The day of the operation arrived, and Emily could barely sit still. If law enforcement failed to catch Vince and his men in the act, he would know immediately who had set him up. “Take a breath and stop spiraling,” Ian told her. “Sit tight and wait for my call.” “What if he sends other people and stays away himself?” Emily asked. “Not a chance,” Ian said. “The money involved is too big. He’ll want eyes on it personally.”
Time turned into torture. When the expected call didn’t come, Emily started praying under her breath. By all logic, the operation should have been over. Finally, unable to stand it, she called Ian herself.
“Yes?” he answered in a flat voice. “Did it fail?” Emily asked, going cold. “Why haven’t you called?” “It worked,” Ian said. “Everything went smoothly. Vince and his crew were arrested. Sorry—I forgot to call. I’m exhausted. I’ll let you know if there’s news about your boyfriend.”
Emily ended the call and let out a long breath. The main threat was gone. But Ian’s detached tone unsettled her. She understood that his feelings had been hurt, but she had never led him on. Her heart belonged to Sam, and no promise of comfort or success would change that.
For the next several days, Emily lived in a vacuum. She had nowhere to go and no desire to talk to anyone. She simply waited for word from the jail. Eventually, realizing Ian was too proud to call first, she decided to reach out. Whatever his feelings, he had taken the case. He needed to finish it. To her horror, his phone was off.
After a full day of trying, she called his mother. “Hello, Emily,” Sandra said, her voice suddenly icy. “What do you want?” “I’m calling about Ian,” Emily said carefully. “Is something wrong? His phone’s been off for two days.” “You’ve got some nerve,” Sandra snapped. “Why did I ever let you into my house?”
“Ms. Sandra, what are you talking about? What did I do?” Emily asked, stunned. “You toyed with my son’s feelings,” Sandra shouted. “You gave him hope and then crushed him.” “I did what?” Emily said, speechless. “He knew from the start that I was engaged. I never encouraged him.”
“I don’t want to see or hear from you again,” Sandra said. “My son quit and left town. He told me to tell you to forget his number and save your own convict.” Then she hung up. Emily sank into a chair and held her head in her hands. It was over. Ian had walked away, breaking the promise he had made. Richard would no doubt celebrate once he realized no one was left to pressure him with those recordings.
“Why does this keep happening?” Emily cried soundlessly. “Why is everyone around me a traitor?” The sharp ring of her phone made her jump. Richard’s number flashed on the screen. Panic hit her at once. What would he do now that she had no lawyer standing beside her?
“Hello,” she said weakly. “Emily, where have you been?” Richard asked briskly. “I’ve been trying to reach Ian. He vanished. He was supposed to send someone to deal with the bug in my office. I need to know who planted it.” “I don’t know,” Emily said. “I don’t understand anything anymore…”
