Chapter 147

"Grandpa Vale, is Roman your biological grandson?"

Aria Bennett's sudden question caught the elderly man off guard.

He nodded instinctively. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Damian Cross's sharp instincts picked up on the tension. His voice deepened as he asked, "Did something happen to Roman?"

Aria's expression turned grave. "Your physiognomy shows a sudden dimming in the descendant palace, and the kinship line is fluctuating violently. Roman's life is hanging by a thread."

"What?" Grandpa Vale's face paled, and the teacup in his hand shattered on the floor.

The hospital room fell into stunned silence.

Several elderly men who had been playing with the ink monkey froze, their eyes darting nervously toward the commotion.

"Young lady, you can't make such claims lightly," Grandpa Vale said, his voice trembling with suppressed fury.

Damian quickly intervened. "Grandpa Vale, Aria is a recognized prodigy in metaphysics. She wouldn't be mistaken."

Aria's fingers moved rapidly as she performed a divination. Suddenly, she looked up. "Within two minutes, you'll receive a call about Roman's accident."

"Preposterous!" A white-haired elder nearby slammed his hand on the table. "I just saw the boy this morning—he was full of life!"

Yet Grandpa Vale felt an inexplicable dread creeping into his heart.

Just then—

Ring!

The shrill ringtone pierced the silence of the room.

Everyone's expressions darkened.

With shaking hands, Grandpa Vale pulled out his phone. The name "Alistair Vale" glared ominously from the screen.

"Hello?" His voice was tight.

On the other end, Roman's father sobbed uncontrollably. "Dad! Roman suddenly started bleeding from all orifices and collapsed. The doctors say... he might not make it through the night..."

Clang!

The phone hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Grandpa Vale staggered back two steps before Damian caught him.

"Old Vale!"

"Grandpa!"

Amid the shocked cries, Aria stepped forward and pressed a finger to the old man's forehead. "Steady!"

A cooling energy flowed into him, instantly clearing his chaotic thoughts.

He seized Aria's wrist with desperate strength. "Master Bennett, please save my grandson!"

The other elders exchanged bewildered glances, stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Aria's voice was firm. "We need to get to the hospital. I'll explain on the way."

The group hurried out of the room.

Inside the elevator, Grandpa Vale clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "He was perfectly fine when he left this morning. How could this—"

Aria cut in sharply. "Has Roman come into contact with anyone unusual recently?"

Damian's face darkened. "Yesterday, he mentioned meeting a fortune teller in the antique market."

"I knew it." Aria's eyes turned icy. "He's been cursed."

"What?" Grandpa Vale's voice was a mix of shock and rage. "Who dares target my family?"

Outside the ICU, the Vale family was in hysterics.

When they saw Grandpa Vale enter with a strange young woman, Roman's mother rushed forward, weeping. "Dad! Roman, he—"

"Step aside." Aria walked straight to the hospital bed.

Roman lay there, his face ashen, dark blood stains around his eyes, nose, and mouth. The heart monitor's line grew weaker by the second.

Aria pressed two fingers together and traced a sigil over Roman's forehead.

"Ahhh!"

A piercing scream erupted from Roman's body.

The heart monitor flatlined.

"Roman!" His mother lunged toward the bed with a heart-wrenching cry.

Aria barked, "Don't touch him!"

She bit her fingertip and let a single drop of blood fall precisely onto Roman's brow.

"Get out—now!"