Rafael's mind spun, memories flashing like jagged shards of glass. Six days ago—yes, that was the day Eliana had ventured out to the pastry shop, meeting with James on that very route. The same day Rafael made the biggest mistake of his life.
Now these two showed up—Sarai and Bianca—smiling like they'd stepped out of a magazine, all poise and perfume. But beneath those perfect smiles, he sensed something rotten. Something deliberate. The timing was too clean, too precise to be chance.
His gut twisted, that primal instinct screaming that they'd done something to her. He could feel it in his bones, deep and unshakable. Fear gripped him first—cold and suffocating—before melting into a surge of molten anger that threatened to burn straight through his composure.
