Dawn stood by Josh’s bed for a while after he fell asleep. The room was quiet. The small night lamp cast a soft glow over his face. He was curled under the blanket, one hand tucked under his cheek.

He’d been away all day with Tom and Lucy since they’d wanted her to have the privacy to mourn over Genevieve without having to worry about Josh.

She’d barely had the time to focus on mourning anyway, since Mari had been with her for most of the day talking about random things and watching television and Mari had only left a short while ago after Tom and Lucy returned with Josh.

Dawn brushed Josh’s hair gently. "Goodnight, sweetheart," she whispered.

He didn’t stir. Wherever they’d taken him, it was clear he’d had a good time and had worn himself out.

She turned off the light and stepped out of the room quietly.

The distance to her room felt longer than usual.

When she got to her room, she closed the door softly behind her and leaned against it for a second.

Then she pushed herself away and walked toward the bed. She lay face up on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Genevieve’s face filled her mind. Growing up together. She remembered all the bad things Genevieve had done to her over the years, but now it wasn’t with bitterness.

She remembered their last weeks together with Ryan following her return from Westend. She remembered their night at the club.

Genevieve’s laughter, her voice, the way she danced with Stefan and taught her and Emily to dance.

Dawn’s chest felt tight again. "Why..." she whispered softly. "How can you leave just like that?"

She brushed off her tears and turned on her side then pulled the blanket over her.

But it didn’t bring any warmth. Because the cold she felt was internal not external.

After a moment she reached for her phone and looked at it, expecting a missed call or a text message from Jamal, but there was nothing.

Her brows pulled together slightly.

Why hadn’t Jamal called yet?

By her calculation they should have arrived at Westend over two hours ago.

Did they go straight to the hotel to follow up with the investigations?

She stared at his name for a moment and contemplated whether she should call to find out what was going on.

Her finger hovered over the screen but at the last moment she changed her mind.

Maybe he was busy. Maybe Stefan needed him.

He would have called by now if he wasn’t occupied, she told herself.

She exhaled softly. "I’ll wait," she murmured.

Just as she was about to drop her phone, it buzzed with a WhatsApp message from Mari.

Dawn opened it.

Mari>: Hey, pretty! I just got home. Call me if you need anything, okay?

A small smile touched Dawn’s lips as she typed back.

Dawn >: Thank you for today. I really needed it. I’m grateful you came.

She was still typing when her phone rang with a phone call from Jamal.

Relief washed over her immediately. She sat up quickly and answered.

"I was just thinking about you and whether or not to call you," she said. Her voice was soft, but there was relief in it.

Jamal was quiet for a second. "Why didn’t you call?"

Dawn sighed. "I figured you were busy with Stefan, and I didn’t want to interrupt whatever you were doing. How was the flight? Did you arrive safely? How is Stefan?" she asked.

"Yeah. I was. Sorry I didn’t call the moment I got here." Then he asked gently, "How are you doing?"

Dawn let out a breath. "I don’t even know," she admitted. "I couldn’t think about anything else all day. Mari helped... but..." her voice softened. "I just kept thinking about her. About everything."

Genevieve’s throat tightened on the other end of the line as she listened to Dawn.

Jamal knew it was time to tell Dawn the truth but he also wanted Genevieve to know just how sad Dawn had been.

"We’ve been through so much together, you know?" Dawn’s throat tightened. "I just can’t believe she’s gone. Just like that," she whispered. "And I don’t even know how I’m going to tell Josh..."

"You don’t have to tell Josh anything. I’m right here," Genevieve cut in.

Dawn froze. Her eyes widened slowly and her breath stopped.

"Jam, I think... I think I’m hearing things," she whispered as her heart began to pound.

Jamal smiled softly. "What did you hear?" he asked.

Dawn swallowed. "I just heard Genevieve’s voice in my head," she said slowly then shook her head slightly. "That... that doesn’t make sense, does it?"

Jamal’s voice softened. "That wasn’t in your head," he said. "You heard her. She’s right here with me."

Dawn gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth.

"Dawn..." Genevieve’s voice came again. "I’m here," Genevieve said softly. "And I’m okay."

Tears filled Dawn’s eyes instantly. And before she could stop it, a sob broke out of her.

"Genevieve..." she cried, her voice filled with relief. "Oh, my god. I thought you were..." she couldn’t finish it.

"I know," Genevieve said softly. Her own eyes filled with tears. "I’m okay," she repeated. "It’s not safe to talk much right now, but... we didn’t want you to keep worrying."

Dawn nodded quickly even though they couldn’t see her. "

Dawn wiped her tears quickly. "You’re really okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Genevieve said. "And I’m not going anywhere."

Dawn let out another sob. This time softer.

Jamal spoke again. "Dawn, you can’t tell anyone," he said.

Dawn sniffed. "I’m not stupid. I know what’s at stake. I won’t tell anyone."

Jamal nodded. "I’ll talk to you later," he said. "We need to handle a few things first."

"Sure," Dawn whispered. "I’m glad you’re okay, Genny. I’m so glad you’re fine."

Genevieve’s throat tightened and she smiled. "Me too."

The call ended and Dawn lowered the phone slowly.

Tears still slid down her cheeks. But this time, she was smiling. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Miles away from there, Jamal lowered his phone and turned to Stefan, who was staring at his phone.

"Is Uncle Harry not taking his call?" he asked, since he was yet to hear Stefan talking to Uncle Harry.

"I haven’t called him," Stefan murmured.

Jamal frowned. "Why not? What are you waiting for?" he asked.

Stefan looked up slowly. "It’s late in Ludus," he said. "I don’t want to interrupt his family time. Maybe we should wait till morning."

Jamal stared at him. "Do you think we have the luxury of time?" he asked with a scowl. "Uncle Harry will take the call any time as long as it’s family."

Stefan hesitated. "But it’s not you calling," he said quietly. "I don’t want to offend him."

Jamal blinked. "What does that even mean?" he asked, looking from Stefan to Genevieve.

Genevieve shook her head but said nothing.

Stefan shrugged slightly. "I don’t want to cross any boundaries. I’ve never called him about personal business late in the day."

Jamal stared at him for a second then shook his head. "I don’t know what your problem is today," he muttered. "And I’m not in the mood to find out."

He held out his hand. "Give me the phone or dial the number."

Stefan handed him the phone, "You call him."

Jamal sighed in exasperation then dialed the number and put the call on speaker.

The phone rang only thrice before the call connected. "I was wondering when you would call," Harry’s voice came through.

"It’s me, not Stefan," Jamal said, giving Stefan a look that said ’I told you so.’

"Oh," Harry said, "I heard you traveled with Stefan."

Jamal nodded. "I did," he said. "There’s a situation. We might need your help."

There was a pause. Then Harry asked, "Why are you the one talking to me with Stefan’s phone? Why haven’t I heard from Stefan?" Harry asked.

Jamal turned to Stefan. "He said he didn’t want to inconvenience you by calling late," he said.

Harry muttered something under his breath. "Give him the phone."

Jamal handed it over and Stefan took it.

"Hello, sir. I’m sorry I didn’t call—"

"Shut up," Harry cut in.

Stefan froze, Genevieve’s heart skipped a beat, while Jamal winced.

"You’re always acting like an outsider," Harry continued. "Even when everyone treats you like family."

Stefan swallowed and lowered his gaze. "I’m sorry, sir," he said quietly. "I just didn’t want to inconvenience anyone."

"It’s your business if you want to handle things alone," Harry added. "But don’t pretend you don’t have people."

"I’m sorry, sir," Stefan murmured.

"Do you need help or do you want to handle it yourself?" Harry asked.

Stefan looked from Jamal to Genevieve then murmured, "We need help."

Harry sighed. "You sound like you’re embarrassed to ask for help. You needn’t be. Everyone needs help at some point. You might be able to do certain things on your own, but you don’t always have to do them alone when you have people to do it with you or for you," Harry said gently, knowing he had been harsh.

Then he asked in a serious tone. "So, what’s the situation over there? What are you doing in Westend? Are you there because you want the body in the suite?"

Stefan shook his head slightly. "No. That’s not her," he said.

Then he explained the situation quickly.

Silence followed for some seconds as Harry processed it all.

Then he spoke again. "She’ll need a passport with a new identity," he said. "And a good disguise. No one must recognize her."

Stefan nodded.

"Remain where you are," Harry continued. "I’ll send people to you."

"Thank you, sir," Stefan said quietly.

Harry ignored him. "In the meantime, I need Jamal to go to our Hotel and find out what’s going on there. Jamal can hear me, right?"

Jamal nodded, "Yes, I can. I will head there right away."

"And no one else should know she’s alive," Harry added.

Stefan hesitated. "We told Dawn already."

"Dawn is family and needs to know she’s fine. No one else needs to know apart from Tom and I." There was a pause, then Harry added, "And Genevieve, if you can hear me, I want you to know I’m glad you’re alive. We all are," he said before hanging up the call.

Tears filled Genevieve’s eyes.