“My phone’s missing too,” I said, trying not to panic.

Edward spun around, searching everywhere for my phone until he finally spotted it on the dining table, powered off.

Edward was all over me with threats and pressure as soon as I walked in yesterday, and I was so freaked out I totally forgot about my phone.

Edward grabbed a charger, plugged my phone in, and powered it up. “See if he messaged you.”

I unlocked my phone and saw over a dozen missed calls.

About half were from Ryan, and he’d sent a few messages too. The last one—his worry was obvious.

“Victoria, alive or dead, you owe me an answer.”

Reading that last message, my heart clenched a little.

Edward came over and stood next to me, reading the message with me.

My face went pale as I gripped my phone, shooting Edward an angry glare. “Did he figure something out?”

“Why are you so worked up? I’m more anxious than you,” Edward said irritably, giving me a look before heading toward the living room.

But I wasn’t about to follow him. I clutched my phone and made straight for the front door.

Edward noticed I wasn’t behind him, so he came over quickly and blocked my way. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I shoved him aside, still pissed. “I’m going home.”

“You haven’t eaten all night. Do you even have the strength to walk out of here? Don’t faint halfway and let someone take advantage of you,” Edward said. “Remember how you passed out last night?”

I really was starving, dizzy, and my legs felt like jelly. “Then just get me a ride home.”

“Wait. We still need to talk about what happens next,” Edward said, blocking me.

I shot back with a sneer, “Scared Ryan’s gonna find out you’ve been locking me up?”

Edward didn’t even flinch. “If you hadn’t shown up, me and Ryan wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“If it wasn’t me, it’d just be someone else. You’re the older one here—can’t you try to understand what Ryan really wants?” I still thought Edward was being way too strict. Ryan’s not some rebellious teenager—he’s twenty-four, he knows exactly what he wants.

Edward looked at me, a bit taken aback. After a long moment, he gave a wry smile. “If you hadn’t brought it up, I might’ve still thought he was that kid who needed me for everything.”

“The bond you two have as uncle and nephew is honestly pretty rare, and kind of touching. But speaking from experience, being too strict with your kids isn’t always a good thing—it can really backfire,” I said, still determined to leave.

This time, Edward didn’t stop me. “Wait. I’ll get someone to drive you.”

I stayed put as Edward came over. “If Ryan comes to you for confirmation, I want you to deny it.”

“You don’t have to tell me—I was going to do that anyway,” I replied, my tone icy. “I want nothing to do with you.”

Edward hesitated, then said, “Victoria, if it weren’t for Ryan, we never would’ve crossed paths.”

“Well, I wish we never had,” I shot back instantly.

Edward didn’t say anything else, just gave a faint smile. “Fine. Once this is settled, we probably won’t have to see each other again.”

A black Volkswagen rolled up, and I climbed in.

Back at my apartment complex, I was so hungry I could barely stand it. I dashed off to grab some breakfast and finally felt alive again.

After that, I needed to head home, change, and get to work. Honestly, throwing myself into my busy job was the only thing I actually enjoyed these days.

When I got home, my hair was a wild mess—totally all over the place. I wanted to clip it up, but then it hit me: my hairpin was broken and I’d left it back at Edward’s house.

So I just grabbed a hair tie, threw my hair into a quick ponytail, and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

After I finished showering, I walked out in my spaghetti strap pajamas—only to hear the doorbell suddenly ring.

My heart jumped. I hurried over to check the security camera, and saw it was Ryan.

Anxiety twisted in my gut. I spun around and dashed into the bedroom, grabbing a silk shawl to throw over my shoulders, making sure I wasn’t showing too much.

When I finally opened the door, Ryan was standing there. Seeing me like this, his voice came out a bit husky as he asked, “Why are you up showering so early?”