Richard''s hand trembled around his cigarette when the gunshot rang out from inside the car. He froze, uncertain what had just happened.

    He tossed the cigarette into the trash and yanked open the car door.

    Inside, Dn was holding ra tightly, his hands shaking so badly he seemed lost, helpless.

    A flicker of turmoil passed through Richard''s eyes. "We should get her to a hospital."

    Dn tried to lift ra, desperate to help, but his arms wouldn''t cooperate-they felt weak and numb.

    Without hesitation, Richard took ra from him and hurried toward the hospital.

    Dn stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds, everything around him spinning. The ground felt soft and unreal beneath his feet, the world blurring at the edges. All he could see was the scene that had just yed out, looping in his mind like a nightmare he couldn''t shake.

    He stumbled through the hospital corridor in a daze, watching as doctors swarmed around ra, working frantically.

    Her face was ghostly pale, but she hadn''t fainted. Her eyes stayed shut, sweat trickling down her forehead.

    After the bullet was removed, ra leaned against the bed, silent, looking as fragile as ss.

    Dn stood at her bedside, just staring at her.

    ra didn''t look at him. She didn''t speak, didn''t ask for anything.

    After a long, heavy pause, Dn suddenly turned and walked out without a word.

    ra pressed her lips together, still saying nothing.

    She''d been recovering here for weeks, never stepping outside Palm Bay. But her worry for Dn had only grown, wearing her down until she was little more than skin and bone.

    Richard showed up at the doorway, surprised to see Dn storming out, radiating anger.

    "Dn, where are you going?" he called out.

    But Dn just kept walking, silent and unreachable.

    Richard rubbed his forehead and walked into ra''s room, letting out a slow

    breath. "You two are unbelievable. Guns aren''t toys, you know?"

    Especially when you turn one on yourself. If Dn everes to grips with what happened, this will haunt him more than anything else.

    ra really was ruthless.

    Not just with others-worst of all, with herself.

    Richard was quiet for a moment, then managed, "Dn will probably bring the specialists back. I''ll take you home to Palm Bay."

    ra turned to the window, biting her lip, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Thank you."

    Just those two words, and her voice was all ragged, as if she might cry at any second.

    Richard drove her back to Palm Bay, and that''s when ra found out Megan was still there.

    Megan took one look at ra''s

    injuries and assumed the old man''s

    people were behind it. For a split

    second, something like excitement

    shed in her eyes, but she quickly pushed it down.

    "ra, are you okay?"

    ra just shook her head, pale and quiet as she leaned against the headboard.

    Megan hurried to tell the

    houser to whip up some

    soup, then came back to

    wipe the sweat from ret

    brow.

    "Was it the old man again? Who did this to you?”

    But ra just kept her eyes closed, her face drained of color, too tired to talk.

    Megan frowned, ready to say more, but then the housekeeper appeared at the door.

    "Ms. Megan, you just got a call. They want you to leave right away."

    Megan wondered if she''d misheard. ra was still recovering how could she leave her now, when she needed her most?

    But the housekeeper looked serious. "It was the gentleman''s assistant, Ms. Megan. You need to go."

    Megan''s cheeks burned with embarrassment.

    Still, she took a deep breath, swallowed her anger, and looked at ra lying on the bed.

    "ra, I''m heading back to work. If you need anything-anything at all-promise you''ll tell me, okay?"

    ra nodded weakly, her mind a blur. She didn''t even know what she was supposed to do next.

    Megan left quickly, and only once she was out of Palm Bay did a wild, bitter look cross her face.

    Just then, Simon called, wanting to meet up.

    Megan agreed and set the meeting for a café.

    When Simon saw her, his gaze was full of thinly veiled contempt.

    "Heard you''ve been living at Palm Baytely. Congrats you really are moving up

    in the world," he sneered.

    Megan knew he was mocking her.

    1.n

    These rich kids and high-society princesses all looked down on here thought she was a schemer, someone who yed the dutiful friend just to get ahead. But she was

    stiff here, wasn''t she? Still standing.

    Where was Eden now? Where was Tara?

    Those two women, so sure they were smarter than everyone else, had vanished

    without a trace.