My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 426

Chapter 426: Chapter 426 COINCIDENCE

SERAPHINA’S POV

Across the courtyard, the man froze.

I saw him hesitate, and then, with a sharp movement, he turned.

The moment his eyes met mine, recognition flared.

“Sera?” Maxwell gasped, disbelief threading through his voice as he stepped fully into the light. “What are you—”

His gaze flicked to Kieran. Then back to me.

Then, just as quickly, his jaw set and his eyes hardened.

“Not here,” he said under his breath.

I didn’t argue.

The courtyard suddenly felt smaller. Tighter. Like every shadow had grown ears.

Kieran’s hand slipped into mine, and together we moved toward Maxwell’s door instead of ours.

He stepped back to let us in, closing it behind us with a quiet click that sounded as loud as a gunshot.

The room was simple and sparse. A bed, a narrow table, a chair positioned beneath a small window.

“What are you doing here?” Maxwell asked, keeping his voice low.

I crossed my arms, studying him carefully. “We could ask you the same thing.”

A flicker of something—hesitation?—crossed his face. Then he exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m here because of Willow.”

I frowned. “Your ex-wife?”

He nodded.

“What about her?”

“She’s working a case,” he said. “Her research team flagged a pattern—disappearances that didn’t make sense. No bodies. No traces. Just...gone.”

A chill slid down my spine.

He stepped closer to the table, bracing his hands against it as if grounding himself.

“At first, it looked like scattered incidents. Different regions. Different profiles. No clear connection.” His jaw tightened. “Until they started lining up the timelines.”

“And?” I pressed.

“And every trail led here,” he said quietly.

“This place?” I asked, glancing toward the door as if I could see through it to the courtyard beyond.

“This place,” Maxwell confirmed. “Or more specifically—who runs it.”

My pulse picked up.

“The mysterious owner,” I said.

Maxwell nodded. “Mysterious is an understatement. No one knows his identity. Doesn’t show his face. Doesn’t deal with people directly.” His mouth twisted. “But recently, word’s been spreading.”

“What kind of word?” Kieran asked.

Maxwe hesitated for a beat before continuing.

“He can reunite people,” he said. “With the ones they’ve lost.”

The chill spread to my veins, and goosebumps prickled my skin. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“By ‘lost’, you mean...”

“I mean, there have been rumors of people reuniting with loved ones they’d buried.”

Kieran swore under his breath.

I ran a hand through my hair, massaging my scalp to stave off the forming headache.

“What have you found out?” I asked Maxwell.

“Not much yet,” he said. “We’re still in the recon phase.”

“We—” I paused. “Willow’s here?”

He nodded. “Not inside the inn. Too risky. She and her team are working from the perimeter. Tracking movement. Watching who comes and goes.” His voice dropped. “Trying to figure out where the missing people are being funneled.”

“Missing people?”

He nodded. “Those who get reunited usually...disappear shortly after the reunion.”

“Of course they do,” I sighed.

Maxwell’s eyes narrowed as he looked between Kieran and me.

“Your reactions are...” He straightened. “Do you two know anything about this?”

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