"You...!" Margaret's face drained of all color, her fury turning her pale as snow.

Her lips trembled, ready to unleash a storm of words, when suddenly her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed in a dead faint.

Charlotte rushed forward in panic, crying out, "Mom! Mom, wake up!"

"Someone call an ambulance—Mrs. Blackwood's fainted!"

The room erupted into chaos, people scrambling in every direction like startled birds.

Amy observed the commotion with cool detachment before slipping silently out the door, not sparing a single glance back.

...

That afternoon, Amy's phone buzzed. Alexander's name flashed on the screen.

"Mother's conscious now. She's stable."

Amy's voice remained steady, almost indifferent. "So, Mr. Blackwood, does that mean you'll release Samantha now?"

"You drove my mother to the hospital, and you expect me to just let your friend walk free?"

Amy didn't flinch. "You know exactly what happened. I didn't say anything she didn't deserve."

Alexander fell silent. He wanted to defend his mother, but Margaret's cruelty toward Amy had been unwarranted. None of this was Amy's fault.

The entire disaster had started because Amy had simply handed her a bottle of medication, trying to help. Instead of gratitude, Margaret had exploded in rage.

Charlotte hadn't even looked surprised—as if this was how Margaret always treated Amy.

Lost in thought, Alexander didn't realize Amy had hung up until the dial tone buzzed in his ear.

He stared at his phone, his mind churning.

The next day, in Alexander's office.

Dominic's gruff voice cut through the silence. "Did you let Samantha go?"

Before Alexander could answer, Dominic's phone vibrated. His expression darkened as he listened.

"What? Amy found Samantha Reynolds?" Dominic's voice turned icy. "Where are they now? Got it."

Hanging up, Dominic fixed Alexander with a hard stare.

"Alex, Amy's with Samantha. They're at the hospital."

In the hospital, Samantha winced as the doctor tended to the bruises marring her face.

Amy, who had been silent since they arrived, finally spoke. "Alexander took you, didn't he?"

Samantha hesitated, then whispered, "Celeste, he did detain me, but... after I apologized to Victoria, he let me go."

"The people who kidnapped me afterward weren't his."

After Samantha had apologized to Victoria, Alexander's men had released her. They hadn't harmed her—just kept her locked up.

Gregory had visited, urging her to apologize, saying Alexander was being lenient because of Amy. If she refused, it would only make things worse between them.

Realizing an apology cost her nothing, Samantha had agreed—not wanting to drag Amy into more trouble.

Victoria, of course, had played the gracious victim in front of Alexander.

But shortly after her release, Samantha had been snatched again. This time, it was brutal. She'd been beaten until her face looked like she'd gone ten rounds with a prizefighter.

As the doctor pressed a cold compress to her swollen cheek, Samantha hissed in pain.

Amy's gaze hardened as she studied her friend's injuries. "But Alexander was involved at some point, wasn't he?"