773 Chapter 772

Erin cut straight to the point. “Lion knows about the 10 o’clock car crash prediction. He knows I asked about it, so he knows you must be aware too. And given your usual stubbornness, you’d obviously try to stop him from leaving. That’s why… Mollie made sure Ellie would be at the door at exactly 10. Because after 10, Ryan would be gone!”

Keira scoffed. “If what you’re saying is true, and Lion knew I’d block him from leaving by 10, why not have Ellie leave the house at 9:30 instead?”

Erin gave her a direct look. “Simple. The South family’s prediction was that he’d have a car crash at 10 a.m., right?”

Keira didn’t quite follow. “What are you getting at?”

Erin grinned. “The South family predicted he’d crash at 10, so there’s no way it could happen at 9:59, and definitely not at 10:01. If Ellie showed up at 9:59, something else would’ve happened to prevent it. Get it now?”

Keira paused, stunned. “So, what you’re saying is, if the South family predicted you’d die at dawn, even the Grim Reaper wouldn’t show up before then?”

Erin rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s the gist of it. But why does it have to be me dying?”

Keira raised an eyebrow. “I’m just making a point.”

“Well, still. Use Lion as an example instead.”

Keira sighed but kept silent.

Erin shot back, “Don’t you know about prophecy avoidance? You can’t just throw words around like that!”

Keira couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re superstitious for someone your age.”

“It’s not superstition,” Erin said seriously, looking her in the eye. “You shouldn’t underestimate things like this. Think about it—haven’t you ever noticed that the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen? There’s probably a psychology book about that. But have you ever considered that maybe it’s not just psychology? Maybe it’s some kind of prophecy or curse. Words are powerful! People joke online all the time about bad stuff happening to them, and guess what? It often does. We need to watch what we say.”

Keira saw how serious she was and nodded. After all, the weirdness surrounding the South family had been giving her the creeps. “Yeah, I get it.”

Erin finally let it go. “Alright then. So now you see why it had to be at 10, right? That’s exactly the time she needed to kill him. If it wasn’t 10, Ryan wouldn’t die.”

Keira frowned. “Have you done something like this before?”

Erin scratched her nose. “Well, there was this serial killer once. I wanted to take him out, so I asked the South family for a prediction. They said he’d die by drowning on a certain day. I didn’t believe it, so I tried several times to kill him beforehand. Every time, something went wrong. Once, I even had him thrown into a lake. The guy couldn’t even swim, yet he didn’t drown.

“In the end, I gave up. But when the predicted day came, he went on a cruise and, sure enough, accidentally fell into the ocean and drowned. I investigated everything, but there was no foul play. The South family’s prediction was spot on.

“So, for Ryan, the prophecy protects him until 10. That’s why Lion wouldn’t make a move before then. And once 10 passes, Ryan will be gone, so there’s no need to bother. If I were Mollie and I wanted him dead, I’d pick 10 too.”

Keira nodded, finally understanding.

Erin glanced at Ryan. “Anyway, stop obsessing over this prophecy stuff. It’s not something you can handle right now. We’re busting our butts trying to keep him alive while also securing a deal with the Gills! Focus on what’s important!”

Keira rolled her eyes. “I know.”

Erin raised her eyebrows. “Do you really? You saved Ryan’s life yesterday! Now’s the perfect time to push for that deal. He won’t say no!”

Keira shook her head. “No way.”

“Why not?”

“My mentor taught me never to ask for a favor in return for saving someone.”

Erin blinked. “Are you serious right now? You’re so damn stubborn! If you can’t even be a little flexible, how do you plan on saving your mom? Let me tell you—being a goody-two-shoes won’t get you anywhere! Sometimes, you have to make demands when the moment’s right!”

Keira just smiled calmly. “I didn’t save Ryan for a favor. I just wanted to test the South family’s prediction.”

“You’re impossible! How can you be so dense! I—!”

Erin was fuming. “What century are you even living in? People like you still exist?”

Keira smirked.

Erin paused. “What?”

Keira’s eyes flicked over to Ryan and Lewis, who were walking away. They’d clearly overheard the entire conversation.

Keira patted Erin on the shoulder. “Let’s head back. The deal’s going through.”

“What?”