Chapter 348 Keeping Her On The Ind

    Chapter 348 Keeping Her On The Ind

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    +5 Free bCoins /b

    Quinn froze, the promisending harder than any threat. iHonor /iiit/ii? /iiIs /iiJulius /iireally /iiready /iito /iibury /iwhat iwe /isharedi? /i

    Quinn lifted her chin. “Then how long do you intend to keep me marooned on this ind?”

    Julius‘ gaze drifted to her bandaged left shoulder, as clinical as a surgeon studying a chart. “Judging by the

    way your body heals, you’ll need about two weeks. I’ll keep you here for that fortnight, and I’ve stocked every medicine you could need.”

    Quinn weighed the preparation behind his words; since he made such preparations, he never nned to let her escape.

    If she continued defying him, it would only make things worse.

    “Very well–just see that, for once, you do exactly what you promise,” Quinn said, steel threaded through every syble.

    “Always,” Julius answered, the word soft but unwavering.

    Quinn pulled her phone from her pocket; the screen was ck, the battery long dead.

    When she powered it up, a cascade of missed calls and voice mails flooded the disy–dozens from Laura and a nearly equal swarm from Han.

    She dialed Laura first. The moment the line opened, her friend’s voice exploded with frantic energy. “Quinn, is that you? Are you all right? Tell me Julius Whitethorn hasn’t crossed the line!”

    “I’m fine,” Quinn answered, though a wry thought flickered through her mind. iDoes /iiimprisoning /iime /iion /iia /iprivate iind /iicount /iias /iicrossing /iithe /iiline/i?

    “Really?” Laura pressed, suspicion thick.

    “Really,” Quinn insisted. “Julius only ferried me to an ind to recuperate. In roughly two weeks, I’ll be back.”

    “An ind? Recuperate? Which ind?” Laura asked, disbelief cracking in her voice.

    Quinn cast a sideways nce at Julius. They were standing close enough for him to catch every syble, yet he remained silent, clearly unwilling to reveal their location.

    “I’m not sure,” she told Laura. “But don’t worry–he isn’t going to hurt me.”

    After a brief pause, Laura asked, “Do you at least have unrestrictedmunication?”

    “I do. He hasn’t taken my phone, and he isn’t policing my calls,” Quinn said.

    “Then promise you’ll text or call me every single day–and if anything feels off, you tell me immediately,”

    Laura demanded.

    “Deal,” Quinn replied.

    09:58 Mon, 1 Sept

    Chapter 348 Keeping Her On The Ind

    b+5 /bFree Coins

    “And ring Han right now, or he’ll march into the Whitethorn residence and burn the ce to the ground,” Laura warned.

    Quinn let out a soft, nomittal hum. When the call with Laura ended, she drew in a measured breath, steadied her trembling fingers, and tapped Han’s name on the glowing screen.

    “Quinnic, are you all right?” Han’s voice burst from the speaker, ragged after a night spent wrestling with worry.

    “I’m fine,” she said, keeping her tone calm. “I’ll be back in Jexburgh in about half a month.”

    “Julius Whitethorn whisked you away–what did he do to you?” Han demanded, knuckles whitening around the phone.

    He had stayed awake the entire night, chasing every lead he could find. Yet Julius had swept the trail so clean that the city itself seemed to have swallowed them whole. The man was clearly well–prepared.

    “He hasn’t done anything. He’s only letting me recover,” Quinn answered.

    “Recover?” The single word came back, edged with a frown he didn’t bother to hide.

    “Exactly. He just wants me to recover, nothing else. Stop worrying about me,” she urged, unwilling to see Han collide with Julius on her ount.

    “Where are you right now?” Han pressed. He needed to see her in person; only the sight of her breathing, unhurt, would loosen the ice crushing his chest.

    “I-” Quinn began, but before she could finish, Julius‘ hand appeared, plucking the phone from her grasp.

    “Han, investigate all you like,” Julius said, voice smooth and cold. “For the next two weeks, you won’t find where Quinn and I are no matter how hard you search.”

    “If you so much as harm her, Julius, I won’t care that the entire Whitethorn n stands behind you,” Han snarled. “I wille for you.”

    “Harm her?” Julius repeated, letting his gaze settle on Quinn. “Even if it kills me, I will never hurt her.”

    Quinn felt her heart jolt, a single violent thud. The promise seemed meant for Han, yet somehow it wrapped around her too, sinking deeper than words should reach.

    She reached out, reimed the phone, and spoke quickly. “Han, really, don’t worry. I’m all right.”

    “But-” he tried, frustration hitching on the single syble.

    “One more thing,” she added. i“/iPlease keep an eye on the Fane family and on my brother Rowan’s movements.” Given the present tangle, she wouldn’t reach Celosia for at least two weeks.

    “All right. I will,” Han said, the words pulled from somewhere beneath his worry.

    The call ended. Han stared at the dark screen, then mmed his fist onto the desk. The wood shuddered beneath the blow.

    O