Chapter 21

On the other end of the line, Penelope was crying as she explained, "Xav said he wanted one of those bunny-shaped apple slices, so I went downstairs… By the time I came back with the fruit, he was gone." Sebastian shot to his feet. "Did you check the security footage? Did he leave the house?" "I did. Not long after I went downstairs, he slipped out of the villa alone and disappeared from the camera's range." "Send me the footage." Sebastian hung up. Moments later, the security video landed in his inbox. He watched as Xavier deliberately waited for Penelope to turn her back before sneaking out of the house. The apple slices were clearly just an excuse to get rid of her. Sebastian replayed the footage several times. Xavier definitely looked like he was heading out to find someone. He didn't call the police right away. Instead, he called Julia. … At The One Design, Julia was immersed in sketching, but the moment her phone rang, she instinctively picked it up. "Hello?" "Xav is