Chapter 741

Wayne knew exactly who Hayden was and still sent him out. This was 100% a test.

“What’s Hayden planning to do?” I asked Ron, even though I didn’t really need him to explain. I already knew. Hayden had been lying low to take down the whole operation from the inside, no doubt.

Wayne, though? He was using this as a golden opportunity to take Hayden out for good. It all came down to who was playing chess and who was playing checkers.

“He said you don’t need to worry about him,” Ron said, clearly quoting Hayden. “He remembers everything he promised you.”

Of course, he’d send Ron to say that instead of coming himself. Classic Hayden move—avoiding the awkwardness of another emotional goodbye.

If I was the one thing holding him back, I had to be the one to give him space to finish what he started. I nodded, exhaling. “Fine. Let him handle it. But seriously, I can’t sit here forever. It’s safe, sure, but I’m about two minutes away from losing it from boredom.”

“You wanna go out?” Ron asked, catching on immediately.

“Yeah. And FYI, the food here sucks,” I added with a dramatic eye roll.

Ron actually laughed. “Alright, I’ll pass the message. But whether or not he lets you out? Not my call.”

“Tell Hayden I can handle myself,” I said firmly. Danger or not, I wasn’t about to play the damsel in distress.

After Ron left, I waited—patiently at first—for word that I could leave. Spoiler alert: it never came.

Clearly, Hayden was dead set on bubble-wrapping me from even the tiniest risk. But I wasn’t about to just sit around twiddling my thumbs. Luckily, Lena stopped by, and I had a plan brewing.

“Find Sasha,” I told her. “Tell her to get someone to help me get out of here. And drop this: I can help her find her first love, Ian Carter.”

I’d had way too much time to think while cooped up here with no phone, no distractions. In that time, I’d connected some dots about Sasha and her little games involving her daughter.

If it was just about money, Thorsten would’ve paid her off ages ago. But no—Sasha was using her daughter to pressure Thorsten into helping her track down her first love. Bold move, which meant she was desperate. And desperate people? Easy to manipulate.

If my theory was right, her first love was tied to Draco Lux. And if it was, Hayden could figure out exactly who.

“Alright, I’ll talk to her,” Lena said, then smirked. “But what if something happens to you once you’re out? Hayden’s gonna kill me.”

I snorted. “Please. He wouldn’t dare. And anyway, your Nate wouldn’t let him get away with it.”

Lena’s expression shifted—just for a second—but I caught it. “What’s wrong? Did something happen between you and Nate?”

“No, nothing like that,” she said with a bitter smile. “He’s so busy all the time, I wouldn’t even get the chance to cause problems.”

I wanted to comfort her, but what could I say? “He’s a big-shot professor. Maybe he’s buried in some new research or something. Once he hits a breakthrough, he’ll have more time for you.”

Lena gave me a wry smile, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You don’t need to cheer me up. Or have you forgotten what you used to say about Jace when he was ‘too busy’ all the time?”

My stomach flipped. Oh. That.

“If someone really cares about you, no matter how busy they are, they’ll find time. Even just a meal, a text, or a quick call,” she said, throwing my own words back at me like a mic drop.

I’d said that. Back when Jace was so “busy” he forgot our anniversary, and I’d vented to Lena about it.

Now it was Lena’s turn to taste that same neglect from Nate.

You can’t lecture someone about heartbreak when you’ve already lived it.

I stayed quiet. What could I even say?

The silence stretched between us, heavy and awkward. Finally, Lena stood, brushing off the conversation. “Alright, I’m out. I’ll go talk to Sasha for you,” she said, not looking back as she headed for the door.

Lena was zoning out, her mind somewhere in the void, when a voice yanked her back to reality. “What are you doing here?”