After hanging up on Tarquin, Elysia just couldn''t shake her worry. So, she headed over to Tanhe Manor.

She packed the self-defense gadget Walter had made his own take on pepper spray-and some ointment for injuries.

The pepper spray was for Winona.

The ointment was for Keaton.

When the doorbell rang, Winona answered, surprised to see Elysia standing there.

"Hey! What are you doing here? You didn''t even text beforeing over!"

Before Elysia could reply, she caught sight of Jessamine Huber sitting on the couch.

Jessamine spotted her too, immediately jumping up, both surprised and delighted.

“Elysia!”

Elysia blinked. "Jess? What are you doing here?"

Jessamine wiped her eyes, still a little teary. "I came to check on Keaton! And I wanted to thank Winona for looking after him these past few days."

Elysia remembered Jessamine was pregnant with her second child and quickly helped her sit back down.

"Take a seat-did you just get back from Border City?"

Jessamine nodded. "Yeah, I got to Jindale City at dawn, stopped by my parents'' ce first, and came here as soon as it was light."

Elysia said, "Honestly, I thought you''d just settle down in the States for a while, maybee back after the holidays."

Jessamine shook her head, smiling. "No way. You know, you said something that really stuck with me-no one cares for your own kids like you do!"

"Why hand my own kid off to a stepmom when I''m right here?"

"I even canceled the fancy maternity clinic I booked in Alerasia. I want my baby to

be born right here in Zhinora, to be a true local."

"Let him grow up here, have his own roots, and actually feel like he belongs."

Winona chimed in, "You made the

right call. Have you seen how crazy things are in Alerasiately? Alk those chaotic videos online are just the tip of the iceberg!  s

"It''s total mayhem out there, danger everywhere."

"Even the locals don''t feel safe, let alone us outsiders. Zhinora''s definitely the safest ce to be right now."

Jessamine nodded, "Exactly. Zhinora''s pretty much the safest country in the world these days."

"Why would I want my kid to be born somewhere else just for a foreign passport? That''s just nuts."

"I''m gonna take a page from your book, Elysia. No more chasing after all that nonsense. I''ll just focus on raising my kid right."

"If he grows up to be someone special, he can serve our country And if he''s just average, well, he''ll stay close and I''ll enjoy every moment with him."  fo s

Elysia grinned. "That''s right. No one loves your kid like you do. And it''s always safer to raise them at home."

Jessamine used to want to have her baby in Alerasia just to snag the passport and the perks. Plenty of rich and powerful people were doing it.

But after talking to Elysia, she started to see things differently.

Trying to live abroad just for citizenship? That cost a ton, and all you were really doing was boosting someone else''s economy.

And even after all that, you still got treated like an outsider-looked down on and discriminated against. What was the point?

It was better, she realized, to stay home and raise her baby in her own country.

Winona poured another ss of warm milk for Jessamine, handed Elysia some tea, and asked, "You came because you''re worried about Zane breaking out, right?"

Zane''s escape was all over the news-his face stered everywhere. The whole country was on alert.

Elysia frowned. “I can''t believe he actually managed to get away!”

Winona, lounging in her silky pajamas with her hair loose, somehow looked both rxed and regal.

She shrugged, a stubborn gleam in

her eye. "If Zane really wants toe after me, let him. If he

manages to kill me well, maybe that''s just how my story''s supposed to end. I''ll ept it."  s