Finnian''s voice was calm. "She lost the baby. She''s resting now, but she''lle see you in a few days."


    "She lost the baby?"


    Hogan''s eyes widened in shock.


    A deep furrow creased his brow. He had expected Liliana to tell Finnian the truth —that she''d never been pregnant in the first ce. Instead, she''d gone with the miscarriage story.


    Sure, it meant there''d be no risk of a child not of Everly blood being brought into the family, which was a relief in itself. But Finnian was still being deceived, and Hogan couldn''t help but feel uneasy about it.


    Still, he knew it wasn''t his ce to exin. If he spoke up now, it would only make things harder for Liliana with Finnian. So Hogan stayed quiet.


    "By the way," Hogan said, suddenly remembering his own ordeal. His expression darkened. "Did they catch the guy who hit me?"


    Finnian nodded. "They did. Drunk driver. Do you want to see him?"


    "Yeah. Once I''m able to get out of bed, I want to meet that bastard face to face."


    "Of course. I''ll set it up when you''re ready."


    Finnian sat with Hogan for a while longer until Peter and Bess arrived, bursting into the hospital room and throwing themselves into Hogan''s arms, both of them in tears.


    Seeing the family together, Finnian quietly excused himself, leaving them space to talk.


    When he got back to the Everly estate, Amara was sitting with Mr. Kevin Everly, keeping himpany.


    Mr. Everly had been furious when Finnian left to find Liliana, but now that Hogan was awake—and, more importantly, Liliana''s baby was gone-his mood had changed. With both problems seemingly resolved, he was in much better spirits.


    As soon as Finnian walked in, Mr. Everly asked, "Did you see Hogan?"


    "I did."


    "Good," Mr. Everly replied, nodding, "And Liliana lost the baby, right? If that''s the case there''s nothing tying you to her anymore End it with that man-immediately."


    belongs to s


    Finnian had just opened his mouth to respond when a sharp, high-pitched voice


    cut in: "What do you mean, the baby''s gone? What happened?"


    They all turned to see Emma standing in the doorway, eyes wide with shock.


    Mr. Everly''s face twisted with annoyance the moment he saw his daughter-inw. He stood, gesturing to Amara. “Come, let''s go upstairs. We''ll talk about the restter."


    With Liliana having lost her baby, there was little chance of any newplications for now. The rest could wait.


    As soon as Mr. Everly left, Emma marched right up to Finnian. "What do you mean the baby''s gone?"


    "Liliana lost her baby. She had a miscarriage," Finnian replied, his tone cold and t.


    Emma grit her teeth. "How did it happen? Did you go see her? Did you—"


    She fired off a barrage of questions, each sharper than thest. Finnian''s patience was wearing thin. "If you want answers, ask her yourself. I have things to do."


    Without waiting for her reaction, he turned on his heel and left, ignoring the look of outrage on her face.


    Emma stared after him, stunned, then stomped her foot in frustration before hurrying after him.<fn6bb9> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? FindN0vel</fn6bb9>


    Upstairs, Finnian joined Mr. Everly and Amara in the study for a while. As dusk settled in, Amara nced out the window and stood to leave. Finnian offered to drive her home.


    She would have refused, but she


    hadn''t brought her own car that day,


    and calling a cab in this upscale, gatedmunity was a lost cause. She had no choice but to ept his offer.  s


    They drove in silence, neither saying a word. When they reached her buildingmara unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door. "Thank you for the ride, Mr. Everly. I''ll be going now."  s


    As she started to get out, Finnian caught her wrist. "Wait."