Chapter 238

• Anna's hands were slightly shaking as she handed me the leather purse she had been carrying. The information was difficult to take; following the devastating business scandal that had broken our family's empire, everyone had been accounted for during the early damage control. However, the news was difficult to accept. There was not a single person missing. Particularly not the younger members of the family, the nieces and nephews, who were supposed to be protected from harm.
• My mind struggled to resist the gloomy notion, but hidden deep within me was a slender thread of hope that continued to hold on.
• It was not simply the stories or the whispers that were haunting me; rather, it was the obvious proof that was contained within the bag. It was Ryan who was the owner of the blood-stained clothing. Items of clothing that I had painstakingly selected and fashioned during my most recent trip to the family estate, where I was also responsible for putting together outfits for all of my nieces and nephews.