Dames had been silent; but the moment he opened his mouth, Felicity’s face fell. She buried her face in her hands, despair washing over her.
Idiot!
She nearly cursed out loud.
His clumsy denial couldn’t have been more obvious if he’d hung a neon sign around his neck.
Luke Holloway strode toward Dames, his tall frame casting a long shadow that swallowed the boy’s small figure.
Dames looked up, feeling as if a mountain was about to crash down on him.
“Why are you so sure there’s no one down there?” Luke’s voice was cold and measured.
Dames‘ frail shoulders trembled. He couldn’t bring himself to meet Luke’s eyes. Frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights, his mind went blank, not a single word coming to his lips.
“What are you hiding?” Luke pressed, his gaze sharp as a knife.
Terrified, Dames whimpered, “Dad!” He bolted behind Harrison, using the man as a shield.
Harrison’s face was icy, and he, too, realized his son was lying.
Meanwhile, the plainclothes security team had finished securing the safety ropes. Without hesitation, they followed Luke down the steep slope, moving with the agility of seasoned climbers.
Luke pushed aside thick undergrowth. Hearing the commotion, Selene looked up. Relief and joy flickered across her face as she spotted Luke.
“Luke!”
A moment ago, she’d felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, but both hands were gripping the jagged rocks–answering was impossible. Still, Selene trusted Luke’s instincts. If she and Altair failed to return to camp, Luke would never just sit back
and wait.
“Young master!” one of the guards called out as they spotted Altair. They hurried to secure a harness around the boy.
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Altair latched onto Selene’s sleeve, shooting the guards a stubborn look–he wanted them to help Selene first.
Selene gave him a reassuring smile. “Star, don’t worry. With this many people here,
we’ll both be out of here in no time.”
She let the guards help Altair first. Meanwhile, Luke secured a harness around her and helped her up the slope.
Selene scrambled up, finally collapsing on the ground at the top, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
When you’re in danger, adrenaline kicks in, letting you push past fear with a burst of energy. But once the crisis is over, exhaustion hits like a wave. Selene felt it now–her body weak, hands shaking from the aftershock.
Strands of hair dusted with dirt clung to her face, and her clothes were flecked with leaves and thorns.
“What were you doing down there?!”
It was Harrison’s voice, sharp and demanding.
Selene ignored him. Her gaze flicked over to Felicity, who was sitting on a stretcher nearby. Selene’s eyes, clear and cold, narrowed dangerously.
Without warning, she grabbed a rock from the ground, shot to her feet, and hurled it at Felicity.
Felicity screamed, throwing her arms over her head to shield herself.
Harrison reacted instantly, stepping in front of Felicity and catching the rock easily. “Have you lost your mind?” he barked, eyes blazing with anger as he glared at Selene.
Selene’s lips curled into a dry, mocking smile. “I’m just returning the favor. She tried to hurt me–an eye for an eye, right?”
Harrison tossed the rock aside, his jaw set in a hard line. “Can you stop this nonsense?”
Selene’s smile only deepened. “Why don’t you ask me how I ended up at the bottom of that slope?”
Harrison’s gaze was colder than ever. “I don’t care how you fell.”
Her smile turned icy, but her voice rang out, sharp as a blade. “You don’t care,
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because you already guessed the truth. You know that Felicity probably had something to do with what happened to me and Altair. That’s why you’re not interested in the details–because you’ve always let her get away with everything.”
Selene watched as Harrison’s expression darkened. She pressed on, her words hitting home.
“Let’s be honest–calling it favoritism is too kind. Felicity is just a convenient weapon for you. There are things you’d never stoop to do yourself, but she’ll do them for you, all to win your approval. And you–you benefit from it all, so you turn a blind eye to whatever she does.”
She met his gaze head–on, tearing through any pretense. “The moment you realized Altair was down there too, your first thought wasn’t to find out how he fell. No–you were already thinking about how to cover everything up, how to keep Leo from finding out.”
