered her daughter’s face with kisses until the little girl began to smile through her
tears.
“Mommy, I just wanted to surprise you,” Patricia said softly. “That’s why I hid.”
“I know,” Caitlin replied, smiling. “And you really did surprise me. I thought I’d lost you, and then you popped out. You gave Mommy the best surprise ever.”
Patricia’s pout melted into laughter. She snuggled closer, and Caitlin kissed the top of her head.
Then Sebastian leaned in, resting his head against Patricia’s small shoulder. “Hey, what about Daddy? Doesn’t Daddy get a surprise too?”
Patricia burst out laughing, her giggles contagious. Soon everyone in the Vanderbilt living room was laughing with her. The house filled with warmth and joy.
Dinner that night was grand and lively. Nearly everyone in the Vanderbilt family attended, except Molly, who was still recovering in the hospital. The atmosphere was relaxed, cheerful, and full of life.
After dinner, Caitlin and Sebastian took the children to the family’s private playground, letting them play until they were tired out. Later that evening, after baths and bedtime stories, the kids finally drifted off to sleep.
Only then did Caitlin and Sebastian retreat to their study to discuss the codex.
“The impostor told me how to find the map,” Caitlin said.
She explained the process. Sebastian frowned. “Why does it have to be your blood?”
“She said it’s because I’m a descendant of the Yuncey family. But I think she’s just being mysterious on purpose.”
“I agree,” Sebastian said.
He gathered a few items–a bowl, a candleholder, and some vinegar–and began preparing for the experiment.
Caitlin pricked her finger, but before she could draw blood, Sebastian stopped her. “Let me. We’ll use mine.”
He couldn’t bear the thought of her hurting herself, even for something so small.
Caitlin gave him a soft, knowing smile and nodded. She watched as he pricked his own finger, letting a few drops fall into the bowl.
The candle flame burned brighter, heating the vinegar until it began to boil and steam.
“I found page eight,” Caitlin said. “But it’s blank.”
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Chapter 707
“I’ve got page eighteen from the end. It’s blank too.”
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They placed the two pages together above the rising steam and waited. Minutes passed. Nothing happened.
Caitlin lowered her aching arm and sighed in frustration. “See? I told you it was nonsense. There’s no way a map could be hidden in this thing.”
Sebastian frowned in thought. “What if we try with your blood instead?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “All right.”
They cleaned the bowl, poured in fresh vinegar, and Caitlin pricked her finger, letting her blood mix with the liquid. The vinegar bubbled and hissed, filling the air with a sharp scent.
They held the codex pages above the steam again.
“If this doesn’t work either, then the whole legend is fake,” Caitlin murmured.
Sebastian sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?”
Caitlin inhaled. “Yes. It’s sweet–almost floral. It’s coming from the pages.”
As the fragrance grew stronger, Sebastian’s eyes widened. “Look! Caitlin, look at the pages!”
She followed his gaze. The once–blank parchment now shimmered faintly. Thin red lines began to appear, twisting and branching across the surface like veins. They multiplied, connecting and crossing until the pattern resembled… a map.
“It’s real…” Caitlin whispered, stunned. “It’s actually real.”
Sebastian had already set up a camera to document everything. The lens captured the slow, mesmerizing transformation as the red lines bloomed across the
pages.
Caitlin studied the shapes intently. The lines formed a complex network of paths, rivers, or perhaps coordinates. Then faint inscriptions appeared–ancient characters, unfamiliar and strange.
“There’s writing too,” she said. “But I can’t read any of it.”
“Let’s record everything first,” Sebastian replied.
He took out his phone, snapping several close–up photos of the map’s details.
Within minutes, the map was fully visible. But as the steam faded and the vinegar evaporated, the red lines began to dissolve, disappearing one by one until the pages returned to their original blank state.
The two of them sat in silence for a long time.
Sebastian reviewed the images and video, frowning. “Now that we have the map, we’ll still need to decipher the writing before we can figure out where it leads.”
It wasn’t as simple as finding a map and following it. What lay ahead was another labyrinth of mysteries. Follow current novᴇls on.net
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Finally, Caitlin lifted her gaze, her expression thoughtful. “The map isn’t what puzzles me most. What I can’t understand is why it only appeared when my blood was used–and not yours. Why does the paper react that way?”
“I don’t know,” Sebastian admitted. “There’s no logical explanation.”
Caitlin lifted the pages to her nose and inhaled again. The faint trace of that mysterious fragrance still lingered.
“What kind of material is this made of? Why does it release that scent when heated? Could it be connected to the Yuncey family’s Fragrance & Dye Studio?”
Sebastian’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Wait… what if that’s the key? What if this is the real secret behind the legendary Fragrance Garments?”
“What do you mean?” Caitlin asked.
“I mean the fabric’s scent–it might not come from any dye at all. Maybe it comes from your family’s blood. Doesn’t it make sense? That would explain why the technique vanished. It was tied to the Yuncey bloodline itself.”
Caitlin froze, staring at him, her mind racing. The thought sent a chill through her.
Following his reasoning, she came to a terrifying realization of her own.
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