"What do you an there are no records of Marcus Helmsworth’s admission here?" Ethan frowned, his voice firm but controlled.
The receptionist looked at the screen once more before shaking her head politely. "I’m sorry, sir, but there is no record of Marcus Helmsworth being admitted to this hospital."
Her tone was professional, yet there was a faint nervousness in her expression.
Ethan felt a wave of disappointnt wash over him. Kathrine had clearly ntioned this hospital. She had sounded certain. There was no hesitation in her voice when she told him about his father’s condition when she brought him to the hospital.
He glanced at the receptionist again, and this ti he noticed the shy look on her face. It almost seed as though she recognized him, even with the mask covering most of his features.
His lips twitched slightly.
Luckily, he had co prepared. The cap pulled low and the mask concealed most of his identity. Still, he knew that true fans could recognize him by the smallest detail. A voice. A posture. Even the way he stood.
"I see," he said politely, forcing a small smile. "Thank you."
He turned and walked away before she could say anything more.
Once inside his car, Ethan shut the door and removed his mask slowly. The quiet inside the vehicle felt heavier than before.
His thoughts began to spiral.
There was no way Kathrine would lie to him. He trusted her completely. She had no reason to make up sothing like this.
So if the hospital had no record of Marcus Helmsworth’s admission, what did that an?
Ethan leaned back against the seat, staring at the road ahead absentmindedly.
If his father was truly sick, why would he hide it from him? Why keep sothing so serious a secret?
Marcus had never been the overly expressive type, but he had never concealed sothing this important either. At least not from him.
Unless there was a reason.
Ethan’s fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel. His mind slowly began forming a conclusion he did not like.
His father was purposely hiding sothing.
’But what?’
Was he protecting him from worry? Or was there sothing else involved? Sothing bigger than just an illness?
Ethan replayed every recent conversation in his head. Every vague answer. Every ti Marcus had brushed off a question or changed the subject.
It could not be a coincidence.
"Just what is going on with him?" Ethan muttered quietly.
However, he knew one thing for certain. This was not sothing he could ignore.
***
After handling things with Kathrine, Norma returned ho long after the city had quieted. The drive back had given her enough ti to replay every word of their conversation, weighing intentions and hidden anings. She was still thinking about it when she stepped out of her car.
Her heels clicked softly against the pavent, but she stopped mid step. A man stood near the entrance of her house, leaning casually against the gate as if he had all the ti in the world.
A slow smile curved at the corner of her lips.
She walked toward him with unhurried grace. "You did not inform about your visit," she said, her eyes scanning him from head to toe.
Collin adjusted the cap on his head and lowered his gaze briefly, though she knew that gesture was only for show. He had always been dramatic. Even now, with a trimd beard, darker hair, and spectacles that changed the shape of his face, Norma could see through the disguise. He might fool the world, but not her.
After denying her repeated requests to et, he had finally appeared at her doorstep. That alone told her sothing was wrong. Collin never moved without reason. If he had stepped out of hiding, then the situation was more complicated than she had assud.
"Are you going to keep talking here?" he asked quietly, glancing around the street.
Norma let out a soft laugh. "Still paranoid."
"Still careful," he corrected.
She turned and walked past him, unlocking the door without another word. He followed her inside, closing it gently behind him.
The house was dimly lit, the warm glow of a single lamp casting long shadows along the walls. Norma placed her purse on the table and took a seat across from him in the living room. Collin remained standing for a mont, as if assessing the room, before finally sitting opposite her.
"So," she began, crossing her legs elegantly, "now that you have finally shown up, I assu it has to be sothing important."
Collin’s eyes t hers. Beneath the disguise, they were the sa calculating eyes she had always known. Despite being on the run, he had managed to stay invisible. No trace, no slip, no mistake. The authorities had nothing concrete on him. Even now, his presence here would leave no evidence.
"I would not co here without reason," he said.
"I figured," she replied calmly. "You refused to et before. Suddenly you appear at my house. That ans sothing has changed."
"Roseline knows about you and Daniel," he said.
For a brief second, the world seed to pause around Norma.
"I told her," Collin added.
The words struck like a slap.
Norma rose from her seat so abruptly that the chair scraped harshly against the floor. Her face twisted, not in shock alone, but in sothing far more dangerous. The air around her shifted. Anyone standing close enough would have felt the temperature drop.
"How dare you backstab , Collin?" she ground out, her teeth clenched as fury laced through her eyes.
She had saved him once. Protected him when the walls had closed in. She had hidden him, fed him information, ensured his survival, all because she believed he would be useful in the future. And now he had exposed her.
"You think I kept you alive for this?" she continued, her voice dangerously low.
Collin did not flinch. He had expected this reaction. In fact, he would have been more worried if she had remained calm.
"Listen to first, Norma," he said steadily. "She already suspected when she ca across your involvent in fracturing Hugo’s company. I only confird what she was going to find out anyway."
"That was not your decision to make," she snapped.
"She does know who you and Daniel are," he continued, cutting through her anger with cold logic. "And now she is planning to use Anna to make him leave her. If that happens, you will have Bennet exactly where you want him. Vulnerable. Distracted. Easier to deal with."
Norma said nothing.
Her breathing slowed. Her hands, which had curled into fists, gradually relaxed at her sides. She stared at him, but this ti not with blind rage. Instead, her mind began to move, calculating each possibility.
Roseline knew.
That changed the board entirely.
If Roseline used Anna to break Daniel away, the emotional fracture would weaken him. And if Daniel faltered, Bennet would step forward to stabilize the situation. Bennet always did. He thrived on being the pillar when others fell.
And a pillar, when isolated, was easier to bring down.
The anger in Norma’s eyes slowly faded, replaced by a chilling composure. The storm that had risen within her settled just as quickly, leaving behind stillness. Her aura shifted back to its usual controlled dominance.
Collin watched the transformation carefully. This was the Norma he respected. Not the woman who reacted, but the one who adapted.
"Continue," she said at last, her voice smooth again.
A knowing look passed between them.
Collin leaned back slightly, a convinced smile stretching across his lips.
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