Cecilia heard the news and, startled, went in search of Nathaniel. "How did you persuade Nichs to agree?"

She remembered how every past attempt had met an unmovable wall.

Nathaniel did not mention the way he had bowed his head and begged Nichs.

"Maybe his conscience woke up," he said lightly. "I only told him how well Meredith treats Dahlia."

Cecilia heaved a sigh. "Let''s hope he truly turns over a new leaf."

"Mm." Nathaniel nodded once.

He spoke the hope, yet worry gnawed at him. Nichs was not a man who shifted easily. Surrounded by shadows and no friends, he had built walls Nathaniel feared might never fall.

Inside Nichs'' private vi, his phone vibrated on and off, rattling against the desk.fn79c0 Follow current nov?ls on F?nd-Novel/fn79c0

He had ignored every call for days, refusing even to nce at the screen.

The name shing now belonged to Jocelyn-and the device would not stop trembling.

Jocelyn''s thumb hovered over the call icon, the bright screen reflecting in her anxious eyes. She had tried more than once, yet every attempt ended in the same nk silence—no answer, just the cold pulse of dial tones.

"Why is no one answering?" she murmured, worried.

Since resigning from thepany, Jocelyn had not contacted Nichs.

Yet, in recent days, former colleagues had whispered rming news: Nichs had vanished-phones dead, emails unanswered-and with him the momentum of countless projects stalled, abandoned like half-built bridges hanging over fog.

So Jocelyn tried again and again, her fingertip growing numb against the ss, but the result never changed: voicemail, silence, an ache hollowing deeper each time.

Yannick sat beside her, brow knit in confusion, watching her futile pattern of dialing and waiting. "What''s going on with Nichs? Has he decided he no longer cares about his ownpany?"

"I don''t know," Jocelyn admitted, the words escaping on a shaky sigh.

Despite her attempt at calm, worry flickered unmistakably in Jocelyn''s eyes-a storm cloud passing over a summerke.

Atst, after resting her phone face down on the coffee table, she sat in thoughtful silence, chewing at her bottom lip. "Yannick, I want to go look for him," she said, voice barely above a whisper.

Whatever mistakes Nichs had made, one truth remained stubbornly clear to her: he had always treated her with genuine kindness.

Back when they were abroad, Jocelyn had been the one to look after Nichs, but Nichs had paid her generously, funds that kept her family warm and fed through winters that would have otherwise been brutal.

Even after Nichs'' recovery, the goodwill hadn''t stopped; he guided her through thebyrinth of corporate life, teaching her skiff''s that turned a once timid caretaker into a confident professional  s

To Jocelyn, Nichs was more than a boss—he was the mentor who had seen a future in her before she ever dared to imagine one.

Yannick''s gaze lowered, a fleeting shadow of unease slipping across his normallyposed features.

He had long recognized theplicated affection Jocelyn carried for Nichs, telling himself that time would eventually erode it, smooth it down like water over stone.

"All right, I''ll go with you," Yannick said, the decision firm in his voice.

"Thank you," she breathed, relief threading through her gratitude.

Jocelyn rose, slipped her arms into a light trench coat, and headed toward the door with purposeful urgency.

Yannick grabbed his keys and fell into step beside her, determined to help trace the faint breadcrumb trail Nichs had left behind.

Her first stops were the sleek downtown headquarters of thepany and the vi Nichs had purchased.

But in both ces, she found only locked doors and puzzled staff-the man himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Why isn''t he here?" Jocelyn whispered at the wrought-iron gate, fingertips brushing the cold metal.

Yannick, standing close enough to catch her breath in the air, offered a possibility. "Could he have gone back to Rainsworth Manor?"

Nodding, Jocelyn conceded the thought made sense. "I''ll head there and take a look. You should get back to work; you don''t need to escort me all day."

"No worries. Let''s just call today a day off," Yannick replied, unwilling to leave her side.

"But..." Jocelyn started, protest faltering.

"No more buts. Come on-get in," Yannick insisted, gently sping her hand and steering her toward the passenger seat before she could argue.

Driving through winding country roads, they reached Rainsworth Manor After questioning the gate guard they learned Nichs had not set foot on the estate for a very long time.  s

Jocelyn''s pulse spiked, a chill rippling through her despite the summer heat. "Nichs'' health is fragile—what if something''s happened to him?"

Her heart beat erratically, each thud echoing like an rm in the quiet courtyard.

Jocelyn tugged the sleeve of Yannick''s suit jacket, her voice soft yet urgent. "Yannick, please, let''s drive back to Nichs'' private vi. I need to check on him."

Yannick exhaled, the sound weary. "Jocelyn, Nichs is a grown

man-the second son of the Rainsworth family. Nothing bad will happen to him Let''s just... let it go tonight, all right?"  s

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