Thaddeus remembered how much she hated the cold. All winter long, she would curl up against his chest for warmth as they slept, and whenever they went out, she''d clutch his hand as if it were her personal furnace.


    "Evadne," he called out suddenly.


    She turned, and a momentter felt a weight settle on her. He had draped his own overcoat across her shoulders, his gaze heavy. "It''s cold. Wear this."


    A pang of emotion shot through her, and she quickly tried to shrug it off. "I''m fine."


    "Wear it. You get cold easily." Thaddeus''srge hand pressed firmly on her shoulder.


    A lump formed in Evadne''s throat. "You... you still remember?"


    The man''s lips thinned into a firm line, but he said nothing, turning instead to walk toward Jareth, who was approaching.


    Evadne stood frozen in ce, her eyes welling with tears as she clutched thepels of the coat.


    "I thought The Velvet Haven was sealed off. What''s Elsie doing here sote at night?" Jareth asked, his brow furrowed.


    Gordon ran up, panting. “Mr. Thaddeus, we just found Ms. Archer''s car parked nearby!"


    "She must have been investigating something. After all, she lived here for a long time. Besides Avery, she knows The Velvet Haven better than anyone," Thaddeus said, his sharp gaze hardening.


    "My brother Elvis is already on his way to Elmsworth!"


    Evadne walked over, her eyes scanning the oppressive darkness, anxiety gnawing at her. "Let''s search the area around The Velvet Haven first. If Ellie ran into trouble here, she must have left some kind of clue!"


    Thaddeus looked at her and nodded.


    Jareth gestured decisively to his men. "You heard Ms. Evadne! Search every inch of this ce! I''ll give a handsome reward to whoever finds a clue!"


    "Yes, Mr. Fairhaven!" The men from the Fairhaven group quickly dispersed. "I''m going too!"


    Evadne turned to leave, but Thaddeus grabbed her arm. "It''s freezing. Go wait in the car."


    Jareth chimed in, "Evadne, listen to Thad. Just wait in the car. We''ll handle the search."


    "No... I have to go with you!"


    Evadne sniffled, her nose red from the cold. Her eyes, stung by the wind, felt swollen and wet. "This was my oversight, my mistake. If something happened to Ellie... it''s a responsibility I can''t escape! It''s all my fault!"


    "Evadne..." Seeing her so wracked with guilt, Jareth''s heart ached for her.


    Thaddeus stared deeply at Evadne''s pale face, a ripple of emotion in his eyes. "This has nothing to do with you."


    She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "Ellie... she''s Elvis''s whole world. If anything happens to her, I could never face him. I wouldn''t deserve to be his sister. I''m going with you."


    It was impossible to persuade her, so they had no choice but to let here.


    In the biting wind, Evadne''s slender, determined figure led the way, with the two tall men following close behind.


    "So stubborn and unyielding for such a young woman. Too rigid, and she''s liable to break," Jarethmented, ncing sideways at the


    stone-faced man beside him. "Evadne carries too much on her shoulders-protecting her fam managing a massive corporation, and running all over the ce for a certain troublesome man."


    Thaddeus''s expression was grim. "I never asked her to do any of that for me. We''re not together anymore. She doesn''t have to do anything for me."


    "What the hell, Thaddeus? Are you even listening to yourself?" Jareth couldn''t take it anymore and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "You get sick, and somehow youe back an even bigger asshole than before?"


    The man walked on in silence, a tightness constricting his chest.


    After a moment, he asked in a low voice, "Jareth, you mentioned before that you used a very effective ointment to help Mari with her scars."


    Jareth replied, "Yeah, I did. Why?"


    "Do you have any left? I need a tube."


    Meanwhile, Alexia didn''t have time to properly treat the swollen nose Hans had given her. She hastily covered it with a piece of gauze and rushed to Windermere Estate to see Chad.


    Not a singlemp was lit in the study. The cold, ghostly moonlight streaming through the window cast a silvery outline around the man, making him seem even more frigid and deste.


    "Sir... Hans has gone too far! He''spletely out of your control!" Alexia immediately began toin, on the verge of tears. "He assaulted me, but that''s nothing... The real problem is his insubordination! His skills are so formidable that even Thaddeus might not be a match for him. And yet he failed to handle Elsie... How is that possible?! If I hadn''t arrived in time to capture that bitch and eliminate a major threat for you, she would have gone back on high alert, and catching her again would have been nearly impossible!"


    word.


    Chad''s pale, handsome face was shrouded in darkness. He listened without a


    “Sir, Hans has been acting stranger and strangertely. Could the drug be losing its effect?"


    "Open the box on the coffee table," Chad finally spoke, his voice unnervingly somber in the dead of night.


    Alexia, wincing in pain, walked over and opened it.


    Inside was a single deep-blue pill, a much darker shade than the one she''d been giving Thaddeus.


    "This is..."


    "Thetest version of Crystal Ice. Its concentration is five times stronger than the previous one. A single dose is enough to get anyone addicted, no matter how strong their willpower." Chad''s voice was elegant and low, with arising inflection that made sound as if he were discussing something amusing. "Take it and give it to Hans. And make sure you watch him swallow it."