She pulled out her phone, opened her recent ride order, and double-checked the license plate number. A flash of vigilance appeared in her eyes. "The license plate on the car I ordered is nothing like yours. You're not my ride who are you, really?"

Lemira fixed the driver with a wary stare.

No wonder he was so persistent. If he were really a rideshare driver, he wouldn't waste so much time hanging around here.

Exposed, the driver's face grew uneasy, and he muttered angrily, "If I'm not your driver, why did you spend so long talking to me?"

With that, he started the car and drove off.

But something still felt off to Lemira. She glanced around and realized she was completely alone at the side of the road.

If this man had actually just mistaken her for a passenger, he'd have stayed to wait for the real customer-why would he get defensive and speed away?

There had to be more to this.

Thankfully, Orion had offered to pick her up, which was why she'd canceled the order in the first place. If that driver had arrived before Orion, she might have gotten into the wrong car, and who knows what could have happened.

Who had sent that driver?

Lemira considered it—most likely, it had something to do with the Sinclair family. Maybe even with Evelina's father?

A little over ten minutes later, Orion's car stopped in front of her.

The moment she got in, Lemira immediately asked, "How are things going? Is there any chance Evelina's father might have gotten suspicious and slipped away?"

After all, last time, she was so sure they'd catch Evelina's father, but it all failed at the last moment—they only managed to capture his accomplice, not the man himself.

"No, our people checked. He's still at the dealership."

"Good."

Lemira finally relaxed a bit. So maybe that driver earlier had nothing to do with Evelina's father after all.

“Why are you suddenly so worried? Did something happen that I don't know about?"

Lemira hesitated. "It's not a big deal. I was just too confident last time, and when things fell apart, I felt terrible for a long while."

"Lemira, you're not telling me everything. What really happened?"

Orion could tell from her expression that there was more to the story.

Lemira looked up and met his deep, dark eyes. In the end, she told him about the incident with the fake taxi driver.

As soon as Orion heard, his

demeanor changed. "Do you

remember the license plate?

have

someone check it out, see it's just a coincidence."

Lemira gave him the number. "I keep wondering if the Sinclair family has picked up on something After all

your mother already figure

were behind it. It's been

out you

days maybe they've gottenwind of something."

"So what if they know? They're the ones who did wrong—not us.”

Us?

When Lemira heard him say that, she felt something odd in her heart.

Orion looked at her and said, "Once we catch Evelina's father, we can release Mrs. Amelia."

"That's true. Otherwise, if the Sinclair

family goes to the police, things with really get out of hand, and it wouldn't do you any good."

Right now, the Sinclair family's hands were tied but if too much time passed, there's no telling what they might do.

"Are you worried about me?"

Lemira instinctively avoided his gaze. "Well, like it or not, we're in this together."

A tense look crossed Orion's face. "Then remember, we're in this together. No matter what happens, I'll always be on your side."

His words struck her as increasingly strange.

She looked up at Orion. "Is there something else you're not telling me?"

"There is, actually."