Chapter 6

"Your ex-wife seems to care about you," Amelia smirked.

Zayn didn't answer. He just looked at her and said, "I'll wait for you in the Audi up ahead. After this, we'll head straight to Cloudcrest Estate. We might be there a while, so if you need to check in with your manager, do it now."

He turned and headed toward the nearby Audi.

After chatting with Kate and snapping a few photos with fans, Amelia slid into the Quandt family's Audi, shielded by her bodyguards.

In the back of the black A8, Zayn and Amelia sat in silence, each lost in thought. Zayn stared out the window, his mind churning. His grandma's death, the mess of his marriage, the upcoming meeting—it all simmered beneath the surface, fueling his irritation.

Years of searching for Bubbles had led nowhere, but his grandma's letter offered a new clue—still too vague to solve the mystery. Now Edward was promising more, though Zayn couldn't tell if it was genuine hope or just bait to pull him back into the family fold.

Zayn's expression darkened. His gaze dropped to the card twisting between his fingers—a Joker. Not a regular playing card, but one made of some tough metallic material, its sharp edge catching the light. It flicked between his fingers with practiced speed, a habit he'd picked up for moments like this.

After a while, he pulled out his phone and made a call. It rang for ages before someone finally picked up. From the other end, he heard... unmistakable sounds of a man and woman hooking up.

A few seconds later, a guy's voice came through with a lazy laugh. "Zayn, man, it's like we're psychically linked. I was just about to call you."

Zayn sighed. " What? Give me a front-row seat to.... whatever's happening over there?"

"Aw, come on, cut me some slack," the guy chuckled. "My old man shipped me off to Africa three months ago, and I'm losing it here. Last night, I had to call in some... entertainment."

Zayn, used to Xander's wild lifestyle, ignored it. "Xander, cancel the order we had lined up for BeechCorp."

"What?" Xander's tone sharpened. "What happened?"

"I divorced Yvonne. She's with someone else now," Zayn said, steady.

There was a pause before Xander replied coldly, "She's an idiot, then. Want me to take care of her?"

"Leave it. Just cancel the order, and," Zayn's voice dropped a notch. "I've got a lead on Bubbles. We'll go over it in person when you're back."

Xander's pulse quickened. "Really? I'll be back in a few days; this place is hell on earth. I'll call the old man now—if he won't get me out, I'll just, I don't know, die in a woman's arms or something....Alright, I'm hanging up."

As Zayn put his phone away, he noticed Amelia watching him. "What are you staring at?" he asked.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked, studying him.

"My friend."

She rolled her eyes. "Figures you'd hang out with that type."

Zayn went quiet for a second.

"Who's Bubbles?"

"My sister," he said, his expression softening. "She disappeared ten years ago."

Amelia caught the sadness in his eyes and let it go, instead eyeing the playing card flipping through his fingers. "So, are you a magician?"

"...No."

"A gambler, then?"

"...No."

"Then how'd you get so good at cards?" She looked at him, intrigued.

Zayn's eyes flickered. "No reason. Just a habit."

In truth, his mind was already drifting back to those years spent in a world fueled by blood and adrenaline. Back then, they called him "Joker"—a name that was both a dig and a warning. The Joker card had become his mark.

Amelia shot him a dissatisfied look. "Zayn, even if this marriage is fake, we need to keep each other in the loop about certain things. Otherwise, we'll look like idiots in front of my grandpa."

"What do you want to know?"

"I looked into you." She studied him. "There's a five-year gap in your record—no trace of you at all. Mind telling me what you were doing during that time?"

Zayn's tone stayed mild. "I went abroad. Worked somewhere remote. Couldn't exactly stay in touch, which is why there's no record."

"Which country? And what exactly were you doing?" she pressed.

"No comment," Zayn said, turning to the window, making it clear he was done with the topic.

"Fine, keep your secrets," Amelia shrugged.

Since he didn’t want to spill, Amelia didn’t push it.

Amelia grew bored and pulled a small ceramic figurine from her pocket, rolling it between her fingers.

It looked worn and a bit lopsided, with one arm longer than the other and uneven legs—almost like a child had sculpted it. The figure even resembled Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls.

The drive to Cloudcrest Estate, perched at Ignix Peak on the border of Cloudport and Longoria, would take about an hour.

As the car sped along the highway, Amelia, worn out from late nights on set, started to doze off.

Zayn, wide awake, was scrolling through the news on his phone when he noticed a black Honda Accord speeding up behind them. Suddenly, it swerved in front of the Audi.

A dangerous feeling prickled through him as the Honda slammed on its brakes.

Boom!

The Audi had no time to react and crashed into the Honda. In a flash, Zayn reached over, wrapping his arms around Amelia and pulling her down to shield her.

It all happened so fast, no one could've seen it coming.

"There's trouble!"

The two bodyguards up front—the tall, skinny one and the short, round one, as Zayn called them—were instantly on high alert.

"Stay in the car!" they ordered, reaching for their guns as they threw open their doors and stepped out to confront the threat.

At that moment, four men in black emerged from the Honda, guns drawn, and gunfire erupted. The bodyguards managed to take down two attackers, but outnumbered, they were quickly overwhelmed and went down in a hail of bullets.

The two remaining men approached the Audi, guns in hand.

Amelia, jolted awake, froze in terror as memories from a similar incident in her childhood flooded back.

This was the second time she'd faced something like this, and her mind raced. Was this an Arden family feud? Or maybe some grudge from her work in the showbiz?

But then she noticed Zayn beside her—calm, almost unfazed. Before she could say anything, two guns were aimed directly at him through the car window.