Herman had no idea someone had been following Anastasia. She hadn''t


    mentioned it-figured, why worry him if nothing happened? But now it had slipped


    out, and there was no point hiding it.


    She came clean. "On my way home from work this afternoon, someone was


    following me..."


    She gave him the short version, then quickly added, "I''m fine. The guy''s name


    was Ben, I think-he was pretty clueless. Total rookie move. He''s at the police


    station now."


    Anastasia knew Herman would worry, so she made sure he understood she


    hadn''t been hurt.


    When Herman heard about the close call, his stomach twisted. "If people are


    going that far, whatever''s on that chip must be important."


    He didn''t dare shrug it off. He grabbed hisptop and tried to crack the chip, but


    after two tries, no luck.


    It was seriously encrypted.


    If even Herman couldn''t break in, that was saying something. Nelson had always


    called him aputer genius. If this stumped him, they were in trouble.


    "This thing''s a hot potato," Anastasia said, her tone all business. "No idea where


    Rowan got it, but we need to get rid of it fast. Can you find him and give it back?"


    Herman blurted out, "I haven''t heard from Rowantely either."


    "Lately? Either?" Anastasia zeroed in, raising an eyebrow.


    Herman hesitated, coughed awkwardly into his fist. "Um, I''ve run into Rowan a


    few times. He''s... he''s been following you, too. Quietly."


    He''d been worried Rowan might have bad intentions, but he''de to believe


    Rowan wouldn''t actually hurt Anastasia. Still, every time he heard about Rowan in


    her orbit, a pang of jealousy red up.


    "What''s he following me for?" Anastasia wondered aloud. Even as she said it, she


    remembered what Melody had told her.


    That time she''d almost been trapped, it was Rowan who''d shown up and rushed


    her to the hospital. She owed him for that. That''s why she''d agreed to hold on to


    the chip in the first ce.


    The room fell silent. After a moment, Herman broke the quiet. "Go get some rest.


    I''ll keep working on this."


    "...Alright." Anastasia took the hint and let the Rowan topic drop.


    She headed downstairs to fix Herman a cup of ginseng tea. On her way back up,


    she ran into Salma, her mother-inw, justing in the door.


    "Hi, Mom," Anastasia called. "You''re by yourself? Where''s Dad?"


    Salma''s face was stormy. "Don''t even mention your father."


    Anastasia wisely kept her head down and started upstairs. She''d just taken a


    couple steps when Salma called after her, "Ana, I''m moving out tomorrow. I''m


    going back to my old apartment."


    Anastasia stopped short, stunned.


    "No, Mom, you can''t. Your health


    isn''t great, and you''refortable


    here. Why go back to that old ce?


    If something''s bothering you, just tell


    me. And what about the kids? You''ll


    miss them!"


    Truth was, Salma wouldn''t have


    stayed if it weren''t for her grandkids.


    But after everything with Adam,


    she''d realized she was just an


    ordinary person, and people only


    cozied up because she was


    connected to Herman and the


    Salstrom name. She''d overheard the


    hotel manager talking with the


    staff-how she always got the easy


    shifts and better pay, all because of


    her son-inw. The realization stung.


    She let out a long sigh. "Ana, life''s


    changed too fast for me. I can''t keep


    up. Your aunt''s not well, no one''s


    taking care of her-I want to be


    closer, help out. I cane see the


    kids anytime. This isn''t goodbye."


    Ever since they''d visited Cynthia, Anastasia could tell Salma hadn''t felt


    inw, going from scraping by to living like royalty overnight.


    Anastasia searched for the right words, hesitated, then said softly, "Mom, why


    don''t you think it over a little longer?"