But Vesta had no intention of telling them that.


    Whether Granger sent them an invitation or not was a secondary concern for Henley now. "Vesta," he said, his tone serious, "you need to lock things down with Thorne."


    "I know," she replied.


    She knew exactly why he was pressing her. Hawkins Technology was on the verge of shutting down a major research project due to ack of funding. And even if Henley hadn''t said anything, she was already nning to make a move. It wasn''t just Hawkins Technology that was bleeding money; her ownpany, Neural Nexus Tech, was in dire straits as well.


    Both ventures required a constant, massive influx of capital. When Thorne was backing them, they never had to worry. But now...


    The next day, Vesta went to The Henderson Group, but Thorne wasn''t in the office.


    Coy, however, was.


    "Do you know when Thorne might be back?" Vesta asked.


    Coy looked ufortable. "I''m sorry, Ms. Hawkins. Mr. Henderson said..."


    Thorne had forbidden him from sharing his schedule with Vesta. Although Thorne hadn''t seemed angry at the time, Coy wasn''t about to defy a direct order.


    A shadow passed over Vesta''s eyes, but she managed a gracious smile. "It''s all right. I understand." She pulled two ornate envelopes from her purse. "Could you give these to Thorne for me?" They were invitations to the gs for Neural Nexus Tech and Hawkins Technology.


    This time, Coy epted them. "I''ll make sure Mr. Henderson gets them."


    Vesta nodded, thanked him politely, and left.


    After she was gone, Coy hesitated for a moment before calling Thorne.


    Thorne picked up almost immediately. "What is it?"


    "Ms. Hawkins was just here at the office," Cay exined quickly. "Since you weren''t in, she left two invitations for me to give to you, for The Hawkins Group and Neural Nexus Tech gs. The dates are....."


    After Coy ryed the dates, Thorne''s response was curt. "I''m not avable."


    Without another word, he hung up.


    Thorne''s business empire was vast, and Coy didn''t have aplete picture of his schedule. He couldn''t


    be sure if Thorne was genuinely excuse But


    busy just making a


    one thing was certain: in the past when Vesta was his priority, Thorne would have moved mountains to be there for her. He never would have let her down.


    But now...


    Coy put down his phone and, after a long pause, called Vesta back. "Ms. Hawkins, I spoke with my boss. He said he hasmitments on both of those days."


    It was the answer she had expected, but a sharp pain still clenched her heart. "Okay," she said. "I understand."


    The end of the year was a whirlwind of activity, and the date of the Neural Nexus Tech g arrived quickly.


    Everyone in their circle knew that


    1.n


    Thorne had gifted thepany to Vesta. This was her first year at the helm, and she had organized avishevent to mark the asion, signaling its importance to her. Many of the city''s elite who received invitations assumed Thome would be there to support her, so they made a point to attend.


    But when they arrived, Thorne was nowhere to be seen.


    At first, they thought he was simply runningte. But as the evening wore on and the


    party was in full swing, there was still no sign of him.


    Moran, who had arrivedte, noticed both Thorne and Granger were absent.


    Growing impatient, he tagged them in the group chat.


    [Where are you guys?]