"Ah!" The man cried out in pain, his vision blurring as he staggered back, the camera held high in his hand. He spun around once before copsing face-first onto the ground in a pathetic heap.


    It had all happened too fast. The rescuers had appeared like ghosts, giving them no time to react, no chance to even sense their approach.


    Sebastian''s eyes were like chips of ice, his lips pressed into a thin, hard line as a murderous aura emanated from him. He bent down, snatched the camera from the man''s hand, and removed the memory card, handing it to Sean.


    Seeing the card taken, the man panicked. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled to his feet to get it back, but another swift kick from Sebastian sent him sprawling again.


    "You... mind your own damn business! Give that back!" he roared at Sebastian, his eyes burning with a terrifying, wild light.


    A dark shadow fell over Sebastian''s face. "You ask for it." He handed the camera to the police, who had just arrived and were rounding up the five men.


    Sebastian turned to Sean. "Go with them. Find more evidence. I want these men to never see the light of day again." His voice was calm, but anyone who knew him could see the storm raging beneath the surface.


    Sean understood and left with the police.


    But Natalie intervened. "Luna, you go with them. I don''t trust him."


    Her words struck Sebastian like a physical blow. He turned to face her just as Luna finished pulling Natalie''s torn clothing back into ce.


    "Natalie," he asked, his voice low and heavy, "you don''t trust me?”


    Her gaze was cold as she looked at his stoic face. He was clearly furious, but she couldn''t understand why. "No, I don''t. I''m grateful you saved me tonight, but I don''t trust you. The memory card is in Sean''s hands, and in the past, you''ve seen evidence with your own eyes and still let Joanna manipte you against me. So, no. I will never trust you."


    "I have no proof, but I hope for your sake that you had nothing to do with what happened tonight."


    The usation was a sharp, stabbing pain in Sebastian''s heart. He had never believed her, and now she would never believe him. He was finally getting a taste of his own medicine, of what it felt like to be wrongly used. And it was agonizing.


    Natalie''s distrust of him was absolute. No one knew better than her how much weight Joanna held in his heart.


    Luna tried tofort her. "Let me get you both to a hospital first. I''ll head to the police station from there."


    "Okay.” Natalie was too weak to walk. She needed medical attention; she didn''t have an antidote for the drug.


    Sebastian walked over and crouched down in front of her. Shey limply on the ground, her eyes wary and guarded. The sight of her raw defensiveness, a wall he himself had built, made his chest tighten. “Natalie... you really don''t believe me?" he asked, his voice strained.


    "I''m sorry, but you''ve never done anything to earn my trust. Besides, you''re a man who doesn''t keep his word. You said you''d divorce me, I agreed, and yet here we are. You showing up, taking the memory card... it''s just another way to make sure the truth neveres out, isn''t it?"


    She hadn''t expected him to be there.


    With Marshall kidnapped alongside


    her, she would have had an ally in


    the investigation. Sebastian''s rescue


    was a shock, but she wanted


    nothing more to do with him Her


    second chance at life was about freeing herself from him protecting her brothers, and safeguarding her grandfather''s legacy.


    "Sebastian, my kindness never


    blossomed, so I let it grow thorns


    instead. The person who raised me the one trusted most, told me to never trust anyone. I didn''t


    ve


    understand what he meant back them. But after being broken by all of you, I finally get it. I don''t even trust myself anymore." How could she possibly trust him?