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Yonas grabbed both handles and rolled his suitcases over the threshold into the grand foyer. The very second his feet crossed the entryway, an icy, sharp draft swept through the open space, brushing across the back of my neck so fast it made my skin prickle with goosebumps.

My attention immediately drifted up toward the curve of the massive staircase, half-expecting to see a dark shadow or a flicker of movement leaning over the banister.

Nothing was there… just the silent hardwood and the glow of the chandelier.

I shook the eerie feeling off, took a quiet breath, and pulled the heavy front door shut behind him.

Yonas stopped dead in the center of the foyer, turning a slow circle as he took in the soaring ceilings, the imported marble floors, and the polished iron railings.

“Damn. This place is huge.”

“Yeah,” I said, resting my hands on my hips. “It is.”

He walked a little farther inside, tilting his head back to admire the crystal chandelier hanging high above the living room.

“When Willow reached out to me, she mentioned y’all were staying in a mansion now, but shit. You could lose a whole family in here and not find them for three days.”

“Trust me, I’ve considered losing Willow more than once since we got here.”

Yonas let out a deep laugh, glancing around the empty hallway. “Where is she?”

“Upstairs in her room, working on client presentations.”

“And Kaidence?”

“At school. He gets out in about an hour.”

“Your grandma?”

“Resting,” I answered softly.

He nodded slowly, surveying the high archways and the custom molding along the walls once more. “Nice. Really nice.”

I stood there watching him in silence, studying the tight line of his jaw and the slight heaviness around his eyes.

Something was definitely off.

Yonas was usually the type of man who walked into a room and instantly commanded the space. He had an effortless corporate swagger, loved to crack jokes, flirted without even trying, and always found something witty to tease me about. That day, he seemed distant. His smile was present, but it was sitting on the surface like a mask, never quite reaching his eyes.

My eyes dropped back to his heavy luggage by the doorway. “Alright, Yonas. What’s really going on?”

He turned toward me, blinking like he hadn’t expected me to call him out so fast. “What you mean?”

“Yonas. Don’t do that. I know you.”

He looked at me for a long moment, then released a slow, defeated sigh that seemed to drain all the leftover energy right out of his posture.

He motioned vaguely toward the formal living room down the hall. “Can we sit down?”

Now I was genuinely concerned.

Yonas never asked for a sit-down unless something was seriously wrong.

“Yeah. Come on.”

We walked into the expansive living room, and he dropped his bags just inside the archway before sinking heavily onto the large gray sectional.

I took a seat on the armchair opposite him, resting my elbows on my knees as I waited for him to speak.