Chapter 12

The night wrapped around Blackwood Manor like a velvet glove, silent except for the occasional rustle of leaves.

Fresh from her bath, Evelyn Carter stepped onto the balcony, the cool night air kissing her damp skin. She settled into the wicker chair, fingers dancing across her phone screen.

Brett Hawkins, the man who'd held her captive, lay dead in a pool of his own making. All hostages from Technive had been rescued unharmed. Liam Blackwood's team had rounded up the remaining criminals, delivering them to justice.

Her purse and phone had been recovered. But the discovery that her brother Dominic had drained her three years' worth of savings left her numb.

Now Evelyn stood penniless, clutching only her smartphone like a lifeline.

After her memory loss, Margaret Thorn had taken her in, treating her like family. That kindness had led Evelyn to become Margaret's caretaker.

Friendless and with relatives who brought only misery, she had nowhere to turn in her financial crisis.

The creak of the door shattered her thoughts. Evelyn stiffened, turning toward the sound.

Liam's imposing silhouette filled the doorway as he entered. Her pulse quickened inexplicably.

Nervous fingers fumbled with her reading app, selecting a random novel to feign absorption.

Each of Liam's measured footsteps echoed like a drumbeat in her chest. The air grew thick, making breathing difficult.

He moved past her line of sight.

Looking up, she found him leaning against the balcony railing, his piercing gaze locking onto hers. A shiver ran down her spine.

"Something wrong?" she managed, voice barely above a whisper.

"Tell me again," Liam's voice cut through the night, "about your memory loss three years ago."

"It's as I said before," Evelyn replied.

His lips pressed into a thin line. "What do you know about Azurium?"

Information flooded Evelyn's mind with crystalline clarity, as if etched there permanently.

"Azurium's primary use is in biochemical weapons," she recited. "Its electron configuration makes it highly reactive, capable of massive detonations when combined with—"

Liam raised a hand, brow furrowing. "Hold on."

She fell silent immediately.

While each word made sense individually, the technical specifics left him baffled. "You called Azurium 'common'?"

Evelyn nodded earnestly, her wide eyes reflecting moonlight.

A humorless chuckle escaped Liam.

The Aldenrian military had invested 80 million dollars in mere ounces of Azurium for defense research. This woman dismissed it as commonplace?

Victoria Dawson's stunt at the lab had vaporized that investment. The true loss wasn't monetary—pure Azurium was nearly impossible to procure at any price.

"Middle school chemistry doesn't cover this," Liam observed darkly. "How do you know these details?"

Evelyn merely shook her head.

"I'll have my team reinvestigate your past," he declared.

Her heart plummeted. The bitter taste of shame rose in her throat. Some histories were better left buried.

"Dr. Reynolds wants you at the lab," Liam continued.

Evelyn's thumb moved absently across her screen, rereading the same sentence without comprehension.

"But I'm no scientist. Today was just... fortunate recall."

Liam remained silent.

She met his gaze. "I read extensively. Maybe I retained something about Azurium from an article."

The lie hung between them, fragile as glass.