This time, Mike didn't break down in tears as he used to. Instead, he was disturbingly calm. "I'm sorry, Mike," Lily said, unsure what else to offer.

Mike grunted and turned toward the house. Though he didn't blame Lily, it still left her feeling miserable. Alexander put his arm around his wife's shoulder. "It's not your fault," he reassured her. Lily looked over her shoulder and nodded, knowing she'd done her best, but still burdened by guilt.

Inside, the living room was unusually quiet. The expected joyous babble following their reunion was absent. After a moment, Mike broke the silence. "Congrats on regaining your freedom, Lily," he said. Lily smiled sheepishly. "Thanks."

"How'd you escape? Or did they let you go?" Mike asked. The others wanted to ask the same questions but hesitated in his presence. His question relieved them; one finally asked, "Yeah, how did you get out?"

"Prince Ross helped me escape," Lily said solemnly.

"His Highness?!" Austin exclaimed, shocked.

"Yeah," she nodded, proceeding to recount the events.

"Queen Yasmin still refuses to change her mind, huh?" Austin said regretfully.

Dominic snorted. "I knew it! The older she gets, the more stubborn she becomes. She won't give up easily; she's worked on that experiment for too long."

Silence fell again as they noticed Mike's distress. A tremor in his voice betrayed his emotions as he asked, "So, Nick was still on the table after you left, and they might have proceeded with the experiment?"

No one answered; they understood his apprehension.

Suddenly, Austin exclaimed, "Ross!"

Lily turned to him. "What?"

"Since His Highness is still there, we can ask him if Nick is safe, right?" Austin explained.

Mike nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, you're right! Can you call him? I'd like to know if Nicky's still..." He faltered, unable to utter the word "alive."

Austin pulled out his phone. "Sure, I'll call him right away."

"I think he..." Lily began, then paused.

As Austin dialed, he asked, "Yeah?"

Lily shook her head. "Nothing. Go ahead."