"What do you an you lost her trail again?" Anna’s voice rang through the room, sharp enough to startle even herself.
On the other end of the line, Shawn let out a weary sigh. He was supposed to be at Betty’s birthday celebration, but—as always—work had won. Even from the party he’d kept a quiet watch on Kathrine. When her phone number had briefly lit up in his system, he’d thought he finally had her.
But, like every signal since yesterday, it vanished almost at once.
"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner," Shawn said, frustration threading his voice. "But it seems Kathrine is turning her phone on deliberately. Yesterday she did the sa—ca online for a blink, then disappeared before I could trace her."
Anna frowned. ’Why would Kathrine do that if she wants to hide?’
"Why would she risk it," Anna asked aloud, "when all she has to do is stay hidden?"
Shawn hesitated, as if weighing the thought. "Maybe she needed money," he said slowly. "But I checked—no transactions. Nothing."
"Then why?" Anna pressed.
"Anna, do you think your sister knows you’re looking for her? If not... why else would she keep leaving breadcrumbs like this?"
Anna’s thoughts spun. Kathrine had never seen her as anything but useless; she wouldn’t go to these lengths just to draw Anna in. ’Then who was she trying to reach?’
A single na surfaced: Daniel. But then why would she risk signalling him when she knew how badly she offended him.
It had never been a secret how well Kathrine and Daniel had gotten along—until the day her sister vanished. And Daniel, a man who had once been set on bringing their entire family to its knees, had settled for a quiet truce. He hadn’t lifted a finger to find the fiancée who had humiliated him.
’It’s unsettling,’ Anna thought, a shiver running down her spine. ’Was his marriage to her so easy to replace with a re deal?’
"Shawn," she said at last, "maybe you’re right. Maybe she’s trying to alert soone..."
Shawn exhaled, the sound crisp through the line. "Leave it to . I’ll get to the bottom of it." he said cutting Anna’s words in between.
Relief swept through her shoulders. "Thank you, Shawn," she murmured, and he ended the call.
"...that son of a bi—" Anna clamped her own lips with her hand before the words escaped.
"No bad words, Anna," she muttered to herself, dropping the phone aside.
Every new clue about Kathrine only deepened the fog. First their father, now Daniel—both n who should have been desperate to find Kathrine hadn’t so much as lifted a finger.
’But what if it isn’t Daniel?’ The thought wavered in her mind, tempting her to doubt her own suspicion.
She shook her head hard, chasing it away. "That devil is capable of anything," she whispered, the bitter edge of personal experience cutting through her voice. She knew better than most what Daniel could manipulate—and how easily one could regret ever trusting him.
***
anwhile, in Daniel’s room, the air felt heavier with each word Henry spoke. He relayed the sa report Shawn had given Anna, neither of them aware that the other was conducting a parallel search.
Kathrine was playing a dangerous ga—turning her phone on and off like a lure—and Daniel couldn’t decipher her reason for such reckless moves.
Until now, he had been certain Hugo had helped her disappear. But Kathrine’s latest actions unsettled that certainty, forcing him to question every assumption.
A sudden ache pulsed at his temples. Daniel leaned back in his chair, eyes closing against the throbbing pain.
And then, unbidden, another sensation slipped into his thoughts—soft and disarming. Anna.
The mory of her cupping his face, of the way she’d boldly closed the distance between them, ca with startling clarity. Her unexpected kiss had stilled him at first, before sothing far deeper—sothing he’d tried to ignore—had taken over.
He could still hear the faint catch of her breath, still feel the jolt of heat that had pulled him under.
They were only supposed to share a kiss. Yet the mont had surged past that fragile boundary, leaving him restless and craving more than he dared admit.
Her soft, startled sound lingered in his mind like a lody he could not stop replaying—an echo that refused to fade. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to rush back to her knowing how ready she was to kick him.
"I was supposed to be thinking about Kathrine," Daniel murmured with a low chuckle, "and yet I can’t get you out of my head, Anna."
The mory of her furious expression when she realized he’d maneuvered her into accepting his terms—without even noticing—played vividly in his mind. The sight had been deliciously satisfying.
Now, with her unwitting agreent still hanging between them, he felt an unmistakable triumph. There would be no more bargaining, no more room for her to defy him.
’And her lips—’ he allowed himself a slow, private smile ’—those were his alone now.’
While Anna and Daniel wrestled with the sa unspoken thoughts, soone else stood far across the city, a silent witness to their turmoil.
Kathrine leaned against the railing of a high-rise balcony, the cool breeze teasing a loose strand of hair as she gazed over the skyline.
"I trust you’re being discreet," she said into her phone, her voice calm but edged with quiet authority.
A man’s low reply ca—assured, confident. Satisfied, Kathrine ended the call and allowed a faint smile to curve her lips.
"Soon," she whispered, eyes catching the distant city lights with a glint of sothing unreadable. "Soon, we’ll et again."
No one could have said who those words were ant for, but the promise in her gaze was unmistakable. Whatever she was waiting for, she was eager to watch it all unfold.
***
Betty trailed quietly after Shawn as they left the food stall, her eyes lingering on the tension etched across his face. He had insisted he was fine, that she needn’t worry, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe him.
"Brother Shawn," she said suddenly, her voice light though her gaze was searching. "There’s sothing else I’d like to eat."
The words pulled his attention, and when he glanced at her, the faint smile on Betty’s lips was like sunlight breaking through a heavy cloud.
"Over there," she said, pointing toward a small shop across the street. Her eyes sparkled with childlike excitent. "Let’s have ice cream."
Shawn’s expression softened. He didn’t argue, didn’t protest. He simply nodded, letting her gentle insistence guide him as they crossed the street together.
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