The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call (Wynter Quinnell) novel Chapter 1896

The fog outside grew thicker. Looking down from above, the entire Maynerd villa seemed somewhat eerie, as if hiding secrets.

When Wynter suggested there was a third malevolent spirit, the three cultivators' faces instantly paled.

One of them murmured, "The worst fear of anyone who's ever summoned spirits to inspect a household knows is encountering an unborn soul that can't be detected because you don't know whose body it's possessing now.

"You have no idea what its next move will be. Artifacts and the like can't harm it, either. Yet, as a malevolent spirit, it can leave or kill at any moment."

As he spoke, a chill ran down everyone's spine. With so many people in the Maynerd family now, there was no way to determine who was harmless if the malevolent spirit remained hidden inside someone's body without revealing its energy.

Could they trust each other, even among the three of them? Their expressions shifted noticeably, eyeing one another with newfound wariness.

Grim and Vesper were only responsible for guiding souls and locking fates. They could discern some things, but they couldn't interfere in mortal affairs. Once they intervened, they'd be bound by karma.

Moreover, if the possessed person consented, they were even less allowed to speak up. Doing so would violate the underworld guards' taboos, and the ones facing annihilation might then be them. So, Grim and Vesper stood there rigidly, neither moving nor drawing their chains.

Clearly, without the third malevolent spirit revealing itself, the current situation was unsolvable.

The three cultivators said nothing more, each secretly trying to use maple leaves to open their spiritual sight to no avail. They still couldn't see anything.

"We can't find it. What do we do?"

"There's truly no way. If this drags on, dawn will break soon."

"Where is the third malevolent spirit?"

"It must be possessing someone. Otherwise, we wouldn't have failed to detect it."

"What does this spirit even want? It hasn't even made a move."

"It doesn't need to. As long as it stays hidden, people will die."

The cultivators understood the gravity of the situation, and the more they spoke, the more unsettled they grew. At the side, Driscoll tightened his arm around Celestine.

Wynter interrupted them at that moment, "No one will die. I know where it is."

The three cultivators turned to her in unison. Everyone else also fixed their eyes on Wynter.

She walked toward Driscoll, then suddenly grabbed Celestine's wrist.

The crowd gasped at her action.

Driscoll instinctively moved to shield Celestine, but Dalton was faster, stopping him with a calm yet firm grip. "Mr. Maynerd, stay calm."

But Driscoll's eyes still burned with worry.

Celestine, still tearful, froze for a split second. "What is this supposed to mean?"

"You hid yourself well. It's almost impossible to detect your presence." Wynter stared straight at Celestine. The Spirit Token had already coiled around her wrist, binding her soul in place. "But then again, it's not so surprising. You were already in this body to begin with."

Celestine's gaze flickered. "I don't understand what you're—"

Hearing that, Celestine's fingers stiffened.

"We didn't detect you at first, but not because your cultivation was profound." Wynter tapped Celestine's stomach lightly, her eyes darkening."It was because your mother has been protecting you in her own way.

"Do you really think she didn't know you were a malevolent spirit? You're wrong. Your mother is sharp, realizing long ago that you meant harm. But she still felt guilty toward you. After all, you never got to live.

"To her, she'll always be someone who has lost a child. No one suffers more than a mother who has to endure that. She had so much hope for you and your sister. It became an unhealed wound in her heart.

"So, she was happy when you came to her. She was even willing to sacrifice her own lifespan to nurture you."

Wynter tightened the red thread in her hand, the Spirit Token gleaming sharply. "But you took it all for granted. You were stillborn, so you resented your sister for 'stealing' your share of nourishment in the womb. Unfortunately, I'll have you know that's just biology.

"You think that's unfair," Wynter's voice remained steady, "but it seems you've forgotten that you wouldn't even have had the chance to become a spirit if no one had mourned you."

Celestine's lips parted, but this time, the voice that came out was unmistakably that of a young boy. "You're lying! Don't think I'll believe you just because you phrased it like that!"

At those words, the entire room froze.

No one had ever imagined that the third malevolent spirit would be the twin brother they'd mentioned earlier—the Maynerd family's lost heir, the stillborn child who should have lived.

And no one could have guessed that he'd been possessing Celestine all along. Worse yet, Celestine had known!

The three cultivators were speechless. If they'd once dismissed Wynter as a novice who'd hold them back, now, they were ready to bow to her in reverence.