No Rest in Sight

"Beep... beep..." Before Emma Hart could react, her grandmother had already hung up in a hurry, leaving Emma bewildered on the sofa.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Why would they call her so urgently late at night, only to say everything was fine now and that she should focus on pleasing Damien Sterling? Something was definitely wrong.

She quickly dialed Max's number.

No answer the first time, nor the second. It wasn't until the tenth attempt that she finally heard Max's faint, weak voice on the other end. "Hello, sis, I'm in class."

"Call me back immediately after class!" Emma Hart demanded before abruptly hanging up. Regardless of whether Max was really in class or not, she would always respect his study time.

She hoped he wasn't lying to her.

Sure enough, half an hour later, Max called back.