"Elsie? Who is that?!" Alva was confused, knowing Mrs. Abernathy had many friends and family.


    "My sister-inw... she''s in danger! I have to find her!"


    Evadne tried to move, but Alva blocked her way. "Mrs. Abernathy! You can''t go alone, it''s too dangerous! If you''re worried, call your brothers! Aren''t they all incredibly capable, and one''s a police officer, right? Contact them, have them figure something out! At the very least, you need to call the police! It''s absolutely not safe for you to go by yourself!"


    Of course, Evadne wanted to call the police. But she didn''t know Elsie''s exact situation, and the police wouldn''t file a missing person''s report for an adult for forty-eight hours. By then, it would be toote.


    "Mrs. Abernathy? Are... are you crying?" Alva saw two clear tear tracks on Evadne''s cheeks and panicked.


    "Alva, I can''t reach anyone who can help me. I have to rely on myself," Evadne said, her voice filled with a rare helplessness born from her habit of always being considerate of others.


    "Who says? You still have our young master!"


    Evadne froze, her gaze faltering. "Thaddeus...?"


    "Call him right now! The young master would walk through fire for you! I''ll call him!" Alva immediately pulled out her phone.


    "Will he... will hee?" Evadne''s voice trembled, her confidence gone.


    "Of course, he will. He always will," Alva said, pulling Evadne into aforting, motherly embrace, her own eyes welling up. "Mrs. Abernathy, you can doubt anyone in the world, but not him. I don''t believe for a second that one illness could make him forget his love for you. I just don''t!"


    A powerful sob wracked Evadne''s body, and hot tears fell silently.


    ...


    Under the early morning sky, Windermere Estate was shrouded in a quiet, misty silence.


    Gordon stood guard outside Thaddeus''s room like a stoic sentinel, his fists clenched tightly. The bloodshot veins in his eyes betrayed the anguish he was feeling.


    Inside the room, Thaddeus was tied to the bed, a towel stuffed in his mouth. His body was wracked with violent convulsions as he endured the torment of withdrawal, an agony like a thousand ants crawling under his skin.


    He couldn''t take the drugs anymore. But in countless moments of weakness, the craving was overwhelming, a siren call promising to end the pain. His iron will was on the verge of shattering.


    But he held on.


    As a child, his mother had told him over and over to be a person of integrity, to be upright and clean. Thaddeus curled into a ball, his bloodshot eyes squeezed shut. He couldn''t disappoint his mother. He couldn''t disappoint those who trusted him. He would not fall. He would not be a monster.


    Outside, Gordon checked his watch. Seeing enough time had passed, he unlocked the door and went inside locking it again behind him. He.


    turned to find Thaddeus stapelne


    ramfod straight in the living room. His handsome face was ghostly pale, his dark, damp hatt falling, across his forehead, giving him a look of utter exhaustion and fragility.


    The stench of despair.


    "Mr. Dempsey, how did you untie the ropes?" Gordon asked, his voice hoarse with pain.


    "You didn''t tie them tight enough. Tighter, next time."


    Thaddeus copsed onto the sofa,pletely spent. He tilted his head back, his Adam''s apple bobbing with a difficult swallow. He had survived this time. But what about the next? How could he endure this endless torment?


    Suddenly, his phone rang.


    *Who could it be at this hour?*


    Thaddeus struggled to lean forward and pick up the phone from the coffee table. When he saw "Evadne on the screen, his chest tightened. He answered immediately, keeping his voice low and steady. "MS Evadne, is something wrong? It''s veryte."


    "Mr. Dempsey, I''m so sorry... to bother you," Evadne''s voice trembled, her words starting with an apology.


    Thaddeus pressed his lips together. "It''s fine. Tell me what''s wrong."


    "Elsie... she might be in danger. I can''t reach my brothers, and the ones I can are out of the country... I don''t know what to do..."


    "Where are you? I''ming to get you."


    Before she could finish, Thaddeus shot to his feet, but his body swayed violently.


    "Mr. Dempsey!" Gordon lunged forward, catching him just in time.


    Though dizzy, Thaddeus managed to keep his voice calm and reassuring for


    Evadne. "Don''t worry. I''m on my way. We''ll talk when I get there."


    After hanging up, he ordered Gordon to get the car ready.


    "Mr. Dempsey, you''re incredibly weak right now! After an episode like this, you usually need a full day to recover. Are you sure you can do. this?!"Gordon pleaded, his heart aching as he looked at the man who could barely stand.


    "My body... isn''t important," Thaddeus said, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze was resolute. "Right now, I have to get to Evadne as fast as I can. I owe her."


    But a thought remained unspoken, growing silently in the depths of his heart: *Even if I owed her nothing, I would still go. I would always protect her.*