Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 405

If this weren’t her own phone, Eileen would’ve smashed it to pieces and twisted the little angel’s head right off.

Egbert caught her hand, gently steadying her. At the same time, he spoke into the phone, his voice calm but direct. “You’re here, so why not just say what you want?”

There was no way the person on the other end could have timed their appearance so perfectly unless they’d been eavesdropping the whole time. From the moment they mentioned Mr. Robin, through all those mission reports, even when they called NightKing—he’d heard everything.

And since he’d chosen to show up after all that, it was obvious he had something to say.

For a moment, the other end fell silent.

The little angel on the screen froze in place, no longer moving.

Eileen frowned at Egbert.

He shook his head slightly, signaling her to stay calm.

Eileen took the phone back, forcing herself to sound less hostile. “You know my father, don’t you?”

A line of text slowly popped up above the little angel’s head: [Play a game with me.]

Eileen scowled.

Egbert replied, “Alright.”

The little angel made a face. [Wasn’t talking to you!]

Egbert: “...”

Eileen asked, “What kind of game?”

The little angel answered, “A challenge. First level: Find Blue Cheese.”

Eileen blinked in confusion.

The little angel continued: [You have one month.]

As soon as the message appeared, the phone flickered back to normal.

The spirit was gone.

Eileen stared at the screen as it dimmed, baffled, then looked at Egbert.

“Blue Cheese?” he echoed.

Eileen pressed her lips together, thinking aloud. “Maybe he’s hungry?”

Egbert ruffled her hair. “Not everyone is as food-obsessed as you.”

Eileen shot him a glare, baring her teeth.

He tried to soothe her again. “Aside from something to eat, what else comes to mind?”

Eileen scratched her head, wracking her brain until she felt she might go bald. “It does sound familiar... I feel like I’ve heard it before...”

Suddenly, a memory sparked.

“The photo album!”

Egbert raised an eyebrow.

Eileen grabbed his arm, excited. “When I was little, my grandpa showed me an old photo album with pictures of my dad as a child. When Dad was about seven or eight, he had a black-and-white cat named Blue Cheese! Yes, Blue Cheese! Grandpa said when they first took it in, it had terrible skin problems and smelled awful, so they called it Blue Cheese—easy to remember and, you know, delicious.”

Egbert stopped. “You ate it?”

Eileen waved her hands. “No! I meant actual blue cheese tastes good. The cat was a pet, not food! Even if it were a sheep, you can’t eat your own pet.”

Egbert stayed silent, suspecting that Eileen still hadn’t gotten over Galen’s three pet sheep.

She stroked her chin, muttering, “But Blue Cheese died ages ago. My dad was in college when it passed away.”

Egbert said gravely, “Let’s go look for that album when we get home?”

Eileen nodded, thinking it over. Suddenly her eyes lit up, and she leaned closer, whispering, “Hey, do you think we could swap in Rolls-Royce instead? I mean, they’re both cats. Blue Cheese was black-and-white, Rolls is orange, but what if the spirit’s colorblind? Maybe we could just say Rolls is Blue Cheese.”

Egbert: “...”

He let out a resigned sigh, checked the time, and brushed the hair from the top of her head. “We’ve got an early flight tomorrow. Try to get some rest.”

But Eileen couldn’t sleep. Her mind was a tangle of worries about her father.

She felt the spirit was being intentionally difficult—why not just say what he meant, instead of making them play some cryptic guessing game? Where on earth were they supposed to find a cat that had been dead for over thirty years? What did he think this was, a cat with nine lives?