Chapter 81
First Attempt
Knowing the truth about the vines sent a chill through me that had nothing to do with the cool air of the mansion. It was the nature of it, the deliberate malice, the intelligence threaded into something that should have simply grown toward light. The idea lodged itself in my chest like a cold seed.
I could only hope the national defense teams and Dafa could handle it.
Clinging to that thought felt like grabbing a lifeline. My promise to Father. I needed to return to it. The weight of the Halton mansion, the intensity of Dafa's revelations, the silent wrongness of those vines, it was all too much. I felt stretched thin, fraying at the edges.
"I need to go home," I said.
The words came out sharper than I meant. Dafa looked up. His gaze flicked over my face, reading what I hadn't said.
"Of course," he replied, his voice shedding its commander's edge. He stood immediately, no questions asked. "You've had enough for one day."
