Chapter 29: A Glimpse of the Past
Eleanor stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in her study, her gaze lingering on the dark sky above. The stars were scattered like spilled glitter, faint yet constant, whispering memories of a past she’d tried for so long to forget. In the distance, a plane passed silently overhead, blinking red and white across the heavens.
Her thoughts swirled like a storm cloud. "The assassination order wasn’t for Eleanor Raynor... but for Eleanor Whitmore," she murmured to herself.
That detail changed everything.
"It means the order didn’t come from the business world... and definitely not from the supernatural circles either. If it had, the bounty would be in the millions... not a mere hundred thousand dollars. No, this is personal. It has to be the Whitmore family."
She clenched her fists, brows furrowed in cold realization. "Willow White must have informed Jennifer about my return. And now... they’re desperate. Of course... they would be. The seven-year deadline is almost here. They can’t take any chances."
A wave of memories from her childhood hit her like a gust of winter wind... sharp, sudden, and unrelenting.
Her mother had passed away when she was barely six months old. The only thing she had left of her was a few faded photographs and the business empire she’d built from scratch. Eleanor’s memories before her bloodline awakening had been vague, but afterward, everything was vivid. Strangely, despite the mental clarity, she still couldn’t recall a single moment spent with her mother. Her presence existed only in stories... and regrets.
After her mother’s death, Aunt Isabella had stepped in. A kind woman who claimed to be a distant relative of her mother’s side. Eleanor had no memory of ever meeting another member of her maternal family. She does not even know the names of her grandparents. Nothing. Her mother’s world had been erased... was it deliberate?
She remembered being eight when Jeanne, her "kind" stepmother, suddenly fired Aunt Isabella. Eleanor had cried for days. Jeanne had comforted her, winning her trust with a sweet voice and fake warmth. It wasn’t until now that Eleanor realized she had completely forgotten about Isabella.