Simon gripped his phone so hard his knuckles turned white, watching helplessly as Ryan''s car pulled away from the townhouse and disappeared into the night.


    Whenever he tailed Ryan, he kept his distance-sometimes so far he needed binocrs. He couldn''t risk being caught. Ryan wasn''t easy to fool anymore; these days, he''d drive around in circles, making it nearly impossible for anyone to follow him.


    With a frustrated sigh, Simon tossed the binocrs aside. His eyes stayed fixed on the house swallowed by darkness, a cold glint flickering in them. Slowly, a sly smile crept onto his lips.


    It was nearly three in the morning when Ryan''s phone rang. He was still hunched over his desk, buried in work, not expecting a call from Simon-let alone from the hospital.


    He didn''t want to see him. He never liked Simon, and tonight, he was in no mood.


    But then Simon said something that made Ryan forget everything else.


    "Ryan, I was attacked. I don''t know if Dn''s people did it or not."


    Dn made a move?


    Ryan''s heart skipped a beat. He grabbed his keys and rushed to the hospital, where he found Simon looking like he''d barely survived the night.


    Bandages wrapped Simon''s chest and arms; his face was so pale it was almost gray. Still, when he saw Ryan walk in, something like relief—and maybe a little triumph-shed across his eyes.


    "Ryan, I''m d you''re okay. After what happened to me, I thought you''d be next. Looks like Dn''s letting you off easy."


    Ryan didn''t buy it. Not entirely. He kept his voice t. "Any other news about Dn?"


    The Ferguson family''s reach was everywhere. Maybe Dn already knew where ra was hiding—and maybe he was just ying with her, like a cat with a mouse. The thought made Ryan''s skin crawl.


    When a guy like Dn had that much power, he was practically untouchable.


    ra was on her own. If Dn really wanted her, how could she ever get away? Simon let out a raspy, bitterugh. "He''s making a scene, alright. I heard he''s tearing the city apart looking for ra''s mysterious boyfriend."


    Ryan shot up from his chair. ra cared about that man-if anything happened to him, she''d be crushed.


    Ryan didn''t like that guy, Z, not one bit. But he didn''t want to see him get hurt, either.


    Still, he couldn''t trust everything Simon said. He''d already been used as a pawn


    once.


    ed back against the


    Simon eased


    pillows, winding. "If I hadn''t been lucky tonight, I''d be dead. You should watch your back too. Dn might took like a gentleman to everyone else, but I know what he really is a snake. Why else would he force ra to marry him? And don''t forget, he killed my cousin with his own hands. Even Grandpa knows, but he still lets Dn do whatever he wants. He controls everything in the Ferguson family. No one can stop him. Poor ra."


    Ryan had heard enough. He stood up and walked out, not bothering to say goodbye.


    Simon watched him go, a mocking smile twisting at his lips.


    Every breath made his chest ache, sharp and deep.


    A door creaked open nearby. Aaron stepped out of the bathroom, looking more like a ghost than a man. He''d been pushed out of the Ferguson family for weeks-he couldn''t even set foot in the old


    house anymore.


    Mrs. Ferguson was back now, but after Aaron went against Dn in public, he was nothing but an outsider.


    He''d thought Dn would find some


    excuse to send him overseas, but Dn hadn''t done a thing. The


    silence was worse-it made Aaron feel invisible, humiliated.


    It was like he didn''t even exist.


    The more Dn ignored him, the more all his years of scheming felt like a joke.


    Just the sad tricks of a clown.