"I''ll let you know if I hear anything," Zachary said to Dr. Lanson.

"Alright. Call me if anything changes." Dr. Lanson didn''t say more and left the apartment without dy.

Back in the bedroom, Sarahy unconscious on the bed. Though her eyes were shut tight, the furrow between her brows showed she was still ufortable.

Zachary sat by her side, worried. He gently touched her forehead-still burning hot. He peeled open one of the fever-reducing patches Dr. Lanson had left behind and pressed it to her skin.

Meanwhile, Leon was fuming. He smashed several things in the cafeteria before paying the damages and storming off in his car.

The moment he thought about what had happened, his anger surged again. He called Vivian and started venting before she could even speak. "Weren''t you supposed to keep him upied? How the hell did he still find the café?"

Vivian could already guess what had happened-Zachary had found them and taken Sarah away.

"This time, don''t me me," she said coldly. "I did stall him. But some stranger showed up halfway through and whispered something in his ear. Whatever it was, his whole expression changed, and after that, nothing I said could stop him. Don''t forget—I nearly threw my own grandfather under the bus for your little n. I''ve already done more than enough, and you''re still not satisfied?"

But Leon didn''t soften. He wasn''t thinking about the details-his mind was filled with the image of Zachary carrying Sarah away in his arms.

It felt like spending all your effort trapping the perfect prey, cleaning it, cooking it, preparing everything-only to have someone barge into yourir and steal it from right under your nose.

"Don''t forget this n was ours," he snapped. "Your job was to stop him, whatever it took. Tell me, Vivian-did you suddenly forget the n just because you saw Zachary again?"

Vivian''s voice turned ice-cold. “Mr.

Lanson, before you open your mouth, try using your brain. You really think there''s still something between me and him? When that stranger showed up, I was trying to figure out who he was and what he said to Zachary. And now that I''ve had time to think-it must''ve been something about Saran. What else Could''ve made him abandon everything, even the chance to learn the truth about his grandfather? But tell me this-if you had everything so carefully arranged, how did that man get past you?"  s

Leon went silent. After a moment, he muttered, "I don''t know."

He thought about Sarah''s reaction earlier and frowned in confusion. "If what you''re saying is true... even she didn''t know someone was watching her."

Vivian let out a sharp breath. "You mean Zachary had someone secretly protecting her this whole time?"fn9e5d Original content can be found at /fn9e5d

Then it finally clicked for Leon. "Think about everything you''ve done to her. Maybe all those little ''idents'' made him paranoid. That''s probably why he had someone shadowing her."

Vivian''s hand clenched around her phone so tightly she nearly crushed it. She hated that Zachary had never been this cautious or protective with her. And she hated even more that he''d gone so far to shield

Sarah-from her.  s

After a long silence, she finally asked, voice steady again, "So... what now?"

"What do you mean, ''what now''?" Leon said. "I''ll tell you this-the drug she took doesn''t have an antidote. Unless she''s got enough willpower to fight it off, something has to happen."

Vivian''s pupils constricted.

"She-Sarah''s not going to sleep with him. She''s disgusted by the rtionship between me and Zachary Whatever they look like on the surface their rtionshipisn''t

nearly as good as you think."  s