"You''re unbelievable, Zachary!" Vivian shouted,pletely losing her temper. Just then, the door to the private room flew open.

A man Sarah had never seen before stepped inside, and Vivian immediately turned her fury on him. "Who are you? Are you out of your mind barging in like that?"

But the man ignored herpletely. His eyes went straight to Zachary as he bowed slightly. "Mr. Reynolds."

Zachary''s expression darkened instantly. The man was one of his people, someone he had assigned to keep an eye on Sarah. His sudden appearance could only mean one thing-something had happened.

Sure enough, the man leaned in and whispered a few urgent words in Zachary''s ear. In the next second, Zachary''s face changed drastically.

"Take me there."

"Where are you going?" Vivian''s eyes widened. She hadn''t expected this stranger to know Zachary, let alone show up to take him away.

Zachary didn''t even nce at her. He followed the man straight toward the door.

Vivian rushed to block his path. "Zachary! Don''t you want to know the truth behind your grandfather''s copse? Don''t you want to know what really happened that afternoon?"

"Of course I do," Zachary said coldly. "But do you actually intend to tell me?" He could see it clearly-Vivian hadn''t meant to say anything from the start.fn5417 ?????? ???? f?ndnovel/fn5417

"I came here today to tell you," she insisted.

Zachary wasn''t buying it. "If you really meant to tell me, then say it now. It''s not thatplicated-if there''s something worth saying, you should''ve said it already."

Vivian froze for a second, then snapped back, "Who said this can be exined in just a few words? Zachary, we''re nothing to each other anymore. The only reason I asked you out today is because we nearly got married once. I thought, at the very least, that meant you could share one meal with me."

Zachary let out a dryugh. "You''ve said all that, and not a single word about what matters. I have something urgent to deal with. If you really want to talk, wait until I''m done."

With that, he left the restaurant without another nce.

Back at the cafeteria.

Sarah''s vision was blurry, her body burning with unbearable heat. It was the kind

of difort that made her want to tear her clothes off just to breathe.

She knew this was all part of Leon''s trap.

Digging her nails into the inside of her thigh, she pinched herself hard. The sharp pain jolted her back to rity just barely. Nearly ten minutes had passed, and Sarah was doing everything she could to keep herself conscious.  s

Leon had clearly run out of patience.

He walked toward her slowly. "Miss Sanders, look at me. What''s so great about Zachary, huh? You''d be better aff choosing me If treat you right won''t let anyone hurt you."  s

He sat down beside her, reaching out to twirl a lock of her hair that had fallen loose beside her ear. His voice dropped into a low, teasing draw "Stop fighting it. You know what kind of drug this is. There''s only one way to get rid of it. Right now, you''re still holding on, but in a few minutes... you''ll be begging to throw yourself nto my arms Honestly, what difference does it make-now orter?"  s

As he spoke, he leaned in close, his breath warm against her ear, making her flinch.

Sarah''s cheeks flushed bright red. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up with both hands, shoving Leon away with sudden strength.

"Get away from me! Don''te near!"

She knew he wasn''t lying. Her body was already spiraling out of control.

The drug made it feel like a thousand ants were crawling beneath her skin, biting their way into her bones. The torment was unbearable-she could barely stay on her feet.

Grabbing the wall for support, she reached into her pocket with shaking fingers, trying to get to her phone. Even when she managed to pull it out, her trembling hands couldn''t dial.

Leon snatched it from her. He nced at the number on the screen and gave a cruelugh. "Who are you trying to call? Zachary? You think he''sing to save you?"

He leaned in, eyes gleaming with mockery. "Do you even know what he''s doing right now? He''s having dinner with Vivian."