"Do you know who it was?" Ste asked.


    Joshua was silent for a moment before answering, "It was probably meant for me."


    Ste frowned slightly. "For you?"


    He nodded, still facing away from her so she couldn''t see his expression. "Yeah. I have my share of enemies." His voice was low, almost apologetic. "I''m sorry. You got hurt because of me this time."


    Ste shook her head. "Don''t apologize-you''re the one who found me."


    Joshua didn''t say anything more. The two of them slipped back into a quiet lull.


    ...


    Haynes sat slouched in the backseat of the car, eyes closed as if dozing.


    A soft knock sounded on the window. He snapped awake instantly, eyes sharp as they fixed on Benson standing outside.


    "Any luck?" Haynes asked, tension clear in his voice.


    Benson let out a quiet sigh.


    Ever since Ste had vanished, Haynes had barely slept, searching relentlessly.


    But the area was vast, the woods thick and tangled, making the search almost impossible.


    "...Not yet," Benson admitted in a low voice. "Mr. O''Brien, you haven''t rested in two days. Maybe you should head back and get some sleep. We can keep searching out here."


    "No," Haynes replied as he opened the car door and stepped out, ncing at Benson. "Did you get everything I asked for?"<fndb2a> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? FindN()vel</fndb2a>


    "It''s all ready," Benson confirmed quietly.


    Now that they''d narrowed down where Ste had gone missing, Haynes was preparing to join the search himself.


    Just as he was about to head into the woods, someone came running toward them, stumbling with excitement.


    "Mr. O''Brien, we found her! The drone picked up her location!"


    Though Haynes and Ste were divorced, most of his staff still called her Mrs. O''Brien out of old habit. At the news, Haynes''s eyes widened, and his breathing quickened.


    "Where is she now?"


    The forest was eerily quiet, the only sounds those of footsteps crunching over fallen leaves and twigs.


    Suddenly, Joshua paused mid-step.


    Ste thought he must be tired.


    "Joshua


    if you need to rest, let''s


    take a Break s


    Content bet


    Before she could finish her sentence, she felt an intense, piercing gaze settle on


    her.


    Almost instinctively, she looked up.


    Not far away, beneath a tree, a tall figure stood silently.


    He looked regal and striking, dark eyes unreadable.


    Ste froze for a moment.


    Haynes.


    She''d never expected that the first


    on to find her wouldn''t be


    Byther ex-husband Haynes  s


    Ste couldn''t quite say what she felt.


    Once, she would have been overwhelmed with emotion.


    But now...


    Her heart was as calm as a stillke, with only the faintest ripple beneath the surface.


    The moment Haynes saw her, something lit up in his eyes.


    He strode toward her. "Star, are you alright?"


    His gaze swept over her, quickly


    of


    foot was tied around it. Content gon her calf, where a st


    belongs to s


    His handsome brow furrowed. "Star, what happened to your leg?"


    "Snake bite," Ste replied evenly.


    Haynes knelt to inspect the wound.


    It was neatly bandaged, the work almost professional.


    He nced at Joshua, his expression unreadable.


    Joshua''s face was calm, betraying nothing.


    Haynes looked away and spoke to Joshua. "Thank you. But I''ll take care of her now."