Chapter 239: A Grandmother’s Fading Sight

Grandma lay still in bed, her body too weak to move. Her breathing was quiet, and the blanket barely rose and fell with her chest. Mrs. Lambert leaned down close to her ear and spoke gently, like she was afraid any louder sound might break her."Mrs. liora... Mr. Hale is here to see you."

I didn’t know how Lewis had managed to bring Grandma to a place like this without anyone finding out, but Mrs. Lambert trusted him completely. That alone told me how much Lewis must have done behind the scenes to keep Grandma safe.

I stepped closer to the bed, my heart hammering with hope and fear at the same time. "Grandma... can you see me?" I asked, leaning forward, almost holding my breath.

Her eyes moved... but they slid past me.

They landed on Julian and Lewis instead, and the change in her face was immediate. Her lips tightened, and the anger rose like fire in her weak body.

"Ju..." Her voice sounded strained, sharp with effort. Then she forced the words out, slow and heavy. "Get... out!"

Even speaking seemed to cost her. She looked healthier than the last time I saw her her cheeks had more color, and her body didn’t look as hollow. But the moment she focused on Julian, her face flushed with fury and her gaze narrowed like she wanted to burn a hole through him.

Julian went pale. He stood there stiffly, caught off guard. "liora, I "

But Lewis didn’t allow any long explanation. He stepped closer to the bed and went straight to what mattered.

"liora," he said firmly, "can you see Elena?"

Grandma blinked in confusion. Her brows furrowed slowly, like she was searching the room for something she couldn’t find. And in that moment, I understood.

She couldn’t see me anymore.

She had seen me before when she was hanging on the edge of death, when her spirit was so thin and her will to live was almost gone. Back then, because of Camilla... because of everything that happened, Grandma had been able to hear me. See me. Sense me.

But now she was recovering. Now she was coming back to life.

And my presence was fading from her reach.

It hurt, but it was also a relief. It meant she was getting better. It meant she was out of danger.

Lewis’s face stayed calm, but I saw the worry fighting through it. Maybe he already knew what this meant, but he didn’t want Grandma to carry that fear. He was trying to shield her, even now.

But Grandma wasn’t naïve. Even stuck in bed, even unable to rise, she was still sharp. If Lewis had come here in the middle of the night asking about me, how could she not be alarmed?

"Elena... how...?" she murmured, her voice breaking with confusion and dread.

Lewis’s shoulders tensed. He hesitated for a second, then lowered his voice and explained gently that my spirit had left my body again. He didn’t use dramatic words. He didn’t need to. The meaning landed like a stone.

Grandma’s eyes filled instantly. Tears slipped down the sides of her face, and her body trembled as she tried to push herself up, driven by panic and love.

"Grandma, don’t move," I pleaded, stepping forward without thinking. "I’m right here."

I reached out to stop her only for my hand to pass straight through her.

That helplessness hit me so hard I almost doubled over. I could only watch as Mrs. Lambert hurried to soothe her, rubbing her shoulder carefully, speaking with a calm firmness.

"Mrs. liora, please don’t worry. If Ms. Elena is really here, she would be so distressed seeing you like this. You’ve just come back from death’s door. If something happens to you now, what would she do? You’re her only support in the Morrigan family."

Lewis added quickly, his voice steady but urgent. "Yes, liora. I checked Elena’s body myself. Her heart rate is fine. She’s in a coma. As soon as her soul returns, she’ll be okay."

Finally, Grandma stopped fighting to sit up. Her body sank back into the pillows, but the tears didn’t stop. They flowed freely, quietly, and it tore me apart that I couldn’t wipe them away. I couldn’t even hold her hand.

"Grandma... I’m so sorry," I whispered, my throat thick. "You’re already at this age, and you’re still worrying about me."

Julian cleared his throat, his face tight with tension. "Uncle... could it be that liora can’t see her because Elena isn’t actually here? Maybe we should try the candle again."

Lewis didn’t argue. He just lit the candle again, and all of us Julian, Theo, Mrs. Lambert, even Grandma watched that small flame like it held my life inside it.

The room was warm. Quiet. Heavy with fear.

Then the candle suddenly went out.

Mrs. Lambert let out a sharp gasp and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh my... Ms. Elena really is here."

She shuddered, rubbing her arms. I could tell she had heard stories about spirits all her life, the kind older people talk about like warnings. But facing it in real time was different. Even someone as composed as Mrs. Lambert looked shaken.

Grandma’s tears began again, and her lips trembled as she whispered my name.

"Elena..."

"Grandma, please don’t cry," I begged, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me.

Lewis’s face turned pale. For a moment, I saw it his hope breaking. He had wanted the candle to do more than prove I was nearby. He had wanted it to pull me back into my body. He had wanted a miracle.

But nothing changed.

Mrs. Lambert glanced toward the window, where the snow was falling thick and fast. The roads outside would be slick and dangerous. She looked back at Lewis with concern.

"Mr. Hale... it’s already very late. Why don’t you both stay the night? You can try again tomorrow."

It was a sensible suggestion. But Lewis couldn’t accept it.

Even if my body was stable right now, what if my spirit stayed away too long? What if my body began to weaken? What if "tomorrow" became too late?

Every second felt like a countdown to him.

"Take care of liora," Lewis said firmly. "We’re leaving now. There are still things we need to handle."

"Mr. Hale " Mrs. Lambert started.

Lewis’s voice sharpened, not at her, but at the danger he could already see. "Mrs. Lambert, the situation outside is dangerous. Don’t contact anyone. If liora’s location leaks, it’ll be too late. We’ve pushed them into a corner, and cornered people become desperate."

Mrs. Lambert’s face tightened. Then she nodded. "Alright, Mr. Hale. Please be careful."

Lewis and Julian left again.

In the car, Julian’s frustration finally boiled over. His hands clenched into fists as he stared forward. "Uncle, what do we do now? We don’t know anything about... about things like this. Should we get a priest?"

Lewis’s grip tightened on the armrest until his knuckles looked rigid. "You go back to the residence," he said coldly. "I’ll handle Elena."

Julian turned to him sharply. "But "

Lewis cut him off immediately, his tone hard and protective. "We stumbled into their hideout and cut off their money. Even if they don’t know it was us, their targets were always the Hales and the Morrigans. They might retaliate. The Hales can’t be left unguarded."

Then Lewis placed a heavy hand on Julian’s shoulder, forcing him to meet his eyes.

"Julian," he said slowly, "I know you’re upset that Elena married me. But be honest with yourself. You only got close to her because you claimed you saved her life. We both know it was me. I still gave you a chance at the Hales, and at Elena. I don’t owe you anything anymore."

Julian’s face tightened, but he didn’t speak.

Lewis’s voice didn’t soften much, but it became more personal, more cutting because it was true. "For years, things came easy to you. That’s why you never learned responsibility. And now look at this situation. You’re turning thirty this year. Thirty is when a man should stop drifting. You’re a Hale no matter who your father is. You’re the one Jeffrey and Adam protected like a treasure. It’s time you protected the family for once."

Julian lowered his gaze, shame and regret flashing across his face. "Uncle... I’m sorry."

"You don’t owe me an apology," Lewis said, firm. "You owe it to the people who believed in you. I know you’ve been sinking into yourself. Avoiding treatment. Maybe you think you deserve to die for your mistakes. But even if you died, it wouldn’t fix anything. It wouldn’t help the Hales. It wouldn’t bring Elena peace."

Lewis paused, then his voice dropped, heavier. "Julian... hasn’t Elena’s death been enough to teach you what matters? Life is about what you do with the time you still have. That’s how you begin to make things right."

Julian swallowed hard. "Uncle... I know what I need to do now."

Lewis patted his shoulder once, a final push. "Good. Go back to the Hales. Someone will drive you."

Julian hesitated. "And you?"

Lewis stared out at the falling snow, his profile calm but his eyes dark with determination. When he spoke, his voice was steady almost gentle.

"I’m going to find my wife."

Julian watched him step out, and something inside him shifted. The gap between him and Lewis felt wider than he had ever understood before. He had lost completely, not just in love, but in conviction.

"Uncle," Julian said quietly, his voice thick with emotion, "I trust you with Elena. I’m at peace now."

Then he closed the door and walked away into the snow.

After Julian left, Lewis waved off the driver and sat alone in the car. The silence inside felt deep, like the world was holding its breath. He turned his head slightly toward the empty seat beside him, as if he could sense me there.

A faint smile touched his lips, soft and broken at the same time.

"Elena," he murmured, "how about a little drive?"