Logan was receiving real-time updates on the investigation into Jack Hunter, who was now at the top of the most-wanted list.

The telephone on his desk rang incessantly, but none of the callers could answer his questions.

Worry for Bella consumed him completely, leaving him unable to focus on anything else. His eyes remained fixed on the report detailing the circumstances of Hunter’s escape.

A prison guard, bribed by an unknown party, had handed over the key. Hunter had walked out of his cell unaided.

Ignorant of Hunter’s crimes and unaware of the fury that had landed him behind bars, the guard had given in for nothing more than a handful of coins.

He was immediately apprehended and interrogated about his accomplice. However, he repeated the same statement over and over: the man had concealed his face, and he did not know who he was. It had been their first and only encounter — the day of the escape.

A low breath slipped from Logan.

To sell a prisoner’s freedom for money!

He was furious about the Empire’s lax prison system. However, he could not afford to waste time on misplaced outrage.

The situation was dire.

Logan lifted his eyes to the clouded sky beyond the window. The dim, overcast light mirrored the darkness in his heart. He forced down the anxiety rising within him.

“Brother! Vincent, wait—at least let me—!”

Suddenly, a sharp female voice rang out and the door to the study burst open.

Logan looked up.

Vincent stood there, his face rigid. His usual ease and warmth had disappeared. Amelia was dragged forward behind him, her wrist firmly gripped.

She could not conceal her unease.

“What is this?”

“Speak. Quickly.”

In response to Logan’s question, Vincent shoved Amelia towards him, almost throwing her at his feet. The hard, commanding tone of his voice suggested something more than mere impatience.

It was restrained fury.

“I really don’t know anything!”

“Say it yourself. Before I say it for you.”

“Brother!”

Amelia instinctively turned to Vincent. He had always shielded her, no matter the circumstance.

But now, she saw no trace of herself reflected in his eyes. There was no attempt to listen. No willingness to protect.

“I’ll explain everything after I speak to Mother first. So for now…”

“And then push your problem onto our parents?”

Amelia’s attempt to deflect the accusation failed immediately.

This time, Vincent was not going to let it pass. He had verified everything beforehand. No excuse would work.

Her expression slowly hardened. With her lips pressed tight, she finally forced out a confession.

“I….”

“Speak clearly.”

“I helped. I helped Jack Hunter escape.”

After a brief pause to steady herself, Amelia continued under the piercing glares fixed upon her.

“I gave money to the guard, had him release Jack Hunter, and told him where the maid was.”

Her wrist throbbed where Vincent had gripped it. She rubbed at it and lowered her head. She did not dare meet the duke’s eyes.

“That’s all. I didn’t know he would cause a carriage accident or hurt anyone. I only….”

“Only?”

Vincent cut her off.

The anger he had restrained until now finally surfaced.

“Because of your recklessness, innocent people have died. One life is still hanging in the balance. Do you think ignorance is an acceptable excuse?”

Vincent had always been endlessly lenient with Amelia. That was why his condemnation cut deeper than any blade.

At the reproach from her trusted brother, Amelia bit her lip. For a moment, a look of regret crossed her face.

“I did nothing wrong. Jack Hunter caused the accident and took her. That wasn’t me.”

She lifted her head and shifted the blame elsewhere.

“If the girl who went to meet a marriage prospect with Jack Hunter disappeared alongside her future husband, shouldn’t she be the first one you suspect?”

Amelia stated flatly that she had nothing to do with the accident. There was not a trace of guilt in her tone.

At her utter lack of remorse, Vincent’s face flushed red.

“Where is Bella?”

Logan, who had been watching in silence, finally spoke.

“I don’t know. I only gave him the key. By now… he’s probably already left the capital.”

Amelia answered calmly, as though Bella’s fate did not concern her in the slightest.

At that indifference, Logan felt not even anger.

Perhaps it was because he had never expected anything from her to begin with.

‘I have to find Bella. Quickly.’

There was only one thought in his mind.

Watching Logan show not even a flicker of anger toward her, Amelia felt something inside her crack.

“Why is it that I’m not enough?”

Her voice trembled as she asked the question.

She knew why the duke was obsessed with a mere maid. The woman had been presumed dead from the outset. If she disappeared from his sight again, wouldn’t everything go back to normal?

Yet the duke was prepared to spend vast sums of money and mobilize countless men to find her.

For a maid.

Would he act the same way if I were the one who vanished?

Amelia could not answer her own question.

She already knew the answer.

From the outset, there had never been a place for her in the duke’s heart.

“You assisted in an escape. You will be investigated.”

Logan’s voice was devoid of emotion.

The Imperial police officers waiting outside the study stepped in and seized Amelia by the arms.

It was only then that the full impact of what she had done hit her. The composure drained from her face.

“I—I was wrong. I acted rashly. I won’t do it again.”

Looking desperately from Logan to Vincent, she pleaded for forgiveness.

In return, she received only cold, unyielding gazes.

As Amelia was dragged away by the police, Jeremy hurried into the room.

“Jack Hunter’s movements have been confirmed.”

Logan and Vincent turned toward him at once.

***

“D*mn it. The wanted notice spreads fast, but that’s all.”

Seeing the long line of carriages stalled at the checkpoint leading out of the city, Jack Hunter clenched his jaw in frustration and turned his wagon around.

There were police officers stationed at every inspection post, stopping and scrutinizing every vehicle leaving the capital against the wanted notice.

Deciding to abandon any attempt to flee via the main roads, he steered the wagon into the forest instead.

Fortunately, there were no signs that anyone was pursuing him — at least not yet.

The duke’s fiancée — the woman who had hired him to abduct Bella — had instructed him to take her anywhere and then disappear.

However, Jack Hunter had never intended to follow her orders.

To him, Bella was now nothing more than unnecessary baggage. He had already received generous payment for the kidnapping — more than enough to assume a false identity and live comfortably in a foreign country for a considerable amount of time.

Nevertheless, he kept her with him as insurance — an emergency hostage in case things turned against him.

Once he had crossed the border, her fate would no longer be his concern.

However, his plan to escape the country unraveled completely.

The wanted posters had spread much more quickly than he had anticipated, and security at the checkpoints had been significantly tightened. Wherever he went, people held up his wanted poster and examined every passing face with suspicion.

In these circumstances, bringing a woman along would only slow him down.

Jack Hunter altered his plan and turned the wagon around once more.

The moment he left the paved road and veered onto a rough dirt track, the wagon began to jolt violently. It had been acquired hastily and was never in good condition to begin with. It did not last long.

The wheels, unable to withstand the relentless impact, splintered apart. The wagon lurched into a drainage ditch and overturned onto its side.

The reins snapped, startling the horse, which bolted into the distance.

Jack Hunter was thrown hard into the grass.