Page 50 of Ivory Legacy

Standing up from the chair, I nodded at my father, “Understood,” and turned towards Marco. His face had lost some of its usual color, looking like he wanted to disappear into the ground. We both knew our mother was another battlefield we hadn’t yet won; our recent wounds were a constant reminder of the world we were born into—a world we couldn’t escape without consequences.

But our mother at least knew what she had been getting into.

Did Jade?

Chapter Twenty-Four: Jade

Ididn’t like seeing Ellie like this.

I didn’t think I had ever seen her cry…and she wasn’t stopping. This was disturbing.

Ellie’s hand shook as she lifted the cup to her lips, a futile attempt to disguise the tears that betrayed her composure. We sat in the coffee shop, the early evening winter sky darkening outside, the bustle of the city a muted soundtrack to our private drama.

“Jade,” she started, voice cracking as another tear escaped, tracing a path down her cheek. “I swear, I never meant for any of this to happen.”

The sight was jarring—Ellie, the rock-solid scientist with a quip for every crisis, unraveling before me. Her usually precise and jovial banter was absent, replaced by the raw edge ofvulnerability. The Ellie I knew, who navigated the complexities of BioHQ with unwavering logic, seemed like a distant memory.

I reached across the table, my hand hovering in hesitation, unsure of how to comfort her without knowing the cause of her distress. The warmth of the coffee shop did little to thaw the chill that had settled between us, the scent of roasted beans and the soft murmur of conversations only emphasizing the silence that loomed.

“Talk to me,” I urged, keeping my tone even, fighting the storm of emotions already brewing within.

The clatter of coffee cups and the low hum of conversations became a distant blur as I focused on Ellie. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, the corners of her mouth twitching in a failed attempt at composure. My heart thudded in response to her obvious pain.

“Ellie, what’s going on?” The question came out sharper than I intended, my concern breaching the walls of patience.

She bit her lip, hesitating, before the dam broke. “Jade, it’s about the Morettis.” Her words stumbled out between shallow breaths. “It’s what I need to apologize to you about.”

“What do you mean?”

“Enzo Moretti? As in...” I trailed off, unable to mask my disbelief. My thoughts raced—connections forming, theories crafting, yet nothing made sense. Why would Ellie be involved with the likes of him?

“Listen,” she urged, her gaze imploring me to hear her out. “He asked me to do something, something I’m not proud of.”

“What did he ask you to do, Ellie?” My voice was low, demanding, every muscle in my body tensed for an answer I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear.

“Keep tabs on you, Jade.” Her voice quivered, a tremor of guilt flashing in her brown eyes. “For Dante. Because he...he has taken an interest in you.”

A cold laugh escaped my lips, incredulous. “You accepted a job to spy on me? For a crime lord?”

“He offered BioHQ funding, enough to secure our research for years.” Ellie’s plea hung heavy between us, her hands now clasped tightly in her lap. “It was a lot of money, Jade. I thought...I thought it would help us.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I promise you I wasn’t going to get up and walk away, so talk me through this.”

“It started the day of the gala,” she said, looking away from me. “I got home late and got a phone call to my landline, which was weird, because no one uses that. Anyway, I picked up, thinking it was some emergency. And it was this guy, and he said that he wanted to talk about funding BioHQ. Big seed money.”

I took a sip of my cooling coffee, waiting for her to finish.

“His voice had this...urgency, like every word was laced with silent commands,” Ellie said, eyes darting to meet mine before skittering away. “He didn’t introduce himself at first, just dove straight into what he wanted.”

I leaned forward, my heart pounding against the walls of my chest. “And when you asked who he was?”

Ellie’s lips parted, then pressed together as if sealing away the gravity of the name. “He said it didn’t matter.” Her voice cracked, but she pushed on. “Like his identity was just a trivial detail compared to what he was offering—commanding.”

“Did you question him further?” My words were tight, clipped with the strain of keeping my emotions in check.

“Of course, I did,” Ellie whispered, folding in on herself. “I asked why he hadn’t contacted Dr. White directly, why me?”

“And?” The single word hung between us, dense with demand.

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