The ambulance arrived and carried Madam Regina away on a stretcher. Before Aiden followed them out, he gave me one last glance, then looked down and turned away. There was a trace of disappointment in his eyes that left a bitter taste in my chest. Maybe Andrix was right. Aiden, who had always been cold and detached, how could he possibly show someone genuine warmth so easily? He probably didn’t fully trust me either. And if that was the case, what reason did I have to stay? I looked up at the chaotic villa. That feeling of always being the outsider—it made me start to tremble. If no one wanted me here, then I might as well leave early. I went upstairs and hastily packed a few belongings into a small bag. Then I summoned Freya. Carrying my only bag in her mouth, she leapt out the window with me on her back. Aiden’s POV Raelyn left without a sound. I was still at the hospital when the butler called to inform me—long after she had gone. An empty, aimless feeling spread through my chest. Taylor noticed my gloom and quickly tried to comfort me. “Don’t worry too much, Aiden. You know Raelyn always finds her way through. She’ll be okay. And you’ve been here all night. Why don’t you get some rest?” I gave a faint, bitter smile. “I’m fine. Alex is handling things at the company, Andrix is tied up with surgery, and Adam and Adrian have school and work. If I don’t take care of my mom, no one will.” Taylor nodded obediently. Her dark circles stood out under her eyes. She’d clearly been up all night too, yawning nonstop. I felt a little guilty. “You should rest. You’ve stayed up with me this whole time.”Taylor smiled. “Aiden, I’m happy to take care of Madam Regina. She’s always been good to me. Now that something’s happened to her, how could I just ignore it?” “Thank you,” I said with a nod. She quickly waved it off. “No need to thank me. Even if you don’t like me, I’m still the girl you grew up with. You don’t have to be so formal with me.” Her expression was sincere. It gave me pause. I had treated Taylor pretty coldly before—turning her down flat more than once. Any other girl would’ve broken down in tears and run off by now. But she didn’t hold a grudge. She stayed here, tirelessly caring for my mom. That was rare. I probably should treat her better. “Aiden, what do you plan to do about Raelyn?” Taylor suddenly leaned closer and asked. That one sentence instantly lit a fire in my chest. “I told you—stay out of it,” I snapped. I knew it wasn’t right to lash out at Taylor, but just hearing Raelyn’s name made me lose control. It had become a forbidden word in my mind. Taylor quickly fell silent. “Okay, okay, don’t get mad. I’m just a little hungry. Will you come eat with me?” I waved her off, annoyed. “I’m not hungry. Go by yourself.” She got up quickly and practically fled the room. Peace returned. I took a moment to calm down, then couldn’t help pulling out my phone and dialing Raelyn’s number. To my shock, the call didn’t go through—her number had been deactivated. I stood frozen. My heart clenched. She really left, just like that? Even canceled her number?I stood up immediately, called Andrix to take over watching our mom, and drove straight to the company. I couldn’t believe she’d be that heartless. It was right around office hours. On any other day, Raelyn would already be here, sitting at her desk. But the moment I entered the building, HR called me. “Mr. Aiden, Ms. Raelyn just called. She said she’s resigning. She also mentioned she’s already emailed her resignation letter to your inbox.” I opened my phone and checked. Sure enough, a single email sat in my inbox. The resignation was formal, polite, and utterly ruthless. She really meant to leave for good. I stood there, thinking for a moment, then called Jackson. He picked up with obvious impatience. “Mr. Aiden, what brings you to call me today? Here to discuss next quarter’s Bluewater–Salvatore Corp collaboration?” “I want to know where Raelyn is.” “Raelyn?” Jackson laughed dryly. “Mr. Aiden, wasn’t she living at your house? Why are you asking me? I’m not a worm in her stomach.” His sarcasm caught me off guard. I didn’t know how to respond. “Well then, if there’s nothing else, I won’t take up your time. You’re the big CEO, after all—far too busy to be chatting about anything beyond work.” With that, he hung up.