Samuel let out a heavy sigh. “Seline’s been traumatized due to the kidnapping incident. I took her to visit a psychiatrist, and she’s barely made any progress. The doctor says she needs a lot of love and support from her family right now.

“She still asks for you even though her mother’s been accompanying her. Can’t you come to visit her?”

Tessa felt a twinge of sadness and longing upon hearing Samuel’s words.

Seline was her beloved little sister. Tessa had suffered from nightmares for days and could barely eat anything after Seline’s kidnapping.

“I…” Tessa’s resolve wavered.

Seline was still traumatized, and her paying Seline a visit would definitely help her condition.

Yet, Tessa steeled her heart as soon as her mind reminded her about the madman, James. “I’m sorry, Dad. I really can’t make it this Saturday.”

“Oh, alright.” Samuel hung up in disappointment.

Tessa stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking desolate and gloomy.

Why was James targeting her?

She had no grievances with him.

Could it really be as Stephen had claimed? Was it because she was Stephen’s Achilles’ heel?

God, just how long was she going to be stuck in this villa?

Tessa was awakened by the incessant noise of her phone ringing on Saturday.

The phone was left on the bedside table, vibrating rhythmically against the surface. The ringing continued for a long time. The call would end, but it would start ringing immediately after.

Tessa didn’t even bother opening her eyes as she felt for her phone, fumbling her way across the bedside table. When she felt the cool surface against her grip, she groggily picked it up and answered it. “Hello, who is it?”

“Bad news, Tess! Your father’s hurt!” It was the voice of the Yates’ housekeeper, Molly Evans.

“Ms. Evans?” Tessa jerked awake. “What happened?”

…

Tessa hastily parked her white BMW in the open-air parking lot at the hospital entrance.

Then, she wasted no time getting off it and rushing into the hospital.

Molly had said that Samuel suddenly lost his footing and fell down the stairs during Seline’s birthday party. He was currently at the ER receiving treatment. Tessa’s vision turned spotty, and she nearly fainted when she heard the news. They always said love tended to render one blind, and she was inclined to agree.

After all, Samuel was her father. At this point, she could no longer give a rat’s ass about James. Instead she made a mad grab for her car keys and dashed out of the door

Marianne was sobbing into her palms in the hospital corridor outside the ER. Her

eyes were bloodshot from all the crying.

“Ms. Connors, what happened to my father?” Tessa demanded anxiously.

Marianne kept crying as she choked out, “Your father said he was going

to the stairwell for a quick

When he didn’t return after a while, I went to check on him.”

Then, she let out a wail and started blubbering, “W-When I opened the stairwell door, I found him lying on the ground unconscious. There was a pool of blood under his head…”

“How could this happen?” Tessa murmured with vacant eyes.

“Tess, your father only went for a smoke. How could he have lost his footing? He’s

not so old that his vision has gone poor,” Marianne cried.

Marianne’s words struck Tessa like a sledgehammer.

It was James.

It had to be James! That absolute lunatic!

He couldn’t hurt the Jacobsons, and he failed to get his hands on her. So, he

targeted those around her to force her out of hiding.

Tessa’s lips trembled with anger as her heart burned with rage.

Why? Why did James keep hurting her family?

First, he targeted Seline. Now, he dared to lay his hands on her father.

Tessa balled her hands into fists, ignoring the sting as her nails dug into the flesh of her palm.

An all-encompassing fury consumed her rationality whole. Although she was a lawyer who preached the law on a daily basis, all she wanted now was blood.

“James Fullerton, was it? I’ll remember that name,” she thought viciously.