Chapter 65: Wrong Door

Daemon slammed the brakes.

The car screeched to a halt just short of the crossing. A few pedestrians flinched and turned, but nothing worse happened.

Roxanna’s shout still rang in his ears, sharp enough that his pulse had not fully settled yet.

Victoria leaned forward from the back seat at once.

"What happened?"

Daemon exhaled and loosened his grip on the steering wheel.

"I think I need to sleep properly. That’s all."

Sana studied him through the rear view mirror, then nodded slowly.

"Yeah... you do look out of it."

Roxanna still had one hand against the dashboard, her heart clearly not settled yet. After a moment, she forced herself to calm down as well.

"If you’re tired, just say so next time. Don’t scare us like that."

Daemon gave a short nod and did not explain further. The blurred image of the little girl was still stuck somewhere behind his eyes, soft laughter and an unfinished voice lingering like smoke. This was not the place to talk about it.

He turned the wheel and drove toward the ice cream shop Calista had pointed out earlier.

The shop was bright, colorful, and far too cheerful for Daemon’s current mood.

Warm lights glowed over glass displays packed with pastel colors and overloaded toppings. The moment they stepped inside, Calista pressed herself against the counter glass like a child discovering treasure.

Even in human form, with her mask still covering her face, her excitement was impossible to hide. She pointed from one flavor to another without pause.

"That one... that one too... and that one!"

Victoria watched her with open amusement.

"There is a limit to how much food you can eat."

Calista turned her masked face toward her immediately.

"I can."

Sana snorted.

"She said that with confidence."

Daemon stood slightly behind them, still quieter than usual. Victoria noticed and nudged his arm lightly.

"You’re buying."

Daemon looked at her.

"Why me?"

"Because you almost drove us into a crossing," Victoria replied smoothly. "Consider this compensation."

Sana raised a hand.

"I support this judgment."

Roxanna smiled helplessly.

"I... also cannot argue."

Daemon sighed and took out his card.

In the end, Calista received a ridiculously large cup filled with more flavors than any one person should combine.

Chocolate, strawberry, some sparkling blue scoop she had insisted on, and far too many sprinkles.

Victoria wiped a bit of cream from the edge of Calista’s mask with surprising patience, while Sana openly laughed at the sight.

"She is going to get a stomach ache," Sana said.

"She will survive," Victoria replied.

Calista took another enthusiastic bite, completely unconcerned.

For a short while, the tension from the car faded into something lighter. The ordinary noise of the shop, the cold sweetness in the air, and Calista’s open delight made the moment feel almost normal.

Daemon watched Victoria and Calista from the side. The way Victoria treated her was natural. Too natural. Protective without effort. Soft without thinking.

He did not comment on it.

But he noticed.

By the time they left the shop, the sky had grown darker.

Victoria directed him through quieter roads until the car stopped before a large estate gate.

Clean stone walls rose on both sides. Neatly kept gardens stretched beyond the entrance, and the private residence beyond them clearly belonged to old money.

Daemon glanced at her.

"You’re sure this is the place?"

Victoria unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Of course. This is my home."

The Victoria Hale estate.

Even from outside, it felt different from an ordinary safe house. It was a place with history, servants, and layers of protection money alone could buy.

After everything that had happened, the estate’s silence felt almost unreal.

The moment they entered the main house, a female servant approached and bowed politely.

"Welcome back, Miss Victoria."

Victoria nodded.

"Where is my mother?"

"She went out shopping and to meet her friends," the servant replied. "She said she would return later."

"Good," Victoria said. "Prepare rooms for the guests. They will be staying here for now. And prepare food."

Her eyes briefly shifted to the small bat that had returned to her shoulder at some point during the walk inside.

"Especially prepare more of the kind of food a child would like."

The servant looked slightly confused by the request, her gaze flicking once toward the bat, but she still bowed without question.

"Yes, Miss Victoria."

As the servant left, Sana and Roxanna exchanged a look.

Sana leaned closer to Roxanna and whispered,

"Is it just me, or is she treating that bat like her actual daughter?"

Roxanna whispered back,

"It is not just you. She even ordered children’s food."

Victoria did not notice their confusion. Or if she did, she ignored it completely.

Calista remained comfortably settled on her shoulder, as if the arrangement had already been accepted by the entire household.

While the others settled in, Daemon’s gaze remained on Calista.

After a moment, he quietly called out in his mind.

System. Can you show me her details? Anything. Race confirmation, identity, connection, anything I can use to understand her.

The response came clean and flat.

[Denied.]

[Targets connected to Host’s sealed past cannot be fully analyzed.]

[Related information is contained within Memory Capsules.]

Daemon clicked his tongue softly.

"...Of course."

So even the System refused to give him a direct answer. Whatever Calista was to him, it was buried with the rest of his forgotten life.

The same wall appeared every time he pushed toward the truth memory seals, incomplete visions, and answers locked behind percentages he had not yet reached.

He let out a quiet breath and said nothing to the others.

"Everyone freshen up first," Victoria said. "Food will take a little time."

The main bathroom of the Hale estate was enormous.

White stone stretched across the floor and walls. Wide mirrors reflected soft light, and a deep bath area sat beneath an open space large enough for several people.

The moment the girls saw it, the decision was made without discussion.

Sana pointed at Daemon immediately.

"Out."

Daemon frowned.

"Why?"

Victoria was already removing her outer coat.

"Because this one is ours."

Roxanna looked mildly apologetic, but she still did not argue. Calista fluttered once and followed Victoria without hesitation, completely loyal to her chosen side.

A servant quickly guided Daemon down the corridor and opened another door.

"This way, sir."

The second bathroom was clean and well-kept, but clearly smaller and simpler. No wide bath.

No luxurious open space. Just a practical shower room meant for convenience rather than comfort. Daemon stepped inside, and finally let the quiet settle around him.

Hot water poured down over his shoulders.

Steam filled the room.

His thoughts, however, refused to stay still.

Morwenna’s words.

The sealed red box.

Kassia’s missing trail.

Calista’s voice.

The little girl in his vision.

Every new answer only seemed to create two more questions, and somehow all of them were tied back to him.

To a past he still could not touch. To a life that kept leaking into the present in broken pieces.

The more he moved forward, the more it felt like the truth was walking just out of reach, always one step ahead of him.

He closed his eyes and let the water run over his face.

He needed to calm down.

He needed clarity.

For a moment, under the steady heat of the shower, he almost managed it.

Then, without warning, the bathroom door opened.

Daemon turned off the shower at once.

A soft rush of cooler air entered the room, cutting through the steam. Light footsteps touched the floor.

His lips curved slightly.

Victoria?

The timing was perfect. Too perfect. He could already imagine the look on her face if he stepped out like this shock first, then irritation, then the sharp glare she always used when he crossed a line on purpose.

A mischievous thought crossed his mind.

Fine.

If she wanted to surprise him, he could return the favor.

Without bothering to grab a towel, Daemon walked out from behind the shower area toward the front of the bathroom, completely bare, steam still rising off his skin.

"You could at least knock"

The words died in his throat.

The woman standing there turned her head.

She was not Victoria.

For one frozen second, both of them stared at each other in pure shock. The woman’s eyes widened violently.

Color drained from her face as her mouth opened and a scream tore up her throat.

Daemon moved on pure reflex.

He stepped in close and pressed a finger against her lips, cutting the sound off before it could fully escape into the hallway.

The bathroom went dead silent.

Steam drifted between them.

Daemon’s expression stiffened.

The woman’s face was pale with panic, her body locked in place as if she could not decide whether to run or freeze completely.

And neither of them moved.