The sky in his dream pressed down, so heavy and dark it seemed ready to collapse at any moment., 

He saw Evangeline kneeling beside a small mound of earth, her head bowed so low he couldn’t see her face, but he could feel, with aching certainty, the pain etched in her posture. 

A sharp, prickling ache spread across his chest. 

He started toward her, intending to ask what had happened, but just as he took a step, Evangeline rose to her feet and walked away–moving in the exact opposite direction from him. 

“Evangeline,” Soren called out automatically, her name catching in his throat. 

She didn’t react, didn’t even slow down. Her footsteps only grew more hurried, putting more and more distance between them. 

Frustration tightened Soren’s brow. His voice grew sharper. “Evangeline, where are you going? Stop!” 

Still, she ignored him, striding away faster and faster, slipping further from his reach. 

Soren’s frustration flared. He tried to quicken his pace, desperate to catch up, but in the next instant, Poppy appeared out of nowhere, stepping abruptly between him and Evangeline. 

ļ 

Poppy’s eyes danced with mischief as she smiled up at him. “Soren, where are you off to?” 

He tried to look past her, searching for Evangeline, but her figure had vanished as if swallowed by the gloom. 

Where Evangeline had disappeared, sunlight suddenly broke through, chasing off the storm clouds–so dazzling and fierce it forced Soren to shield his eyes. 

“Soren?” 

Poppy’s voice, familiar and close, echoed again. 

The world around him flickered and warped, the distant hum of voices fading away like an ebbing tide. 

Soren opened his eyes. 

1/3 

Chapter oz 

A gentle knock sounded at his bedroom door. 

Poppy’s voice carried through the wood, nearly identical to how it had sounded in his dream, but more subdued. “Soren, breakfast is ready. Come down and eat something.” 

He sat up, blinking at the familiar surroundings of his bedroom, realization dawning that it had all just been a dream. 

What a strange, senseless dream. 

He had to admit, Evangeline’s recent game of cat and mouse seemed to be getting under his skin more than he cared to admit. 

Soren pressed his fingers to his aching temple, shaking off the remnants of sleep. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and saw that it was already late. Maybe it was the sleeping pills–he’d slept for so long and still felt bone–tired. 

Or maybe it was just the exhaustion of these last few weeks. 

Ever since Fawkes Enterprises had launched its new tech initiative, he’d been spending more and more time at the office, pouring his energy into every detail. 

He’d invested a fortune and pulled strings everywhere to recruit top talent, but the results so far had been less than stellar. 

As he brooded over this, his mind drifted to the photo Flora had shown him last night, and her news that the other party had returned to the country. 

The Fawkes family had no shortage of money–what they lacked was a world–class technical team. 

And as luck would have it, the other party had both the expertise and a 

well–established crew. 

The real question was how to convince them to collaborate. 

Just then, Soren’s phone buzzed with a new message. 

It was from Gregory: an update about the UME team’s plans to relocate back home. Gregory had analyzed UME from every angle. Their strengths were the perfect match for the Fawkes family’s new direction–an alliance between them would make waves across Serenity City. 

“Mr. Fawkes, more importantly, I just found out that UME’s decision to move their lab sparked a major dispute with their biggest investor. Their funding has been cut 

2/3 

Chapter 62 

off–they’re in desperate need of research capital.” 

“Maybe this is our opening to reopen negotiations,” Gregory suggested. 

He suspected that UME’s previous arrogance stemmed from their stable overseas base and reliable financial backing. But if they really came to Serenity City, it 

wouldn’t take long for them to realize that partnering with the Fawkes family was their best–and fastest–path to success and recognition.