?Chapter 523:


    Lance stared at the screen. She’d initiated a full transfer. Everyst dor. His heart tightened, pride and panic doing battle. “If I go through with this,” he asked slowly, “does that mean you’ll officially ept me as your protégé—and not throw me out?”


    “Sure.” Elliana nodded.


    Suddenly, Lance felt a surge of certainty—it was worth every penny. Without hesitation, he typed in his password. In an instant, his ount bnce plummeted to zero.


    At the same time, Elliana’s phone buzzed with a fresh notification. She nced down, a satisfied smile curling her lips. Then, she turned to Jeff. “Lance just paid for a chance to learn from me. He’s officially my protégé now. I’ll cover his room and board, but you? No freebies.”


    Quick on the uptake, Jeff didn’t hesitate. He whipped out his phone and transferred everyst cent of his savings—fifty million dors—right to Elliana’s ount.


    Elliana checked the alert, her smile widening with genuine pleasure. “Alright then. Both of you can stay, but remember—my rules.”


    Lance and Jeff nodded, faces the very picture of obedience.


    Elliana yawned and stretched, settling into her role effortlessly. “There are plenty of rooms upstairs. Pick any you like—just not the one beside mine. And keep the noise down. Tomorrow, the SAT resultse out. I need a good night’s sleep to face that.”


    With that, she rose and disappeared up the staircase.


    Jeff tugged Lance’s sleeve and whispered, “Do you think Elliana’s worried her results will be bad?”


    Though Jeff admired her endlessly, he had always doubted her exam prospects. She hadn’t even finished elementary school before tackling the SATs—how could she possibly ace the exams?


    N??w ??h??????????s r?l?as?d ??t g??l??ov?ls.??○??


    Lance, on the other hand, believed differently. With River’s genius-level brain behind her, the test should be a breeze. But telling Jeff the truth wasn’t an option. So, he shot Jeff a re that practically screamed, “moron,” and walked off.


    Jeff scooped up the little white cat, tightened his grip on his suitcase, and followed upstairs.


    Downstairs, Heather pouted loudly. “I thought living with Elliana would mean some peace and quiet, but now two Evanses have crashed this ce. So annoying!”


    Kieran tossed his rag onto the table, equally fed up.


    Clifton sighed deeply, eyes vacant as he stared into the distance.


    Meanwhile, back at the Evans family estate, everyone had already retreated to their rooms—everyone except Cole, who waited in the living room, eyes fixed on the door, expecting Jason to return with Lance and Jeff. But Jason came back alone.


    .


    .


    .