Noreen''s brow furrowed slightly. She couldn''t think of any reason he would be calling her. After a few seconds of deliberation, she rejected the call.


    Some connections were best left severed. She wasn''t going to let a single phone call ruin her perfectly good mood.


    A gust of cold wind whipped at her dress, and Noreen felt the biting chill of theing winter. She hoped Colby would be back with the car soon. All she wanted was to go home and get a good night''s sleep.


    Meanwhile, Coley was holding an umbre for Seth, shielding him from the winter rain.


    Seth had hesitated for a long time before finally dialing the number. But the moment the call connected, he faltered. He shouldn''t have called. Noreen was at the peak of her sess, celebrating a joyous moment. She didn''t need him interfering.


    So he ended the call.


    One rejected, one hung up, both at the same instant. Neither of them realized.


    Coley looked at him, puzzled. "What''s wrong?"


    "It''s nothing," Seth said, putting his phone away. He turned to thew enforcement officers waiting for him. "Sorry to keep you waiting."


    An officer immediately stepped forward and ced handcuffs on his wrists. Sethplied without any resistance.


    Coley''s brow was tightly knit. "I''ll keep a close eye on your father''s side to guard against any retaliation."


    Seth''s gaze fell to the cold steel shackles on his wrists. He paused for two seconds before speaking. "Keep an eye on Noreen, too."


    Coley was clearly confused. "She has absolutely nothing to do with you anymore. It''s unlikely she''ll be dragged into this."


    "Just in case."


    He couldn''t take that risk. He wouldn''t.


    "Alright," Coley conceded.


    With that, Seth followed the officers into the car The wail of the siren cut through the silent night as the


    vehicle drove past the man-ma


    of the hotel.


    Directly


    across theke was The Gilded


    Sands, where Winrich was holding its g.


    Colby''s car still hadn''t arrived. Noreen stared aimlessly into the rainy night, her mind rxed and empty.


    As the siren grew louder, her gaze slowly focused on the speeding police car. But just as quickly, she looked away. The car disappeared at the end of the street.


    Seth was seated in the middle of the back seat, but as they passed The Gilded Sands, he instinctively looked toward the hotel. Even through the tinted ss, he clearly saw a familiar silhouette.


    But the car was moving too fast for him to get a good look. The figure, along with the rapidly receding scenery, vanished from his sight.


    He didn''t look away for a long time. Even as the world outside returned to silence,


    he couldn''t shake the turbulent undercurrent in his heart.


    After a long while, he finally pulled his gaze from the neon-lit streetscape outside the window and murmured softly, "It''s a shame there''s no moon tonight."


    The heavens weren''t on his side. The night was too hazy, and he couldn''t see her face.


    Three dayster, Wilbur sent a message from Northcrest to their group chat. There''s been an earthquake in Northcrest he wrote,


    asking his dear ''senior brothers and ''junior sister'' if they had been


    affected.  s?novels


    Marcus was the first to reply. "Feeling it, bro. But the impact isn''t too severe. We can handle it."


    Eason wrote, "The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish."


    Henry was more direct, sending a screenshot of Brooke Group''s stock chart. It was bleeding red.


    Wilbur felt a bit better. "Our junior sister is the lucky one, all the way in Rivercrest City,pletely unaffected."