Chapter 333  What If She’s My Mother?

By the time we finally slowed down, both of us were drenched in sweat.

I stayed pressed against Lewis’s chest, letting his heat sink into my bones. The room still felt charged, like the air hadn’t settled yet. He kissed the top of my head, then lifted me like I weighed nothing and carried me into the bathroom.

He helped me wash up with a kind of care that made my throat tighten. Like he was trying to make up for how rough his instincts had been earlier. My makeup was already gone, washed away by water and sweat, but my face was still red and itchy. I could tell the irritation had gotten worse from wearing it too long.

Lewis’s eyes paused on the marks on my skin. His gaze softened, guilt flickering across his face.

“I’m sorry, Elena,” he said quietly. “I couldn’t control myself.”

I shook my head and reached for his face. I traced the line of his cheek, the bridge of his nose, the corner of his mouth, reminding him I was here. That I was okay.

His expression eased a little, but his eyes stayed heavy.

“I’ll find a way to fix your voice,” he promised.

I nodded.

If I could see him again if I could stay beside him then losing my voice forever wouldn’t break me.

The mirror was fogged up from the steam. I dipped my finger into the water and wrote one name on the glass.

Theo.

The last two days had been chaos. Pain. Running. Hiding. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to ask what happened after I disappeared.

Lewis understood immediately. His voice stayed calm, but his hand tightened around mine.

“The day Theo sent you away, I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong,” he said. “Not long after… I got news of the crash. Your car collided with another vehicle, caught fire, and went over the edge into the ocean.”

My fingers tightened around his hand without thinking.

He must have felt like his world ended right there.

Lewis rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. “It’s in the past now.”

I mouthed silently, What about Theo?

“He was injured,” Lewis said. “They pulled him out alive, but he ended up in intensive care. He only made it through these past two days.”

In my mind, I saw Theo’s face. Tall. Quiet. Always standing in the background, always stepping in when danger came too close. He had protected Lewis and me more than once.

Theo must have known what Amber would do once I was gone. He must have known there was no way out. Maybe that crash was his last attempt to escape her grip.

I looked at Lewis and signed carefully with my hands, Don’t blame him. He had no choice.

Lewis’s expression darkened. “You don’t blame him? He deceived me. He sent you to Yael.”

I swallowed and signed again, Amber is the real mastermind.

Even though Thad hinted in those messages that Amber wanted me dead, I knew the Doltons meant something different to Lewis. They hadn’t hurt him directly. And deep down, a small fear kept twisting in my chest.

What if Lewis chose them over me?

My thoughts began to spiral, but Lewis cut through it like he always did. He held my hand tighter and spoke softer.

“I understand,” he said.

His words steadied me.

Then he continued, voice low. “Theo was rushed to the hospital unconscious. Your ’body’ sank into the sea. Everyone thought you were dead.”

I mouthed, What about you?

“When I got the news, I couldn’t accept it,” he admitted. “I sent people to search the waters. Day and night. They found nothing.”

I tried to picture it Lewis standing at the shore, eyes empty, refusing to leave. The bond between us stretched thin, pulled to the point of snapping, and he still kept searching.

“The currents there are dangerous,” he said. “Most of them believed you were swept away. Lost forever. But whether I was going to find you… or avenge you… I started reviewing every detail.”

His jaw clenched.

“Then I realized something was off. I had someone investigate Theo’s movements. And the Doltons’ strange behavior the day before the accident.”

I mouthed, What did you find?

Lewis’s eyes turned distant, like he was re-watching the past.

“Theo was adopted by Amber,” he said. “Years ago, I saved him. He stayed by my side ever since. But he never mentioned Amber. Which means our meeting wasn’t a coincidence. It was arranged.”

My stomach tightened.

“When I was struggling in Jaford,” he continued, “with my leg still untreated, Theo stayed with me through everything. I thought it was loyalty. Gratitude. But now I see it differently. He was placed near me. A pawn. Someone meant to watch me… and keep me alive.”

I stared at him, trying to catch up.

“He’s trained,” Lewis added. “Combat. Weapons. The best kind of enforcer. That time I was pushed into the sea and the Doltons ’saved’ me… it wasn’t random. It feels like they placed Theo there to make sure I never faced danger again.”

I mouthed, How did you figure it out?

Lewis’s gaze sharpened.

“Because of Tiffany,” he said. “The day she lured me to the hotel and drugged me, I contacted Amber. When she arrived, she attacked Tiffany without hesitation. Almost beat her to death.”

My throat tightened at the memory.

“Amber said something that stuck with me,” Lewis continued. “She said Tiffany and I were impossible. Not ’wrong.’ Not ’bad.’ Impossible. Her tone was too certain.”

I lifted my finger again and wrote on the foggy glass:

Blood relation.

Lewis nodded slowly. “Exactly. That’s when everything clicked. Why the Doltons always treated me well. Why Amber stopped me from being with Tiffany. It had to be blood.”

He took a breath, then added, “Your disappearance… Theo’s silence in the ICU… it made me suspect Amber was involved. If she is, then this plan started more than a decade ago. Theo may not even be the only one she planted around me.”

His eyes held mine.

“I didn’t know if you were truly gone,” he said. “So I investigated quietly. And then… you called me.”

My chest loosened a little. I had worried he wouldn’t believe me. But he had already pulled so many threads by himself.

I wrote another message on the glass, my finger shaking slightly.

Whitney said Amber is Vito and Yael’s biological mother.

Lewis’s face didn’t change much, but I saw something cold pass behind his eyes.

“I had someone follow her,” he said. “I saw her meeting Vito for coffee. I guessed there was a connection. I didn’t expect her to be his mother.”

That should have explained so much.

But it made something else even worse.

I mouthed, If she’s their mother… then what is she to you?

Lewis’s expression shifted. Like he already had the answer sitting on his tongue, but he didn’t want to say it out loud.

I pressed him with my eyes. Carl. Tell me.

Instead of answering, he stood and wrapped me in a towel.

“You’ve soaked long enough,” he said. “Let’s get out.”

I grabbed his wrist and held on.

No more secrets.

Not after everything. Not after the Stone of Duality. Not after being torn apart by lies.

Lewis stared at me for a long moment, then sighed like he was giving up a fight.

“Let me dry your hair first,” he said quietly.

He helped me into pajamas and gently blow-dried my hair. My face still burned from the reaction, but my heart was racing for a different reason. The silence between us felt heavy. Like thunder waiting to break.

When he finished, I sat there, still, watching him. Waiting.

After a long pause, Lewis finally spoke. His voice was low. Serious.

“Elena…” He swallowed. “What if… she’s my mother?”