He reached over, but the sheets were already cold.
Logan immediately sat up, searched the room—nothing. She was gone.
She had slipped away under his nose?
Was it the drug? Was that why he'd let his guard down?
"Sir? Sir, are you still there?"
"I'm here. Hotel Astoria, Room 2033."
"I'll be right there."
True to his word, Dylan arrived within twenty minutes.
Logan sat calmly on the sofa, fully dressed, clear-eyed, not at all the disheveled mess Dylan had feared. Relieved, Dylan exhaled.
But why had his boss stayed at a hotel instead of going home?
His gaze shifted—and he noticed a faint red mark on Logan's neck.
Wait... did he have a one-night stand?
And with a local girl?
Dylan's mind raced. For years, Logan had shown zero interest in the flocks of foreign women that swooned over him abroad. He had even begun to question whether Logan liked women at all.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the door beeped.
Suddenly, several entertainment reporters burst in with cameras and microphones.
"What are you doing?!"
Snapping out of his daze, Dylan immediately stepped forward to block them. The leader of the group, a middle-aged man, stood on tiptoes, trying to peer into the bedroom behind Dylan.
"Mr. Parker, is it true your younger brother's fiancée spent the night in your room?"
"You've only just returned to the country—was stealing her intentional?"
"Have you and Miss Roberts been secretly involved this whole time?"
"How do you plan to explain this to your brother?"
Logan finally understood why Natalie had disappeared.
He stood, gently pushing Dylan aside, and looked down at the nosy reporter with an amused curve on his lips.
"What did you just call me?"
The man—shorter and clearly intimidated—felt the air grow heavy under Logan's penetrating gaze. He swallowed.
"Mr. Parker…?"
Logan's smile deepened, and the room grew heavier, suffocating.
Sweating, the man tried again, "L-Lord Parker?"
The pressure vanished.
Word on the street was that the more this man smiled, the closer you were to danger. The reporter now understood firsthand.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he tried to recover:
"Lord Parker, about your brother's fiancée…"
"I don't have a younger brother. So where would his fiancée come from?"
"Can we come in and check the room?"
Logan narrowed his eyes. "You want to take a look?"
The man stood straighter. "Well, if you've done nothing wrong, there's nothing to hide. A quick check would clear everything up."
"Sure," Logan said casually.
As he rolled up his sleeves, his eyes fell on his cuff. His emerald-inlaid cufflink was gone.
The calm on his face darkened instantly.
"Step aside, Dylan. Let them do their job."
"Yes, sir."
The reporter's confidence wavered but surged again. He was sure the girl hadn't left. He'd been outside the entire time. Plus, the scratch on Logan's neck—it had to mean something.
He strode in, checking behind curtains, under the bed, in the bathroom—even the balcony.
Nothing.
His confidence evaporated.
"Haha... Well, Lord Parker, you truly are innocent! I knew someone of your stature wouldn't— I mean, it's impossible to think you'd go for your brother's woman! I—I'll leave now, no need to throw me…"
—
At a little past five in the morning, Natalie quietly returned to the Roberts estate. The sky was still cloaked in darkness.
She was about to sneak upstairs when the living room lights flicked on.
Hailey sat up on the couch and stared at her in surprise.
"You... why are you back?"
"Did something happen to you?" Hailey asked, scanning Natalie from head to toe. Her eyes finally landed on the bruise on Natalie's neck. Pretending to be concerned, though barely concealing her excitement, she asked, "What happened to your neck? Who did this to you?"
Natalie's eyes were cold as she stared back. The sofa was spotless, her belongings had been moved—yet Hailey still had the nerve to claim she hadn't had time to go back to her room?
"Natalie, what's wrong with you?" Hailey took a step back involuntarily, startled by the hostility in Natalie's gaze. "Tell me what happened. I'm your sister—I'll help you."
Natalie didn't respond. She glanced at her coldly and headed upstairs. She was tired—mentally and physically—and didn't want to waste energy dealing with Hailey right now.
Besides, revenge wasn't something achieved overnight. Patience was key.
"Natalie, if something's wrong, you can talk to us. We're family—we'll face it together!" Hailey raised her voice, pretending to be caring, but she just wanted to wake
everyone in the house and turn them against Natalie.
But would Natalie let her get away with that?
Not a chance.
She quickened her steps, reached her room, and locked the door behind her.
Outside in the hallway, Hailey turned toward Thomas Roberts and his wife, Audrey, with a pitiful expression. "Mom, Dad, Natalie came back really late. I asked her what happened and she glared at me like she wanted to bite my head off."
Thomas frowned, looking at Natalie's closed door. "She's bold enough to stay out all night?"
"But maybe something happened to her," Hailey said with feigned sympathy. "She didn't seem right, and there were bruises on her neck, like…"
"Didn't she go out with William last night?" Hailey faltered, realizing she might've overstepped. Natalie and William were engaged and both adults—whatever happened between them wasn't their business.
Still…
Hailey clenched her fists. She was certain those bruises weren't from William. But she couldn't say that out loud.
Her face turned red with frustration.
Ashley, Audrey's closest confidante, quickly caught on and knocked gently on Natalie's door. "Natalie, sweetheart, if anything's bothering you, don't keep it to yourself. Tell Mom."
Natalie didn't respond. She simply went to the bathroom to wash up before collapsing onto her bed.
Thankfully, though the Roberts family treated her like a backup blood donor, they hadn't neglected her daily needs. The bed was small, but it was soft and cozy.
In her previous life, she had been completely fooled by these false shows of affection. She had genuinely thought they were her family.
And what did she get in return? Nothing but betrayal.
Now, lying on the soft bed, her body still sore from what happened with Logan, Natalie fell asleep in less than two minutes.
Downstairs, the family was still talking.
"She's so rude! How do you even raise a child like that?" Thomas scolded Audrey.
Audrey frowned in discontent. "What else can I do? I treat her exactly the same as I treat Hailey. But Hailey would never act like this."
That was a lie. Audrey always lifted Hailey up while stepping all over Natalie.
"Hailey said she had bruises on her neck…"
"Enough," Thomas waved impatiently. "It's just a small issue. Don't make a big deal out of it."