Rebirth Of The Heiress And The Tycoon's Lover (Alina) novel Chapter 344

Chapter 344

AUTHOR’S POV

The car rolled to a stop in front of the third library of the day.

It was a modest building, brick exterior softened by creeping ivy, tall windows fogged slightly from the chill outside. A place meant for quiet reflection, for patience. The kind of place that demanded calm.

Lucian felt none.

He killed the engine but didn’t move. His hands were still on the steering wheel, fingers gripping so tightly his knuckles had gone pale. The ticking sound of the cooling engine filled the silence, each second stretching longer than the last.

Ace glanced at him from the passenger seat.

“Lucian,” he said carefully, “you need to calm down and stay focused.”

Lucian exhaled through his nose, slow but strained. “And you think I am not trying?”

Violet sat in the back seat, arms folded around herself, watching the building through the window. She hadn’t spoken much since they left the safe house. Not because she had nothing to say, but because she was listening. Feeling the tension ripple between the two men like a live wire.

“This is the third library,” Ace continued. “We still have others, we will find it.”

Lucian finally let go of the wheel and leaned back in his seat, staring up at the car ceiling like it might offer him answers.

“They won’t be others for long,” he said quietly.

Ace turned toward him. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” Lucian replied, voice sharpening, “that now that Cassian has announced himself as Lucius Stormvale, they will try to erase me.”

Silence settled heavy and thick.

Ace’s jaw tightened. “You think he’ll move that fast?”

“I know he will.”

Lucian turned his head, eyes dark. “Because if I exist, his entire lie collapses.”

Violet swallowed. “So… splitting up like we planned…”

“No,” Lucian cut in immediately. “We don’t split up.”

Ace nodded. “Agreed.”

Lucian pushed the door open. “We stay together. All three of us. Every move.”

They entered the library quietly, the smell of old paper and polish wrapping around them like a memory.

Lucian went first, his posture alert but controlled, eyes sweeping the space out of habit. There was a librarian, two elderly patrons and a student hunched over a laptop.

The place was quiet in that neutral, public way. There were soft footsteps, low murmurs, the faint hum of air conditioning. It didn’t feel dangerous, but Lucian had learned the hard way that danger rarely announced itself.

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Chapter 344

Ace lingered half a step behind him, scanning exits. Violet stayed close, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her hoodie, gaze fixed ahead like she was bracing herself.

They approached the main desk.

The librarian looked up from her computer, offering a polite, practiced smile.

“Good afternoon. How can I help you?”

Lucian rested his forearms lightly on the counter. His voice was calm, deliberate.

“We’re looking to verify a membership.”

The librarian nodded. “Of course. Name?”

Lucian glanced sideways at Violet.

For a fraction of a second, she hesitated. Then she straightened, lifting her chin.

“Ruby Gail,” Violet said clearly.

The librarian’s fingers moved over the keyboard. The tapping felt unnaturally loud in the quiet space. Violet watched her hands, her breath shallow, heart beating too fast.

Ace shifted his weight, eyes flicking toward the windows.

Lucian remained still.

After a few seconds, the librarian frowned slightly and typed again, slower this time. She checked another screen, then another.

“I’m sorry,” she said at last, looking back up. “There’s no record of a member by that name here.”

Violet’s stomach dropped.

Lucian didn’t react outwardly. “You’re certain?”

The librarian nodded. “Yes. I checked current members and archived records. No Ruby Gail.”

Violet swallowed. “Are you sure she couldn’t have… I don’t know, used a different spelling? Or-”

The librarian gave an apologetic smile.

“If she had an account here under any variation, it would still show up connected to the ID. I’m afraid there’s nothing.”

Silence settled between them.

Lucian straightened slowly. “Alright. Thank you for your time.”

“Of course,” the librarian replied. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

They stepped away from the desk.

The moment they were out of earshot, Violet exhaled sharply, like she’d been holding her breath the entire time.

“That’s another dead end,” she whispered.

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “Or another

wrong location.”

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Chapter 344

Ace leaned closer. “Which means your mother was careful”

Violet nodded faintly. “She always was.”

Lucian looked around the library on

more time, committing details to memory. Then he turned toward them.

“Come on,” he said quietly. “Let’s look around.”

No dramatics. No speeches.

Just the weight of time pressing harder with o

They walked around the Library, sea every step they took away from the truth.

No Ruby Gail.

No clues.

But they searched anyway.

but…..Nothing.

Rows and rows of books. Reading corners. Archives. The even checked the small café tucked into the side of the building.

Nothing.

By the time they stepped back outside, Lucian’s patience had frayed into something raw and dangerous.

He paced the sidewalk, hands buried in his hair, tugging slightly as if grounding himself.

“Damn it,” he muttered. “We’re running out of time.”

Ace leaned against the car. “Lucian-”

“No,” Lucian snapped, spinning toward him. “Don’t tell me to calm down.”

Ace didn’t flinch. “I was going to tell you to breathe.”

Lucian laughed, sharp and humorless. “I can’t.”

Ace pushed off the car and stood in front of him. “You have to.”

Lucian’s eyes burned. “I can’t calm down because she’s trapped.”

Ace’s expression softened slightly. “I know.”

“She thinks she’s alone,” Lucian continued, voice cracking just enough to betray him. “She thinks no one is coming for her.”

Ace held his gaze. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” Lucian said fiercely. “Because I know her.”

He turned away, pacing again. “Do you know what scares me the most?”

Ace stayed quiet.

Lucian’s voice dropped. “What she does when she feels cornered.”

Ace frowned. “What do

Lucian stopped walking.

you mean?”

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Chapter 344

Slowly, he turned back.

“When she was in love with Adrian,” he said, every word weighed down by memory, “and I wouldn’t let her see him did you forget how many times she tried to kill herself.”

Ace’s breath caught. He remembered, of course he did.

“Multiple times.” Lucian added, quieter now. “Pills, slitting her wrist, hunger strike, threatening to jump off a balcony. Did you forget how she once drove recklessly into oncoming traffic.”

Violet sucked in a sharp breath behind them.

“She was desperate,” Lucian continued. “I know her well enough to know she isn’t afraid of death if it means getting what she wants,”

Ace ran a hand over his face. “Lucian…”

“She’s terrified right now,” Lucian said. “She’s locked in that house. No phone. No way out. Being forced into a marriage with a man she knows is lying.”

His voice shook. “You want me to calm down?”

Ace stepped closer. “You’re not wrong to be afraid. But you’re wrong if you think she’s the same girl she was back then.”

Lucian looked at him sharply.

“She’s come a long way,” Ace said firmly. “You helped her

get there.”

Lucian swallowed.

“She wouldn’t give up like that,” Ace continued. “Not anymore.”

Lucian shook his head slowly. “But she thinks she’s alone right now.”

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