"Yeah, I saw it, you can use me however you want," Keith texted Amara, throwing in a few cheeky emojis for good measure. "If you need anything, I can even sacrifice my dignity and take a bed selfie with you."


    "Gross, no thanks. I don''t need to see that and risk my eyes getting infected."


    After some yful banter, Amara put down her phone. Despite Kevin and Finnian showing up earlier, both left without any word, no more news heard from the Everly family. She wondered what was going on.


    Amara decided to wait it out a little longer. If things stayed quiet for a few more days, she''d have to stir the pot herself.


    Finnian had vanished. He''d been missing for nearly a day and a night, and everyone around him knew it.


    Will had a stack of documents waiting for Finnian''s approval, but without any sign of him, he was getting frantic. Liliana, Dorian, and Kevin had all sent people out searching, turning Wye upside down, but no one could find Finnian.


    They''d tracked his passport; there were no records of him taking a flight or a train, not even a hotel stay. His private jet was untouched, and the car he''d been driving was gone too. Surely, he hadn''t driven out of state, they assumed.


    An anxious day passed, and by around 7 pm the next evening, Liliana and Dorian found him in a rundown little bar on the outskirts of Wye.


    The ce was a shabby, wooden hole-in-the-wall, more of a tavern than a bar, with no music or proper lighting. Liliana and Dorian paused at the doorway, taken aback by the worn-out decor, before spotting Finnian in a corner, downing drinks. They hurried over to him.


    "Finn, what are you doing? How much have you drunk?"


    "Why are you in this ce?"


    Liliana steadied his shoulder as Dorian snatched the ss from his grip, mming it onto the table.


    "What happened to you?" Dorian growled. "Having a rough time and youe to this dive to drown your sorrows? Seriously, Finnian?"


    Dorian was a mix of exasperation and amusement at the sight of Finnian. He was still in yesterday''s clothes, hair slightly disheveled, with a shadow of stubble from the hangover. His eyes were red-rimmed, likely from a sleepless night.


    Dorian pulled out his phone, using the front camera as a makeshift mirror for Finnian.


    "Look at yourself. All torn up because some heartless woman cheated on you? Where''s your pride? Did you feed it to the strays?


    If Amara''s infidelity bothers you, go find some other women to get back at her. Sitting here drinking alone doesn''t solve anything."


    Liliana frowned at Dorian''sstment, shooting him a nce, but he ignored herpletely.


    "Leave me be," Finnian muttered, pushing them away and reaching for his ss again.


    Seeing this, Dorian knew he was heavily intoxicated and once grabbed the ss, passing it to let


    Liliana. "Take this awayet


    him see it."


    Finnian was the kind of guy whose drinking didn''t show on his face,


    nor


    iel:


    did he get rowdy. To those unfamiliar with him, it was hard to tell when he was drunk.