“Susan?” Tessa continued her line of questioning. “Isn’t she locked up in the detention center?”

Stephen finished switching his footwear before replying, “I’m sorry, Tessa. I was worried you would be anxious so I didn’t tell you. A month ago, Susan lied that she was pregnant. When she was on the way to the hospital for a check-up, she was kidnapped.”

His story checked out with what Zachary had told her the night before. The only difference was that Stephen had used the word “lied”.

“Lied? So she wasn’t pregnant?”

Stephen nodded. “Yup. We’ve been searching for her ever since she was kidnapped. We finally found her on the Castellion border, in an area infamous for telecommunications fraud. She admitted herself that she wasn’t pregnant.”

Tessa followed after Stephen as they headed to the living room. “Who kidnapped her? What were their motivations?”

“That’s the reason why I was worried you would be anxious.” He turned to her with a somber expression. “The person who kidnapped her is someone considerably powerful. After some initial investigation, I’m sure that he kidnapped her because of me.”

Stephen frowned. He was quiet for a moment, expression grim, before he continued, “Last night… when I was on the way to pick you up, I received a call informing me that Susan is dead.”

Tessa’s eyes widened, her expression turning into fright.

“When my people found her, we had planned to ask her who was manipulating things behind the scenes. However, she was silenced before we could get any answers.”

Terror gripped Tessa. Susan had been guilty, and she had also hated Susan. Yet, Tessa believed that the law would punish her adequately since Susan was charged with kidnapping and attempted homicide. Based on how the court operated in this day and age, she wouldn’t have received the death penalty.

Even if it was still allowed, it should have been the law punishing Susan in a just and proper manner. To be murdered by someone else was just plain cruel.

Stephen hadn’t even gotten to the worst parts of the entire situation. Susan had died terribly, having her throat slit open. Her sickly father was also suspected to have been murdered by the mastermind of this scheme. Not only that, but Garret, who had been an unwilling instrument of murder, and his

mother had also met their untimely ends.

Being in his position, Stephen had seen the dark underbelly of society too many times to count, so he was still able to accept certain things. However, Tessa was different. She was kind and empathetic. If she heard about these things, she would be so upset that she would lose her appetite.

Furthermore, Susan’s father and Garret’s mother were just innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

Stephen pulled Tessa into his

embrace and rested his chin on the

valley of her neck. He breathed in deeply, willing himself to calm down. “Tess, so many things have been happening recently. I have to be on guard during every waking moment. Only when I’m with you can I truly let go and relax.”

Hugging her tightly and closing his eyes, he continued, “Tess, you have to be careful too. I’m worried they’ll try to hurt you. I’ll arrange for two bodyguards to protect you. You have to remember to bring them along whenever you leave the house.”

Tessa buried her face against Stephen’s chest, humming quietly in agreement. Anxiety bubbled in her heart. “Stephen, do you have any leads? Just what type of person could be so sick in the head?”

Stephen pondered her question for a moment before answering honestly, “I don’t have any leads right now, but I should have answers soon. Some things… Once you’ve done them, you’ll leave a trail, no matter how much you try to scrub it clean.

“I’ve already reported this to the police too, so they’ll be carrying out their own investigation.”

Tessa lowered her eyes. The heaviness had returned to weigh her heart down again. After a moment, she revealed, “Zachary came to look for me last night.”

Stephen’s hold on her waist tightened. “What did he want?”