In the same fluid motion, Victor seized Glenn''s arms, twisted them behind his back, and mmed him into submission. The tables had turned in an instant. Before Glenn could even process it, he was the one restrained,pletely at Victor''s mercy.


    Victor smiled. "Glenn, I have to admit, I admire you. You''re willing to go to great lengths for Evangeline. But what you might not know is that I''ve had someone watching her for a very long time. If I didn''t see Tessa by today, there was only one possible oue for Evangeline: death."


    His voice was as cold as ice. Glenn looked into his dark, menacing eyes, and his heart hammered against his ribs. Fortunately, he had anticipated this. With Finn by her side, nothing could go wrong...


    Just then, a phone buzzed nearby. The bodyguard closest to Victor answered it, and his expression immediately turned grim. He hurried over and whispered something in Victor''s ear.


    Whatever he said, it made Victor''s face darken. "Is it confirmed?" Victor asked, his voice low and dangerous.


    The bodyguard nodded. "He saw it with his own eyes."


    Victor was silent for a few seconds before releasing his grip on Glenn. His expression was a chilling mix of menace, bloodlust, and a flicker of some unreadable, twisted amusement.


    Glenn''s stomach dropped. A terrible premonition washed over him.


    "Evangeline is dead," Victor stated calmly.


    The words hit Glenn like a physical blow. He froze, a roaring sound filling his ears as he stood rooted to the spot. How could this be? She had his bodyguards, she had Finn—how could anything have happened? Was Victor lying?


    But Victor made no move to stop or restrain him, which only made the statement feel horrifyingly true.


    Pushing all other thoughts asidet


    Glenn rumbled for his phone. He had just turned it on when a call care through. With trembling fingers, he answered.


    "Mr. Carlisle, there''s been an incident. Miss Whitmore was kidnapped, and Mr. Lockridge went to save her. Something went wrong... they both fell from a cliff over a thousand meters high..."


    Back in Serenity City, at the hospital, Flora Fawkes was chattering away, trying to soothe Poppy. "Don''t you worry, Poppy. The doctors said Soren has no internal injuries. He''s just exhausted fromck of steep. A little rest is all he needs. I heard he hasn''t been eating or sleeping since you were taken. He was so worried about you, and he''s been trying to keep this whole thing under wraps. The rest of the Fawkes family still has no idea what''s happened."


    Poppy sat by Soren''s bed in a daze, not hearing a word. Her mind was a dull buzz, separated from the world by a thick fog. So much had happened in just a few days, and her thoughts were a tangled mess. But two facts stood out with chilling rity.


    Evangeline was dead.


    And she, Poppy, was alive.


    She clutched Soren''s hand tightly..


    The sting of not being his first choice lingered, but she had


    survived. And where there was life, there was hope. Soren had feelings for Evangeline only because she''d been around for so long, hadn''t he? She used to want to be the only one in his heart, but now, she didn''t care. No matter how much he mourned Evangeline, Poppy would be the one by his side from now on. The thought almost made her smile.


    Flora, oblivious, saw only a concerned woman gripping her unconscious fiancé''s


    hand. After a few moreforting words, she left.


    Soren remained unconscious through the night, his mind trapped in a long, continuous dream. And in that dream, he saw only hazy, shifting images of Evangeline.