Was that really Yolanda? What reason cou

r a long night at work. In a fit of annoyance, she ha

e. Barely fifteen minutes had passed, yet some

idence, Christopher leaned fo

iew mirror, nervous about the traffic. "Sir, it's j

ain of hair and her gaze stayed low, Christopher

ed down the window an

mmotion. Rosanna didn't hear him. She slipped through t

..

nd the event organizer waiti

ing. "It's wonderful to fi

Stefan, please. No need for formality.

y manner, his simple suit and unhu

official contract for the competition. Please look it over. If you don't have any concerns, just

Finding nothing out of order, she picked up the

lly looking forward to seeing your entry. If you make it into the top three, there's a stu

genuine. "Thank you fo

ople with your talent are rare. We're lucky to have you i

ll smile as they part

the contract, a calmness settling inside

finally behind her. All she had left to do was help her mom recover and give her full atte

fresh air when something heavy dropped over her head, shrouding

on her never loosened. She was shoved roughly into

ce rang out, excla

loosened. Rosanna yanked the jacket off her

Please, Yolanda, I messed up. I shouldn't have touched your money. I know I was wrong, I swear! I lost it

sn't a stranger. It was Samuel, the very man Yolanda ha

a man who had conned her out of both mon

m his grasp, voice firm. "You've

n a sudden burst of violence, he lunged for her throat, his grip tightening. "If

na thrashed and gasped, her words strangled. "You're making

sting of alcohol on his b

to someone like that. So she fought back, clawi

iver into a panic. He jerked the car

kicked Samuel off her and lunged for th

gging into her wrist with crushing force. "Yolanda, you're gi

, so intense that she nea

shout cut through the

one barreled into Samuel

ind him, his eyes burning with fury as he

tation, restraining Samuel while Fred g

afe, Christopher wasted no time. He told Fred to

was dragged into a car, vanishing from s

ailed them, keeping their car in his sights until Rosanna

as he rushed to her side, searching her over with a

oment she saw Christopher, all her bottled-up terror crumble

istopher's usually calm tone as h

e had never seen Christopher los

onscious for now-nothing life-threatening. She's got a scratch on her arm, but a

realized Christopher's persona

r bedroom, and the memorie

over the dark marks on her wrist, his

iently made her eyes sting, sorrow ris

usual calm fell away, replaced by open worry. "Yoli,