“Hello, Mr. Clark. Where is Ethan?” Isabella asked.

“Ms. Scott, Mr. Blackwood is currently abroad on a business trip and will not return for the foreseeable future. If this is urgent, it will have to wait until he is back,” Benjamin replied, his voice cold and detached.

Isabella stood frozen, her mind going blank.

Ethan was overseas? Not coming back anytime soon? She started to mention the divorce. “But—” Benjamin ended the call before she could finish.

Defeated, she threw her phone onto the table.

“Damn you, Ethan!”

Night had fallen in Zupren. In a foreign hotel suite, Ethan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, a cigarette between his fingers. The sharp ring of his phone cut through the silence.

He turned and picked it up. The screen flashed—“Mother.”

Ethan answered with a detached, “Mom.”

“Ethan.” Victoria’s voice was urgent. “Sophia is in trouble!”

“What happened?” His brows furrowed.

Annoyance prickled at him, but he kept listening.

Victoria gave a dramatic, emotional account of Sophia’s situation. She accused Isabella of setting Sophia up and poured out her sympathy.

“They’ve arrested Sophia, claiming she stole a pink diamond. That’s impossible. I’m sure Isabella framed her! Ethan, you have to do something,” Victoria said, her voice cracking. It pushed his irritation higher.

A pink diamond?

Ethan stubbed out his cigarette.

“I’ll handle it,” he stated.

“You’ll really help her? Ethan, she—” Victoria began.

He cut her off. “I have to go, Mom. Ending the call now.” He disconnected immediately.

His fingers tapped the screen, finding Benjamin’s contact.

“Benjamin, book me on the next flight home.”

A brief pause. Benjamin seemed surprised. “But sir, you said—”

“Just book it,” Ethan interrupted sharply.

Benjamin hesitated no longer. “Understood, Mr. Blackwood.”

The interrogation room was stifling. The thick tension pressed heavily on Sophia’s shoulders.

Her face was pale. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap.

Why wasn’t Victoria here yet?

Just as her anxiety peaked, the door swung open.

“Sophia!” Victoria’s voice trembled. She rushed over and enveloped Sophia in a tight embrace.

“It’s alright. I’m here now.”

Sophia leaned into her, tears streaming down her face silently. She bit her lip to hold back a sob.