Regret Came Too Late

Grace stayed at the hospital well into the evening. She hadn't slept much lately and eventually dozed off, slumped over the edge of Liam's bed.

Three hours later, a doctor gently woke her up.

"Ms. Lambert, you should go home and get some rest. Liam's still unconscious- you'll collapse before he even wakes up."

Her eyes were ringed with dark circles. She rubbed them and asked, "His fever still isn't going down?"

The doctor sighed. "It all depends on him now. He seems stuck on something mentally. As his family, maybe try talking to him—see if it helps."

But Grace didn't even know what Liam's hang-up was.

She got up and went home, where she collapsed into bed from sheer exhaustion.

A noise outside her window startled her awake in the middle of the night.

She flicked on the lamp beside her and froze. Outside her window, a strange man was crouched, holding a tool and clearly about to smash the glass.

It was a terrifying sight-if her nerves weren't steel by now, she probably would've screamed.

The man clearly hadn't expected the lights to come on. He panicked and swung the tool, but Grace moved faster. She grabbed a chair and slammed it against the window.

safety gear-no harness, no rope. He'd climbed up by hand. The force of the chair knocked him clean off, and he

of a body hitting pavement jolted the nearby patrol to attention. Within minutes, police sirens lit

man had

swarm the scene. Her adrenaline was finally fading,

and one of them blinked when he saw her

it's

the cops

officers surveyed the shattered glass and exchanged a look. One of them

us for a statement. We'll verify the guy's

grabbed a coat and followed them to the

the guy's ID—he was from the Druville slums, unemployed, and had over a

it was pretty clear she hadn't done anything

I want to know who

his financial records and

transfers, no digital footprint. Everything's in cash. If you want answers, think about who you've pissed off

Between the gasoline attack, the ambush in the snow,

like they came from different people. That gasoline stunt was way too low-rent to be planned by anyone

mind immediately landed on Daphne and Tristan-two

crushed under Julian's heel, desperate to prove himself and gain the Sidler family's respect. But with Julian around, he never stood a chance. The resentment must've twisted him up inside. And Daphne