"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Felicia? Are you okay? Where are you? Are you hurt?" Carmen's voice shook with emotion as she bombarded Felicia with questions, her eyes reddening with a mixture of relief and worry. She had exhausted every avenue in her search for Felicia these past few days, but with no leads, finding her felt hopeless. Guilt gnawed at her; she regretted leaving Felicia behind, believing they might have fought back together if she hadn't fled.

Felicia glanced at the clock. "I don't have long, Carmen. Don't worry, I'm fine. In three days, I'll be back. Don't try to find me, and don't do anything reckless. I promise."

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside her Bamboo Court suite. Felicia's heart leaped; the network disconnection must have alerted the guards. They were coming.

With no time to lose, she ended the call, swiftly erasing all traces of the conversation using hacking software. She then tossed her laptop into the bathtub, completely submerging it. When the suite door opened, Felicia emerged from the bathroom, holding the dripping, disabled laptop.

"Oh, good timing!" she said innocently to the guards. "I need a new one. This one fell in the tub."

The guards exchanged glances, but her casual demeanor betrayed no suspicion. One inspected the sodden, lifeless laptop; the dropped connection was explained. Their doubts eased as they placed a tray of snacks on the table. "Ms. Fuller, these are from Mr. Glover."

"Oh," Felicia replied, her tone absentminded.

Once she received a replacement laptop, she resumed her card game, knowing better than to attempt the same ruse again. Her attention remained fixed on her poor hand, but her thoughts drifted. The call had reassured Carmen; she only hoped her friend wouldn't act rashly. As for Stephan… she hadn't responded to his message and doubted he'd tried calling; even if he had, his calls wouldn't have connected. He likely hadn't reacted. Dexter and Myra weren't a concern; if they knew of her abduction, she doubted they'd care. Felicia lowered her lashes, a faint, self-mocking smile playing on her lips.

Meanwhile, in Seldvale, spring showers had coaxed fresh buds onto the once-bare branches. Forsythia bloomed brightly in the Russell residence courtyard. Imogen plucked two flowers, holding them delicately.

Johanna steadied her, teasing, "If you keep picking them, the garden will be bare, Imogen."

Imogen froze, then dropped the flowers. With a wry smile, she murmured, "Well, what does it matter? I can't see them anyway." Her world was shrouded in darkness; touch was her only connection to the world.

Johanna instantly regretted her words. "I'm sorry. That was thoughtless."

"It's alright," Imogen replied softly, shaking her head. "You didn't mean anything bad."