Chapter 185

The horizon was just beginning to pale with dawn when Ethan Sullivan's car pulled up at the gates of Beverly Hills.

Evelyn Laurent dashed out of the villa with a canvas bag slung over her shoulder, her hair still damp with morning dew.

"You're early," she said, her fingertips chilled by the morning breeze as she opened the car door.

Ethan handed her a cup of steaming hot cocoa. A droplet rolled down the cup and onto her palm.

"The lecture starts at nine," he said, his gaze lingering on her flushed cheeks. "Didn't sleep well last night?"

Evelyn took a sip, the sweetness melting on her tongue.

"Too excited," she admitted, her eyes sparkling. "Professor Klein had me grounded for two weeks."

In the rearview mirror, Harrison Whitmore caught the faint curve of his employer's lips.

As the car left the gated community, Ethan's phone screen lit up briefly.

"The physics research institute in San Francisco just discovered a new quantum entanglement phenomenon," he said casually, scrolling through emails. "The keynote speaker is a Nobel laureate."

Evelyn sat bolt upright, the strap of her bag slipping to her elbow.

"Really?" Her voice trembled. "The lab I think it is?"

Ethan watched her clenched fists, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Yes," he said, reaching over to tuck a stray lock behind her ear. "That's why I came to get you."

Meanwhile, in a suburban apartment, Sebastian Royston glared at the surveillance monitor with a sneer.

The photograph showed Evelyn's profile gilded by morning light, Ethan's fingers in her hair like a glaring intrusion.

"Sophia," he kicked aside an empty liquor bottle.

A rustling came from behind the bedroom door. A woman staggered out, the collar of her nightgown stained with blood.

"Tell me again," Sebastian nudged her chin with the toe of his shoe. "About that lab."

Sophia Lowell's teeth chattered.

The purple bruises around her neck rose and fell with each breath, like some grotesque centipede.

"Evelyn...top physics student..." She broke into violent coughs. "Professor Klein's...favorite..."

Sebastian yanked her hair.

"What else?" He leaned closer to her bleeding ear. "Why is Ethan taking her to San Francisco?"

The window reflected Sophia's twisted face.

Remembering last night's agony—being pressed into broken glass—she suddenly laughed, a shrill, hysterical sound.

"Because..." Blood-flecked spittle sprayed as she whispered in his ear. "She's more important...than you think..."