A tear ripped through Sloane’s heart. Her legs felt weak, and she grabbed the nearby railing for support.

She watched until the cable car disappeared from view, then wiped the corner of her eye.

She understood. It was time to make another preparation for her departure.

Sloane didn't climb any further. She turned around, went down the mountain, and drove away.

Once she was far from South Mountain, a sliver of calm returned. She took out her phone and called her assistant.

The assistant's voice on the other end was tentative. "Mrs. Thorne, I'm so sorry. I arranged for someone to keep that Willa woman busy, but she said she had to use the restroom and ran off without even looking at the contract..."

Sloane's voice was low and steady. "I'm not calling about that. Starfire Holdings has been wanting to acquire our company, right? Get me in touch with their CEO."

She had to find a good buyer for her company before she could leave with peace of mind.

By the time she finished her meeting with Mr. Sterling from Starfire, the sky was completely dark.

When Sloane got home, she found Kaelen sitting in the living room.

His usually impassive face was dark with an obvious storm.

"Where were you?" he asked coldly. "I waited for you at the Sanctuary all day."

The image of him kissing someone else flashed in her mind, a sharp pain slicing through her heart.

She looked down, her voice hoarse. "I'm not as fit as I was five years ago. I couldn't make the climb, so I came down. But I had someone deliver the relic."

Kaelen remembered the joy on the faces of the abbot and elders when they saw the relic, and his tone softened slightly. "I tried calling you, but I couldn't get through. I was worried something had happened."

Sloane was taken aback. "My phone died."

It wasn't an excuse.

She had spent the entire afternoon in a battle of wits with the old fox, Mr. Sterling, to secure better terms for her employees.

Sloane plugged in her phone and asked, "Have you eaten? I..."

She was about to say she'd cook for him, but remembering his harsh words from that morning, she changed her tune. "I'll have something delivered."

At that, the flicker of strange emotion Kaelen had felt when Sloane didn't show up at the Sanctuary vanished.

He returned to his usual cold demeanor. "I ate at the Sanctuary. I'm going to do my evening meditation now. Don't disturb me."

Sloane was tired too. She nodded. "Okay."

After Kaelen went upstairs, Sloane's phone chimed as it powered on.

She picked it up and saw two missed calls, both from Kaelen.

Kaelen rarely called her, let alone twice in a row.

Sloane's hand tightened around the phone.

Was it guilt, or was he genuinely worried?

She couldn't figure it out. With a bitter smile, she went into her room.

She took a long bath, and some of the exhaustion finally seeped out of her bones.

Before bed, Sloane wanted to see Kaelen one more time. After a long hesitation, she decided against knocking and opened the security feed instead.

The next second, the image on the screen made her blood run cold.

Kaelen had brought Willa back to the house, right under her nose.

On the screen, Willa was draped over Kaelen's lap like a boneless snake. Her voice came through clearly.

"Kaelen, Mrs. Thorne is still home! What if she finds out?"

Kaelen's hand, which had been tapping the prayer block, stilled. "Are you scared?"

Willa took the prayer beads from his wrist and guided his hand to her half-exposed chest.

"Of course I am. Feel for yourself, my heart is pounding..."

In the next instant, the string of beads in Kaelen's hand snapped. The beads tumbled into the valley of her white peaks, then rolled off and scattered across the floor.

The string of reason in Sloane's mind snapped.

Pain and rage screamed in every cell of her body.

She couldn't take it anymore. She shot up, stormed out of her room, and marched to Kaelen's meditation chamber.

Without a shred of hesitation, she gripped the doorknob and pushed down.