"Hello?"


    "It''s me."


    "Felicia? Are you okay? Where are you? Are you hurt?"


    Hearing Felicia''s voice, Carmen couldn''t stop herself from firing off her questions, her voice shaking with emotion. Her eyes reddened as relief and worry washed over her.


    These past days, she had done everything she could to find Felicia. However, she was alone, without resources or connections, and she didn''t even know where Felicia had been taken. With no leads or clues, finding her was like searching for a needle in a haystack.


    Carmen''s guilt gnawed at her. She regretted leaving Felicia behind that day, fleeing when she should''ve stayed. Maybe they could have fought back together if she had stayed.


    Felicia nced at the clock. Time was tight. She spoke quickly, "I don''t have long, Carmen. Don''t worry about me I''m fine.


    "In three days, I''ll be back. Listen, don''t try to find me, and don''t do anything reckless. I''lle back, I promise."


    Outside the suite in Bamboo Court, footsteps echoed in the hallway.


    Felicia''s heart skipped. The brief disconnection from thework must''ve alerted the guards. They wereing to check.


    With no time to spare, Felicia cut the call and swiftly deleted all traces of the activity using hacking software. Then, she threw theptop into the bathtub, submerging itpletely. When the suite door opened, Felicia emerged from the bathroom holding the soaked, brokenptop.


    "Oh, good timing!" she said innocently, looking at the guards. "I need a new one. This one fell in the tub while I was in the bathroom."


    The guards exchanged nces.


    Her expression was so casual and natural that there wasn''t even a hint of suspicion.


    One of them inspected theptop. It was soaked andpletely dead-no wonder the connection had dropped.


    Their doubts eased as they ced a tray of snacks on the table. "Ms. Fuller, these are from Mr. Glovers. He wanted you to have them."


    "Oh," Felicia replied absentmindedly.


    Once she received a recementptop, she returned to her spot and resumed ying card games.


    She knew better than to try the same trick twice. It would raise too many red gs.


    Felicia''s attention seemed fixed on her terrible hand of cards, but her thoughts were elsewhere.


    The call to Carmen had been brief, but it was enough to reassure her friend. She just hoped Carmen wouldn''t do anything rash while she figured out her escape. As for Stephan...


    She hadn''t responded to his earlier


    message and wasn''t sure if he''d


    vel


    tried to call her over the past few days. Even if he had, the calls wouldn''t have gone through. Knowing him, he probably hadn''t


    reacted much.


    She didn''t even bother thinking about Dexter and Myra. If the news of her abduction had reached them, she doubted they''d be concerned at all. Lowering hershes, Felicia curled her lips into a faint, self-mocking smile.


    Meanwhile, in Seldvale, fresh buds had begun to sprout on the once-barren branches after several spring showers. In the courtyard of the Russell residence, clusters of forsythia bloomed brightly, bringing life to the surroundings.


    Imogen plucked two flowers from a bush, holding them delicately in her hand.


    Johanna leaned over to steady her and teased, "If you keep picking them, the garden will be bare, Imogen."novelbin


    Imogen froze. Then, she let the flowers fall to the ground. With a wry smile, she muttered, "Well, what does it matter? I can''t see them anyway."


    Her world was shrouded in


    darkness. She couldn''t see the


    flowers, the garden, or anything at all. Her only connection to the world was through touch, feeling her way through life.


    Johanna instantly regretted herment. "I''m sorry. That was thoughtless of me."


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