"We''ve got people in the neighborhood. They confirmed Alex is in apartment 502, building 3. There are two bodyguards downstairs keeping watch."


    "Just two?" Grace waved her hand like it was nothing. "Keep an eye on them, but don''t tip them off. We''ll handle things tonight."


    She knew now wasn''t the time to go up against Reese head-on. If Reese got spooked and moved Alex, tracking him down again would be almost impossible.


    "Yes, Ma''am," Seth said, respectful as always.


    Grace patted his shoulder, her voice carrying a warning. "This is too important. Be careful. Not one mistake, understand?"


    "Don''t worry, we''ll get it done." Seth nodded quickly.


    Satisfied, Grace left the club with Sofia, nning to browse some shops on the way out.


    Sofia nced back at the two men, curiosity in her eyes. "Mom, who are they?"


    "That''s not something you need to worry about." Grace smiled at her. "Sofia, you just need to remember, whatever I do, it''s for your good."


    "Okay, I get it." Noticing how serious her mother looked, Sofia didn''t push any further. Still, she couldn''t help but ask, "So what''s the n for tonight? Are we just going to barge in and take Alex out?"


    "No way, that''s way too risky." Grace shook her head. "If we storm in, it''s going to cause a scene. If the police get involved, we''re done."


    "And besides," she added, "Alex still has hope for Reese. Even if we get him out, he probably won''t believe a thing we say."


    "So what are we supposed to do?" Sofia was getting anxious. "We can''t just sit around watching, right?"


    "Rx, I''ve got it covered." Grace lowered her voice as she browsed through the luxury disys. "Tonight, I''ll have someone pretend to be from building maintenance. They''ll knock on Alex''s door, say they need to check the pipes or something.


    "If I can just talk to him for a minute, I''ll find a way to tell him what Reese did to Leslie.


    "If he believes us, he''lle with us on his own."


    ***


    At that same moment, Reese was in her apartment, looking through the file Matthew had sent her about Leslie.


    It said that before the Ratcliff family sponsored Leslie, she went by Nicole. All her expenses for studying abroad had been paid by Mr. Ratcliff himself.


    Reese frowned, confused. If Mr. Ratcliff liked Leslie so much, why would he force Sebastian to marry someone else? And if he didn''t like her, why did he give her so much money and arrange her whole life overseas?


    A new thought hit her. Maybe Leslie had left Sebastian on purpose, following Mr. Ratcliff''s n.


    Reese let out a coldugh. So both Mr. Ratcliff and Leslie had kept Sebastian in


    the dark. No wonder he''d been hung up on Leslie for so many years and let things get this messy.


    Just then, her phone rang.


    She answered and heard Matthew''s voice. "Reese, I took care of things at the detention center. You can see Leslie now."


    "I''m downstairs. I''ll go with you."


    "Thanks." Reese shook off her thoughts, grabbed her coat, and hurried downstairs.


    Matthew was leaning against a


    ck sedan. When Reese came out


    of the elevator, he tossed his cigarette in the trash and waved smoke away from his clothes. "Sorry, I didn''t think you''d be down


    So


    fast."


    Something warm stirred in Reese''s chest at his gesture. "You don''t have to do that." Back when she was with Sebastian, he


    never cared whether she minded the smell of cigarettes.


    "I want to.” Matthew pulled open the passenger door for her. "Secondhand smoke


    is bad for you."


    Forty minutester, the car drove straight through security and into the National Security Bureaupound. They didn''t even get stopped for a check.


    Reese looked over at Matthew, surprised.