Damon arrived to see Layla

★★★★★

Payne’s brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to locate her mother’s phone, but the screen only displayed its last known location—the hospital. Her stomach twisted in knots; she knew her mother wasn’t there. Dante had made that clear when he mentioned something had gone terribly wrong.

Ceece paced back and forth, her frustration mounting with every second that ticked by. "Nadia, we need to stop sitting around and start looking for her! I’m so angry at myself," she muttered, her voice filled with self-reproach. "I should’ve listened to Payne earlier. We should’ve acted sooner, but now we’re stuck, and who knows what’s happening to her?"

Nadia sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried to quell the throbbing pain in her head. "Ceece, this isn’t the time for self-blame," she said, her tone firm but not unkind. "We can’t afford to lose focus. We need to figure out where she is and how to get to her as quickly as possible. Blaming yourself or anyone else isn’t going to help. Ma