As soon as Vespera finished speaking, she hung up without hesitation.
Dominic sat there, momentarily stunned.
From the driver's seat, Gerard cast a glance in the rearview mirror. "Yikes… That didn't sound good," he thought to himself.
Dominic slowly lowered the phone from his ear, his expression hardening.
There was no doubt about it—Vespera was upset.
Was it because he hadn't gone to get her immediately last night?
He could admit it now—Fawn's frantic cries over the phone had completely rattled him.
When he found her unconscious, his only thought was to get her to the hospital as fast as possible. Everything else faded from his mind.
By the time he managed to make the necessary calls, they were already halfway there.
"Calvert."
Dominic's voice came from the back seat.
Calvert was absorbed in his game, headphones on, completely unaware.
Gerard reached over and lowered his phone. "Mr. Reid's calling you."
Calvert turned around quickly. "Yes, sir? You called me?"
"When you dropped Vespera off at her apartment last night, did she say anything?" Dominic asked.
"Um… not really. She seemed... pretty happy."
"Happy?"
"Yeah! She even thanked me," Calvert added.
He wasn't about to admit he hadn't picked her up at all. Still, Vespera was safe, and she didn't seem angry with him.
But Dominic could see the guilt in his eyes.
Placing a hand on Calvert's shoulder, he said, "Be honest. Which part of your story isn't true?"
Calvert's face faltered.
Finally, he decided to come clean.
"Actually… I didn't pick up Vespera and the others last night. They made it back on their own. And when I said they were in a safe place… I was just guessing.
"But they did make it out okay, and Vespera wasn't mad. I explained everything to her afterward, and she forgave me right away."
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and showed Dominic the message.
Dominic's expression darkened.
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