Chapter 850

Thorne and Granger both had business matters to attend to, so after spending two relaxing days on the island, they headed back to the city.

The very next day, Thorne returned to The Henderson Group to lead a series of high-stakes negotiations.

After two days of Thorne being immersed in work, the news of his return from his supposed business trip finally reached Henley Hawkins’s ears.

The past few days had been absolute hell for the Hawkins and Spencer families.

The moment Henley heard the news, he immediately rushed to tell Vesta. “I just heard Thorne is back.”

Before Vesta could even react, Leah Spencer lit up with sheer excitement. “He’s finally back? Does that mean we can—”

Henley’s expression remained grim. He looked straight at Vesta. “Word is, he’s been back for two days now.”

Vesta had been trying to contact Thorne relentlessly, but she had been met with total radio silence. The family had convinced themselves it was simply because he was overwhelmed with urgent business.

But now they knew he was back. He had been back for two whole days, and he still hadn’t reached out to Vesta…

Vesta and Maureen Spencer instantly understood the heavy implication behind Henley’s words.

Vesta froze, her fingers curling into tight fists as she remained deathly silent.

It took Leah a moment to notice the ashen faces around the room before the reality of Henley’s statement finally sank in.

Thorne had returned, but he was completely ignoring Vesta.

The hopeful smile vanished from Leah’s face, replaced by a look of rising panic and sheer disbelief. “He hasn’t given Vesta a single reply since this whole mess started. And now he’s back and still ignoring her? Does that mean—”

Nobody answered her.

The arrogant certainty that had anchored them just a few days ago was entirely gone.

Even if Thorne couldn’t publicly intervene to save their companies because of the optics surrounding The Henderson Group and Lloyd’s political career, he could have easily sent a private text to comfort Vesta and ease their fears.

But Thorne hadn’t done a single thing.

Up until this very moment, he hadn’t replied to a single message.

Vesta said nothing, standing up abruptly to head upstairs.

“Vesta―” Henley started to call out.

Maureen reached out, grabbing his arm and shaking her head, signaling him to keep his mouth shut.

Vesta ignored them all. The second she reached her room, she pulled out her phone and dialed Thorne’s number.

It rang, but no one picked up.

The call automatically disconnected. She dialed again, but the result was the same empty ringing.

Vesta didn’t try a third time. After a long, suffocating silence, she typed out a message: [I heard you’re back in town. Do you have time to grab dinner?]

She hit send and waited. Minutes ticked by, turning into an eternity of agonizing silence. There was no reply.

Downstairs, Henley and Maureen knew exactly what she was doing. They knew she had rushed up to contact Thorne.

When Vesta finally reappeared at the

top of the stairs much later, the pale, hollow look on her face confirmed their worst fears. Thorne was still ignoring her.

That night, a suffocating cloud of dread settled over the Hawkins and Spencer households. Almost no one slept.

Georgina Spencer couldn’t take the anxiety anymore. “Vesta, why don’t you try reaching out to Granger and the others?”

Vesta didn’t respond.

The truth was, over the past few days, she hadn’t just been ghosted by Thorne. Granger and Moran hadn’t contacted her either.

Her silence was all the answer her

family needed. They all knew that

while Granger and Moran were on decent terms with Vesta, their true oyalty lay entirely with Thorne

But deep down, Vesta couldn’t shake a chilling realization. Granger and Moran’s sudden distance wasn’t just them following Thorne’s tead it felts like something much worse-