?Chapter 392:


    When Elliana and Cole returned to the living room, they found Ruben deep in conversation with Trinity.


    “You were raised by the Evans family,” Ruben said patiently. “So if you made mistakes, part of the me falls on us too. No one’s perfect. What matters now is that you learn from this and do better.”


    Trinity’s eyes were red and swollen. She nodded quickly. “I understand, Ruben. I won’t make the same mistake again.”


    Ruben’s tone softened even more. Trinity had already been through enough tonight. “It’ste. Go rest now.”


    Grateful for an escape, Trinity turned and hurried upstairs without another word.


    Once she was gone, Ruben turned to the rest of the family. “You all head to your rooms. Let’s have no more drama tonight.” With that, he made his way upstairs.


    The others quietly followed, disappearing one by one down the halls.


    The moment Cole stepped into the bedroom, his phone rang. A nce told him it was urgent—he had to attend a video conference immediately. Without a word, he stepped out and headed to the study. With nothing else to do, Elliana decided to unwind. She took a long, soothing shower, scrubbing off the heavy makeup and finally removing the itchy wig. Dressed in a sleek white nightgown, she sank onto the bed, letting out a sigh of relief.


    Just as she picked up her phone to scroll through messages, a message from Ruben popped up. “Elliana,e to the back garden. Now. It’s urgent. Don’t let anyone see you.”


    Elliana sat up straight, her heart skipping a beat. What could possibly be so urgent at this hour?


    Ruben’s urgent messages to meet in the back garden came through with such intensity that Elliana didn’t dare hesitate. She tossed aside the nkets and jumped out of bed, quickly slipping back into her usual disguise before heading to meet Ruben.


    But trouble struck almost immediately. Her wig, still dripping from a recent wash, hung uselessly by the sink. There was no way she’d waste time with the blow dryer, so she decided to forgo it tonight. In her haste, changing her clothespletely slipped her mind. She only managed a quick swipe of foundation across her face, barely blending it before dashing out.


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    Ruben had stressed that she needed to keep this quiet and not attract any attention. She nudged her bedroom door open, eyes darting up and down the hallway before stepping out and padding softly downstairs.


    It seemed she’d caught a break. No one else was awake on the lower level, either. She hurried through the living room, slipped out the vi’s back entrance, and bolted toward the garden with barely a nce behind her.


    The streetlights felt like spotlights, so she kept to the shadows, weaving between bushes and thick patches of greenery.


    As she moved, she sent off a quick text to Ruben. “I need your exact location. Where are you?”


    Ruben’s response was nearly instantaneous—a map pin popped up on her screen.


    Nerves set her feet flying as she sprinted in the direction Ruben had given. Her heart thudded harder with each step, anxiety spiking. Ruben was a man of strict routine—normally, he’d be fast asleep by 9 p.m. But tonight, because of the chaos with the Craig family and Merlin, his schedule had been thrown off. Given thete hour—well past midnight, no less—Ruben should be resting now. But instead, he’d reached out to her, and the urgent, secretive way he’d called for her left her deeply unsettled. What had happened to pull him out of sleep, and why summon her in such a hurry?


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