Chapter 435

The other half—predictably—was still with Robert. It made perfect sense. Robert, always several steps ahead, wouldn’t have left something so critical for Eleanor to seize entirely. Half a key was useless without the other. Even if someone managed to locate and extract it, the dark compartment’s intricate defenses, armed with hidden weapons, would ensure the endeavor came at a bloody cost. Robert had accounted for everything. He was a tactician who left nothing to chance, ensuring the key wouldn’t easily fall into the wrong hands—or any hands at all. For Eleanor, though, this half of the key represented something else entirely: an opportunity. Samuel’s sharp eyes locked onto the golden fragment in Eleanor’s hand. His jaw tightened, lips compressed into a thin line as he battled the storm of emotions swirling within him. “Well done, Robert,” Samuel muttered, his voice edged with bitter frustration. The revelation that the key had been split in two felt like yet another move in the ongoin