The woman on the phone with the sunsses-wearing man was Emma. She stood by a window, clutching her phone, her expression dark and stormy.


    She had expected that after waking up in an abandoned factory, Amara would be hysterical. Then, at the height of her despair and rage, she would have her henchman teach her a lesson.


    But Amara was calm. There was no sport in tormenting someone who remainedposed. That little bitch... Emma''s eyes narrowed.


    A servant came to inform her that she had a visitor. Emma''s face instantly transformed, a cheerful smile recing her scowl. She nodded and returned to the banquet hall.


    The Everly estate was currently hosting a grand party: Emma''s birthday celebration.


    Mr. Kevin Everly had never liked Emma, but he had no intention of making her and Andrew divorce. In his eyes, the two of them were two peas in a pod; better to keep them together than to let them go their separate ways and inflict misery on two new people.


    As such, Emma was still the current matriarch of the Everly family, and for a major asion like her birthday, he was willing to afford her a certain level of respect. He had agreed to let her host avish party at the main house.


    Emma had invited a host of guests, including Liliana.


    After mingling with Emma for a while, Liliana looked around and realized Finnian was nowhere to be seen. She asked a servant where he was and then headed upstairs.


    She found him on the second floor, leaning against a window frame, dressed in a grey suit. He was staring at a painting on the wall, his expression distant and cold, lost in thought.


    "Finn,” Liliana said softly, walking up to him. "What are you doing?"


    "Nothing." Finnian didn''t even look at her. "Isn''t there a party downstairs? You should go back to it."


    The dismissal was tant, and Liliana bit her lip, a wave of hurt washing over her.


    For days now, Finnian had been acting strangely.


    She''d heard that the supposed workaholic had stopped going back to his apartment, choosing instead to sleep in the break room at his office.


    He woke up, worked, worked untilte at night, and then slept. He had be a machine. But that wasn''t the Finnian she knew.


    He was clearly using work to numb himself, to escape from something. But what was he escaping from? Amara''s departure? The thought made Liliana burn with jealousy.


    But she knew Amara was gone, and she couldn''t risk badmouthing her in front of Finnian. She swallowed her bitterness and nodded Okay I''ll go, back down. You haven''t eaten е anything tonight. You shoulde get something to eatter."


    Finnian nodded, his attention already elsewhere.


    Amara was still tied up in the abandoned factory. The man in sunsses had taken her purse and Suitcase ich meant her phone


    and other belongings were gone. Trapped in the chair, she couldn''t see the time and had no idea howte it was.


    But she could see the light from the high windows slowly fading. As dusk settled the vast factory grew even quieter and more menacing, its emptiness amplifying the eene silence.


    Amara sat perfectly still in the chair, her hands bound behind her, her legs tied. The position was agonizing. She kept her eyes closed, doing her best to conserve energy.