"...Yeah."


    "Alright, let''s eat first." Forrest turned to Nathaniel, who was still staring in disbelief, and said, "Mr. Pembroke, looks like the kid''s hungry. Shall we start dinner? Sorry for the trouble."


    "Oh, no trouble at all."


    Nathaniel snapped out of it and told the staff to serve the food.


    A few secondster, it finally dawned on him-this was his house! Since when did Forrest act like he owned the ce?


    And how did Forrest end up speaking on M''s behalf?


    Entrusting him with the care of a child, no less!


    What was going on between those two?


    If anyone was more baffled and shocked than Nathaniel, it was Giselle. She''d watched the whole thing unfold, her teeth grinding in frustration.


    She couldn''t make sense of it.


    When did Forrest and M be close enough to trust each other with their kids?


    Not that she minded, in fact, she was d to see it.


    She just hadn''t expected it to happen so quickly.


    The thing was, her own project with Forrest was still underway. He''d provided her


    with an entire development team, which meant he basically held the fate of the whole project in his hands... If he got what he wanted and didn''t need her anymore—especially if someone started whispering in his ear-


    That could be trouble.


    Then again, maybe it wouldn''t be so bad. By that time, Lysander would probably be back, and the project would be out of her hands anyway.


    Still, she couldn''t let it go.


    She wanted nothing more than to pull Forrest aside and demand answers, but she couldn''t do it in front of the child-not after the tension in the room moments ago. For now, she''d have to swallow her questions.


    So Giselle sat down at the table too, deciding she might as well help smooth things over.


    Nathaniel, for his part, wished she''d leave.


    Unfortunately, she was his sister Sophia''s guest, and he''d never been able to stand up to his sister-even the thought of her losing her temper made him shudder.


    That reminded him... Forrest just said M had gone to the hospital, and his sister was over there too... But Leonard was with her, so it should be fine, right?


    Please, let nothing else happen.


    The sun had set; the moon was high.


    Night had fallenpletely, and the hospital''s emergency stairwell was pitch- ck except for the glowing green exit sign.


    In that eerie green light, two women lingered-one standing, the other slumped against the wall. Neither spoke. At some point, the knife had fallen to the floor. Only their ragged breathing echoed in the darkness.


    After a moment,


    Sophia, unsteady on her feet, slowly crouched down. The ghostly green glow yed across her pretty, smiling face, making her seem almost unreal.


    She knelt and ced a hand on M''s shoulder-the woman who sat on the floor, head bowed and silent. Sophia''s voice was soft and tinged withughter. "So there you have it-the whole truth. Surprised?"


    "It was your husband, Lysander, who wanted both kids in the same school, in the same ss. Let me think, how did he put it? ''You can''t coddle Julian forever. The more you try to protect him, the weakerhe bes. Better to let him face the past head-on, with a real emotional shock.""


    "And what kind of shock, you ask?"


    "Sometimes, betrayal cuts deeper than any bloody truth. Makes a bigger scar, too. Lysander''s an old hand at this, and honestly, I can''t disagree."


    "Oh, and Adrian''s a clever boy. He said he wanted to be Julian''s friend, help him break free from his fragile shell, that he''d be willing-" Sophia leanedin, her mouth close to M''s ear, whispering with a twisted smile, "to be the one who betrays him." Cóntent


    That was it for M.


    She snapped. In a sudden surge, she tackled Sophia to the ground, her hand groping for the fallen knife. Pressing the de to Sophia''s throat, M''s hand shook, her voice trembling but deadly clear.


    "Shut up!"


    Sophiay pinned, her back arching in pain, but she just kept smiling. "So, what do you think will happen, M?" she breathed. "When Julian finally trusts Adrian— when they''re up there, together-what will Adrian, your little traitor, do to him?"


    Your child. What did he do?


    What will he do?


    "Shut up!" M screamed. "I trust him! My son-Adrian would never do something like that!"


    "Oh? Really?"


    Sophia brushed back her tangled hair, fingers trailing slowly up her tear-streaked cheek. She looked up, her gaze meeting M''s shattered, tear-filled eyes. With a sigh, she gently stroked M''s face. "Then why are you crying, M?"


    If you trust your child...


    Why are you crying now?


    Crying so hard it breaks your heart.


    Sophia couldn''t help but admire her-such a beautiful face, especially when it was ruined by tears. There was a kind of broken, desperate beauty in it.


    "Angry, are you?"


    She felt the cold edge of the de biting into her neck, skin splitting, blood wetting up. But Sophia seemed immune to pain-she


    you?


    If I''d kept quiet, maybe you could''ve kept lying to yourself. Maybe you could still see your son and your husband as perfect."


    M pressed the knife down until the only sign Sophia was still alive was the faint,


    shudderingughter vibrating through the de.


    This woman was aplete lunatic.


    She didn''t care if she lived or died.


    M''s hand trembled uncontrobly.


    Her mind was reeling, her breathing in sticky, shallow gasps, as if the blood


    oozing between her fingers was drowning her.


    The world narrowed, red and suffocating, until there was nothing left but the darkness closing in.