Chapter 375

Vincent's hold on Hannah's wrist was firm-achingly firm-but Hannah didn't resist. Instead, she edged closer to him, making the action seem like a gesture of affection so it wouldn't arouse his suspicion.

Hannah acted as if the bustling surroundings fascinated her,eyes brimming with wonder and naive curiosity. "So many people," she whispered, sounding amazed. She suppressed a smirk. The more people, the better.

Hannah and Vincent drifted with the steady push of the throng when she noticed a queue stretching before a stall piled with snacks.

She halted abruptly. Maybe this could serve as her excuse-to purchase something-and slip away unnoticed among the crowd. With that thought, her attention intentionally fixed on a box of matcha ice cream resting in the chilled case.

"Want one?" Vincent's hushed tone brushed her ear, his eyes following the direction of her glance. His brows arched faintly.He clearly had no fondness for such sweet indulgences.

Hannah fluttered her lashes, eyed the long queue, and then surveyed the cramped, noisy press of people, feigning just the right blend of longing and hesitation. "Yes, but theline's too long."

She paused, looking conflicted. Then, like she'd made up her mind, she added, "Still, I really want one. I'll line up."

Vincent gripped her wrist. "You want it that badly?"

"Yes!" Hannah replied brightly, her gaze alight with fabricated "Yes!" Hannah replied brightly, her gaze alight with fabricated joy. "After we got married, you often sent Derek to fetch them for me. Don't you remember?"

It was pure invention-but one she hoped might soften him.

Vincent fell silent. He truly had no memory of that. "Stay here.I'll get it." At last, he released her wrist and glanced toward the bustling stall.

Hannah lowered her lashes faintly. If he insisted on going himself, even better-her chance to vanish increased. She nodded at once, her tone sugary and eager. "Okay! I'll be right here!"

Vincent's towering, imposing figure stood out harshly against the noisy disorder around him as he approached the stall.Even merely queuing, his natural aura of distance carved an unspoken circle between him and others.

As soon as he turned and merged intothe line, the sweet,obedient smile drained from Hannah's lips-gone like water pulled back to the sea. In its place, icy resolve emerged.Waiting for him? Not a chance.

Without pause,Hannah pushed into the more congested, unruly fresh produce section nearby. Her chest pounded, but her mind cut sharp and steady.

She didn't dash toward the main entrance-too predictable Instead, she wove between shoppers and stacked goods, using both as cover.

Because of the recent Luminara Group debacle, Vincent had finally given her phone back to her. While moving, she typed quickly. "Claude, where's my mom?"

She planned to leave for good-with her mother.

Almost instantly, her screen lit up with a response from Claude."Hannah, your mom's with Vincent. You didn't know?" Before her thoughts could settle, the phone buzzed again-Claude was calling.

She declined silently, erasing both the message and the call record in one swift motion. Her stomach dropped. So, her mother was kept with Vincent. She had always believed, after the burial, that her mother had been placed in long-term hospital care. She hadn't expected him to hide her mother just because she fled during the funeral. So this time, he struck first, seizing her greatest vulnerability-her mother-to chain her to him. So cruel. So calculated

Hannah's gaze turned glacial in an instant. The fleeting rush of hope she felt during her attempted escape was brutally extinguished by reality. What surged up instead was blazing fury -and a degrading sense of being treated like a pawn.

She stopped at a seafood counter. Her eyes fixed on a grouper gliding inside the tank, sharp and calculating. This failed getaway-she'd disguise it as a sudden whim to purchase that fish. A neat, believable reason for drifting from Vincent's side.One that wouldn't spark doubt.

She pointed at the tank and said to the supermarket staff member, "That one-can you get it out for me?"

Elsewhere in the supermarket, Vincent stepped fromn the crowd,holding a finely wrapped box of matcha ice cream. His brows drew together tightly. The spot where Hannah should have been waiting for him was utterly vacant. His chest lurched violently. Where the hell was she?

At first, he assumed she'd been swallowed up in the crowd. He swept the area with piercing focus, eyes combing every corner.

Finally, he spotted a figure near the fruit displays. A woman-similar build, similar height-her back turned, appearing to choose fruit. There she was.