"Are you worried about me?"
Alicia leaned against the car window, tilting her head playfully as she asked.
"I... I just think it’s too dangerous for you to stay behind. Why don’t you come with me instead?"
Zeke wasn't heartless—quite the opposite. He valued loyalty and emotion. Alicia had risked her life to get him out, and it wouldn’t be long before Zorro discovered the deception. When that happened, Alicia would be the first person to suffer the consequences.
Why was it so hard to just admit he cared?
Alicia wanted nothing more than to crack open his head and see what was going on inside.
She smiled sweetly and teased, "What’s this? Are you asking me to run away with you?"
Zeke froze, flustered by her directness.
"If you agree to marry me, I’ll go with you right now. What do you s
Caitlin and Sebastian’s group was now completely surrounded by Shadow Moon Pavilion forces. The assassins, weapons raised, began closing in, the distance between them shrinking by the second.Samir, no longer bothering to hide his arrogance, let out a wild laugh."Ha! What now? Caitlin, I suggest you hand over the codex immediately, or our bullets might just find their way into your skulls."Sebastian stepped in front of Caitlin protectively, keeping his voice steady."Don’t get ahead of yourself. You think you have us surrounded? Look again. The outer perimeter—those are my people. You move, you die. Let’s see who outnumbers who."At that moment, vague shadows began to appear around the outer circle. Samir’s men noticed more and more figures closing in from behind. A flicker of unease spread through their ranks.But Samir remain
The vehicles stopped at the foot of the mountain. Everyone but the drivers got out and began the uphill hike.Caitlin and her team arrived at the designated location just as Samir and his men showed up from the other side.With less than a hundred meters between them, both sides could clearly size each other up, noting how many people had come.Pierrick scanned the group across the clearing and immediately spotted Caitlin, Sebastian, and Zinnia standing at the front.“They brought a lot of people,” he muttered to Samir.“Cut the chatter,” Samir replied calmly. “It’s time to negotiate.”Pierrick nodded, then raised his voice. “We brought the hostages! Did you bring what we asked for?”Caitlin turned to signal James, who stepped forward holding a secure case.“
Caitlin immediately called the number, but after several rings, no one picked up.After she hung up and waited a moment, another message came through.[Caitlin, I’ve caught a bad cold and my throat hurts. I can’t talk right now—let’s just stick to messaging.]Reading that, Caitlin was nearly certain now—it wasn’t Zeke.He was clearly trying to avoid speaking with her, afraid she'd catch on to the impersonation through his voice.[Got it. Take care of yourself.]She kept her reply brief, hiding her suspicion.Not long after, another message came.[Caitlin, what time and place did you settle on for the exchange?]“He's asking about the exchange location and time,” Caitlin told Sebastian.“Stall him,” Sebastian said. &ld
She kept reading the message over and over, growing more shocked by the second. “This… what…”“What is it, Caitlin?”Sebastian leaned closer, curious about what had startled her.“Look at this message. It was sent a few hours ago.”Caitlin handed him her phone. After skimming the contents, Sebastian’s expression shifted to one of surprise.The message came from an unknown number, claiming to be from Zeke. It said he hadn’t been able to reach her directly, so he had resorted to texting. He warned her not to proceed with the hostage exchange with Pierrick and his team. He promised to join them as soon as possible.Even more shocking was this: the person currently with Pierrick, posing as Zeke, wasn’t the real him. The message urged her to stay alert.“How is that poss
"Mom, they all went over to Sebastian's. Looks like it’s just us today," Eliza explained casually.Beatrice nodded with a knowing smile. "That just proves how good Caitlin's cooking is. I want to try it too.""Next time, Mom. We'll have Caitlin make something just for you. Today there's a crowd over there," Eliza reassured her.Beatrice let out a playful sigh. "So I even have to wait in line to taste Caitlin’s food? Who knows when my turn will come!"Her light-hearted grumble, paired with a mock-pout, made everyone around her chuckle.Just then, the sound of children’s voices echoed from outside."Beatrice! Grandpa, Grandma!""Hmm? Are those my little darlings?"Beatrice’s eyes lit up as the kids came running in.Eliza stepped forward to greet them. "What are you all doing
"Are you worried about me?"Alicia leaned against the car window, tilting her head playfully as she asked."I... I just think it’s too dangerous for you to stay behind. Why don’t you come with me instead?"Zeke wasn't heartless—quite the opposite. He valued loyalty and emotion. Alicia had risked her life to get him out, and it wouldn’t be long before Zorro discovered the deception. When that happened, Alicia would be the first person to suffer the consequences.Why was it so hard to just admit he cared?Alicia wanted nothing more than to crack open his head and see what was going on inside.She smiled sweetly and teased, "What’s this? Are you asking me to run away with you?"Zeke froze, flustered by her directness."If you agree to marry me, I’ll go with you right now. What do you s