Reba looked away, unable to stop herself from wondering if Jeffrey would pick up the phone.


    Before she could even finish that thought, Jeffrey had already swiped to answer. “What’s up?”


    “My mom’s here,” Andrea sounded desperate and anxious. “She’s trying to force me to go back home and marry someone, and she’s been hitting me and screaming at me. Can youe over to help me out?”


    Jeffrey’s grip on the phone tightened, and his lips pressed into a thin line.


    After a long pause, he finally replied, “I’ll send someone over right away…”


    “You said you’d look after me, so stop handing me off to other people,” Andrea shot back, her voice full of bitterness. “If they screw it up, that’s on you for not keeping your word. You promised, so don’t try to dodge your responsibility.”


    That single sentence made Jeffrey’s gaze turn colder and even more stormy.


    Judging by his expression, Reba could tell Jeffrey was definitely going to deal with Andrea’s drama himself.


    She opened the car door, saying, “Just have someone escort me to the gate of Reba’s Manor. I can take <i>a </i><i>cab </i>from there.”


    Jeffrey fixed Reba with a long, deep stare. He didn’t exin himself, nor did he try to argue.


    He turned to Victor and said, “Make sure Reba gets to the Reed residence safely.”


    “Yes, sir,” Victor replied.


    Reba shut the car door for him and walked straight to Victor’s car without looking back.


    Jeffrey watched her get into the car and leave. Then he said to Andrea, “Where are you right now?”


    “Harmony Estate,” Andrea replied. She’d overheard everything on this end, too, knew full well she’d just ruined something between Jeffrey and Reba–and she wasn’t the least bit sorry.


    All she felt was the rush of having pulled off just the revenge she wanted.


    “Got it,” Jeffrey said tly.


    He ordered the chauffeur to head to Harmony Estate. On the way, he called Gregory.


    The call was picked up almost instantly. Gregory said, “Mr. Hanson.”


    “Dig into Andrea’s connections–everyone, Family, friends, ssmates, even people who taught her before,” Jeffrey ordered in a clipped tone. “Send me the list once it’s done.”


    “Yes<b>, </b>sir,” Gregory replied.


    Jeffrey hung up.


    Andrea reaching out when she’d got trouble–that was just what he’d promised her. But letting her mess up his ns with Reba was on him. He should’ve made sure nothing could go wrong.


    That kind of screw–up wasn’t happening twice.


    Thinking about it, he shot Reba a message: [I’lle get you on Monday morning. Let’s take Samuel to camp together.]


    Reba had just arrived at the Reed residence when she saw the message.


    She gazed at her phone for ages, just lost in thought, until the screen finally faded to ck. Only then did she type: [Okay.]


    She spent the whole morning teaching Emily.


    During a break, Emily looked up at her with a hint of concern and asked, “Ms. Jensen, are you in a bad mood today?”


    “Why do you say that?” Reba replied, keeping her tone breezy.


    Emily’s eyes twinkled thoughtfully. “You didn’t seem as carefree as usual while dancing. It was like you were carrying something heavy on your mind.”


    Reba was stunned. She thought, ‘Are kids all so sharp these days? How did she sense that?‘


    “Is there something bothering you?” Emily asked, genuine concern in her voice.


    “Just worried about a work trip next week. I might not make it back in time for your dance ss on Saturday,” Reba said, making up an excuse as she warmly took Emily’s little hand.


    “It’s fine!” Emily piped up, sounding both adorable and yfully bossy. “I’ll move you to the end of the list. Just teach me whenever you get a chance.”


    Reba raised her palm. “So it’s a promise?”


    Emily said, “Promise<b>!</b>”


    They pped their hands together in a high–five, sealing the


    pact.


    Lucas watched all of this y out, and even his usually rxed gaze was filled with fatherly affection for a


    moment.


    If Reba wasn’t Jeffrey’s wife–if she had no ties to him–Lucas wouldn’t hesitate to keep her around as Emily’s teacher, even if she never taught dance again.


    Later that day, after Reba finished Emily’s lesson and was about to leave, Lucas walked over and stopped her. This time, he even changed the way he addressed her.


    Lucas said, “Ms. Jensen.”


    “Yes?” Reba responded.


    “I’d like to ask you something, if it’s fine for you,” Lucas said, his demeanorposed and his eyes unusually deep.


    Reba’s face remained calm. “Sure.”


    Lucas asked inly, “In all the years you’ve been married to Jeffrey, have you ever met a woman about your age whose name is Joanna?”


    Reba replied, “No, I haven’t.”


    “Could you help me find out where she is?” Lucas asked, his voice tentative, guarded longing flickering in his eyes. “She’s really important to me, and I’ve never been able to reach her.”


    Stephen had managed to uncover that Joanna was operating under Jeffrey’s wing, but he still couldn’t make contact with her.


    “If you’re truly determined to get in touch with someone, you’d exhaust any channel until it worked,” Reba replied, calm and unwavering. “And with your identity, it should be even easier for you.”


    Lucas was caught off guard by her directness. “But-”


    Reba jumped in before he could finish. “Sorry, I really can’t help with this one. I gotta go.”


    “Alright, take care, then,” Lucas said, letting her leave without fuss.


    any


    He’d thought he could use Reba as a bridge to get Joanna to show up, but he hadn’t counted on Reba being way too sharp for any of these little schemes.


    “Ever stop to think why you can’t reach Mommy?” Emily piped up out of nowhere, sounding way too grown- up for her age. “Seriously, did you ever figure out what you did wrong back then?”


    Lucas didn’t know what to say. He thought, ‘Why’s she getting more and more unruly recently?‘


    Emily couldn’t care less about his look. “You won’t even let Mommye see me. No wonder you can’t get a hold of her. Serves you right.”


    “You little rascal,” Lucas called out, his tone soft and full of fatherly affection.


    Emily huffed, spun around, and stomped off–totally ignoring him and making it crystal clear she was pissed.


    After leaving the Reed residence, Reba made her usual Saturday trip to the hospital. But this weekend, something just felt a bit off.


    Just as she was about to reach the hospital, her phone rang. It was Timothy. “What’s up, Dr. Johnson?”


    “That guy who came to see your momst time is here again,” Timothy said, ncing at the security footage of the man still checking in. “How soon can you get here?”


    Reba checked the app and said, “Almost there, about ten minutes<b>.</b>”


    “Okay,” Timothy replied.


    As soon as the call ended, Reba leaned forward and asked the driver, “Sir, could you speed up a bit? I’m runningte.”


    She had to find out who this guy really was. At first, she figured maybe he was her mom’s brother or something. After all, people always said nieces looked like their uncles, and honestly, she kind of did.


    And yet, May insisted he was an enemy.


    Reba thought, ‘But seriously, what kind of enemy shows up at a hospital to visit my mom not just once?‘


    Just as that thought hit, Reba stopped short–her mind suddenly jumping to something else.


    Reba thought, ‘Enemy? Car ident? Could he have something to do with Mom’s car ident?‘


    But that suspicion vanished even faster than it came. The car ident–maybe it really was just her imagination running wild, just a guess in the dark.


    There hadn’t been any weird vibes or odd behavior from Camille. Maybe it really was just an ident.


    With a jumble of nerves andplicated feelings in her chest, Reba soon arrived at the hospital.


    As she got out of the car, she shot a quick voice message to Timothy: [Dr. Johnson, is that guy still there?]


    Timothy replied almost right away: [Yes.]


    AD