Sloan smiled sweetly, his voice full of longing. "If Yancey ever turns you away, I''ll be here."


    But Alice didn''t take that to heart. She knew exactly where Sloan stood, and he was nowhere near Yancey''s level.


    Not to mention, being part of the Henderson family meant she had chances to bump into the mysterious and untouchable Ethan. As long as she kept pushing, maybe just maybe she could win him over someday.


    Meanwhile, after storming out of the Lambert residence, Yancey couldn''t get any peace.


    Before he realized it, he had driven all the way to the psychiatric hospital where Grace was being held, but he couldn''t bring himself to go inside.


    Instead, he sat in the car and yed the leaked recording over and over again. The more he listened, the colder he felt. He recognized the doctor''s voice. He knew who it was.


    He took a deep breath and clenched the steering wheel, white-knuckled. He quickly pulled up the doctor''s home address and drove straight there.


    Sidney had been a nervous wreck all day, waiting anxiously to hear from Grace.


    But instead of Grace, a group of bodyguards showed up at his door. Before he could say a word, they handed him a check for 30 million dors and told him he was being sent abroad.


    Sidney''s eyes lit up. He thought it was Grace who had arranged it and instantly packed his things, dragging his wife along with him.


    So, by the time Yancey arrived, the ce was empty. He checked the hospital next, but Sidney was gone.


    The fact that he couldn''t find him made Yancey uneasy again. A sliver of doubt crept back in. Was the audio recording real? Or was it faked?


    He handed the recording over to a voice forensics expert, and the answer came quickly.


    "There''s no sign of voice synthesis. Alice''s voice is clean. If you''re still unsure, just track down the doctor."


    Yancey ended the call and


    immediately tried calling Grace. He wanted to hear her voice. The call rang, but Grace was still in the bathroom, showering. Her clothes had been soaked in blood, soshe needed to clean up.


    Ethan sat in the bedroom and nced at the phone buzzing on the bed. Seeing


    the name on the screen, he shut it off without a word.


    Yancey made several calls in a row, but no one picked up.


    Ten minutester, Grace stepped out of the bathroom, limping slightly.


    Her legs, arms, and hands were all bandaged. She couldn''t get them wet, and she


    couldn''t stay in the steam for too long either.


    This wasn''t her first time using


    Ethan''s bathroom. She had already


    epted that she was just his


    human sleeping aid, and oddly


    enough, that realization gave her peace.


    She picked up her phone and saw the missed calls from Yancey. Her brows furrowed slightly.


    She almost called him back until she heard Ethan''s voice. "I want to sleep," he said.


    She quickly put the phone down. "Got it, Mr. Henderson. Your human sleeping aid is clocking in."


    Ethan had already showered. At this


    moment, he looked up at her face e


    e''


    and his Adam''s apple bobbed slightly. The next moment, he looked


    away.  looked


    She barely caught his low, quiet murmur, "You''re not a human sleeping aid."


    Huh? Then what was she? She didn''t know but didn''t dare to ask.