Sam nodded gently without speaking.

“Who heads the family?” Abel asked.

“I… can’t say…” Sam shook her head.

“I’ll find out tomorrow anyway,” Abel reminded her. “You might as well tell me now.”

“No,” Sam said, avoiding Abel’s eyes. “If you find out on your own, no one can say it’s because I told you…”

“Huh! The girl is tight-lipped, it seems…” Abel chuckled.

“I’m only here to escort you onto the island before I have to return to Struyria,” Sam continued. “If you meet Ms. Emmeline, please let me know how she is.”

“Since you’re already here, why don’t you just come along with us? Luca asked.

“I don’t know how the Master would react when he meets you,” Sam explained. “I should steer clear of him to avoid being punished. He’s already angry enough that I failed to protect Ms. Emmeline. He gave me an earful through the phone that day…” Sam’s lips quivered as she spoke.

“That’s not your fault. It was mine,” Abel frowned.

“It was my carelessness,” Sam maintained. “I should’ve kept my eyes on Ms. Emmeline at all times, whether she liked it or not…”

“No point arguing over that now,” Abel interrupted her. “So what does Benjamin do here?”

Sam shook her head again. “I’m not at liberty to say, Mr. Ryker. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Abel’s frown deepened. The woman was doing an excellent job at keeping mum.

“The best I can do is show you the way to get to the island, or you might end up spending days or even months trying to find it.” Sam repeated. “I wasn’t sure if Mr. Ryker’s body could take it, so I rushed over.”

Mm,” Abel nodded briefly. “Thank you.”

“I’m also doing it for Ms. Emmeline,” Sam raised her head, finally looking Abel in the eye. “I know you were good to her.”

“Luca,” Abel called out for his assistant. “Take good care of Sam, make sure she has some food to eat. We’ll set sail first thing at dawn.”

“Yes, Mr. Abel,” Luca responded immediately before turning to Sam. “Your room is ready. Why don’t you have a shower while I get some food ready for you?”

Sam’s cheeks turned slightly pink again. “Thank you, Luca,” she said softly before turning to Abel. “Thank you, Mr. Ryker.”

Abel locked his door as soon as Luca and Sam left the room. He lounged on the sofa smoking a cigarette since he was unable to sleep any longer. His stomach still hurt, but the pain was dulled by the hopeful anticipation of seeing Emmeline again. If he was not considerate of the fact that Sam might need some rest after a long day of travel, he would have set sail right now.

The pain in his abdomen gradually worsened as he waited impatiently for dawn. Beads of cold sweat pooled on his forehead as he reached for some painkillers on the table. He gulped down two pills with some water and hoped for the pain to subside, but he only grew more nauseous as time passed and finally ran to the toilet bowl again. He vomited a mixture of bile and blood as well as the painkillers he had taken, but the blood was noticeably more pronounced this time.

Abel wiped his mouth and washed his face in the sink, catching a glimpse of his pallid complexion in the mirror. “Emma…” he breathed heavily, holding on to the sink to support himself. “Please let me find you before I can’t hold on any longer… Let me see your face once again…”

There was a knock on the door before Abel heard a voice. “Mr. Abel, are you up?” Luca’s voice called out.

Abel gargled his mouth once more before he headed toward the door and unlocked it, giving Luca a shock. His employer looked deathly sick and grey, but his dark eyes remained alert, yet sorrowful.

“Mr. Abel, what would you like to have for breakfast?” Luca asked. “I’ll order some takeout from the restaurant.”

“I won’t be having any,” Abel said simply. “You guys go ahead with breakfast. We’ll depart in half an hour.”

“… Alright, Mr. Abel,” Luca nodded despite being worried.

Abel closed the door and poured himself a glass of warm water before swallowing a few more painkillers.