Athena was pretty satisfied with Zaden's arrangements. She smiled and said, "Alright then, thank you, Mr. Storm." Zaden raised an eyebrow when he heard her teasing tone. After breakfast, the hotel arranged a van to take them to the airport. It was crowded that day, so they had to wait in line. When it was finally their turn, the staff suddenly informed them that Athena's visa and passport had a problem. She couldn't leave the country. Athena frowned deeply. Everything had gone smoothly when she arrived; how could there be an issue now? Zaden's face darkened. He spoke fluently in the local language, asking what exactly was wrong with Athena's documents. But the staff just shook his head, as if he couldn't understand his words. He simply said, "I'm sorry, sir. Her papers have an issue. She can't board the flight." Athena was dumbfounded. Then a chill ran through her. Something wasn't right. The timing was too perfect. Could someone have planned this? Zaden instantly knew someone had tampered with Athena's papers. Behind them, the line was getting longer. The people waiting didn't know what was going on; they just saw Athena and Zaden blocking the counter and started looking annoyed. Finally, Zaden took Athena's hand and pulled her aside. "Go sit over there and wait for me," he said calmly. "I'll take care of this." Athena nodded quietly and did as he said. Zaden pulled out his phone and called Tommy, ordering him to investigate the problem right away and use every connection he had to fix it. When Tommy couldn't get results quickly enough, Zaden demanded to meet with the airport director himself.Athena watched him stride away and couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh. Still, his calm voice and confidence gave her a deep sense of security. She felt like there was nothing in the world he couldn't handle. A faint smile curved her lips, half helpless, half warm. Just then, she accidentally bumped into a tall man. He immediately steadied her by the shoulder. "Sorry, are you okay?" he asked politely. When his eyes met hers, his pupils tightened ever so slightly. "I'm fine," Athena replied quickly. "I wasn't watching where I was going." She gave him a brief smile and turned to leave. The man's assistant, who had witnessed the whole thing, frowned and stepped forward. "Mr. Rice, did that woman bump into you on purpose?" It wasn't uncommon for women to stage accidents just to get close to his boss. The assistant instantly assumed Athena was one of them. The man's brows furrowed deeply as he muttered under his breath; his gaze drifted away. It was clear he was lost in thought, chasing a memory that had suddenly come back to him. "Serena ... " The assistant was dumbstruck. "What?" "She's Serena," the man said slowly, his tone a mix of disbelief and awe. "The legendary surgeon who disappeared years ago. I can't believe she's here." Then his expression hardened. "Find out everything about her. I want a full report in ten minutes." "Yes, Mr. Rice!" the assistant replied and hurried off, leaving the man standing there, eyes still following Athena as if he'd just stumbled upon a long-lost secret. Just then, the sound of a ringing phone broke the man's thoughts. Preston blinked, pulled himself back to reality, and answered, "Hello?" "Preston! You're coming back today, right? I'll head to the airport later to pick you up!" A sweet, familiar voice came through the line. Preston's lips curved into a faint smile. "Yeah," he said gently, "I'm boarding soon." On the other end, Maya finally relaxed. "Thank goodness you're finally coming home! If you stayed away any longer, our family would've fallen apart!" Preston couldn't help but chuckle. His sister was being dramatic again. Sure, their parents' marriage wasn't some grand love story, but it wasn't falling apart either. They'd always treated each other with quiet respect. And, well, they had three kids, didn't they? But Maya's words carried more than worry; they carried bitterness. Since she'd returned home, everything had gone downhill for her. The man she wanted was taken by Athena. Even Kit seemed to lean toward Athena's side. And their father was doing the same. He even talked about divorcing their mother because of Athena. That woman had turned their whole family upside down. And now, Maya and Athena were officially enemies. Preston was the strongest and most capable among them. If he came back and helped her, Maya believed she could get rid of Athena for good. "Preston," Maya said sweetly, her voice shifting into a plea. "About that woman who gives me a hard time, did you handle her like I asked?" Preston paused, realizing he'd almost forgotten about the person Maya had told him to handle a few days ago.