Veronica's thoughts mirrored the situation perfectly.
She composed a quick response to Cullen's message.
"I'm occupied at the moment. And remember what you promised—keep her away from my grandmother's residence."
Cullen's reply came shortly after: "Understood."
The conversation ended there, with no further messages from him.
During the third afternoon of the June Lewis holiday, Veronica was preparing for a family rafting excursion at a scenic location when her phone buzzed with a notification. Whitney had sent her a photograph. The subject: Niall.
Whitney was currently in Rowland for a fashion event she was participating in.
Veronica examined the image before typing back, "Is she attending your show?"
"Unfortunately yes," Whitney replied. "Talk about ruining the atmosphere."
She followed up with another message: "She's by herself though. Cullen isn't with her from what I can see."
"Alright," Veronica responded without much interest in the situation. She changed the subject, "When are you heading back?"
"Still uncertain," Whitney answered. They exchanged a few more messages before Whitney mentioned she needed to attend to other matters.
Approximately fifteen minutes later, Veronica's phone lit up with an incoming video call from Whitney. She hesitated momentarily before accepting, and was immediately confronted with the sight of both Niall and Cullen.
Whitney made a disgruntled noise and whispered, "He just showed up. The fashion show ended, and now he's here collecting her."
Niall appeared to be familiar with several attendees and was engaged in animated conversation, while Cullen stood patiently beside her, observing her social interactions with a watchful eye.
Dario had predicted that Cullen would bring Niall along on his business journey, and his forecast had proven accurate.
What caused Veronica's brow to furrow, however, was the absence of Sabrina from their company.
As this thought crossed her mind, the camera suddenly jolted. For a moment, Veronica feared something had happened to Whitney, but she quickly realized that Cullen had caught sight of the camera.
He'd unmistakably noticed Whitney recording.
The unexpected eye contact startled Whitney. Before she could react, Cullen casually averted his gaze as if he hadn't seen anything unusual.
Despite Whitney and Veronica's longstanding friendship—a relationship Cullen was well aware of—he made no attempt to approach or acknowledge her despite their chance encounter in a foreign country.
Then again, this was consistent with how Cullen behaved toward all of Veronica's connections, so his disregard for Whitney wasn't unexpected.
Having been spotted, Whitney was reluctant to direct the camera toward him again.
Veronica decided she didn't want to dwell on Cullen and Niall's dynamics. Instead, her thoughts turned to Sabrina. "I need to make a call," she told Whitney. "Let's end this for now. When you return, dinner's on me."
"Sounds good," Whitney quickly agreed. "Talk to you later."
After disconnecting the video call, Veronica immediately dialed Sabrina's number. The call failed to connect.
After a moment's consideration, she switched to a video call attempt. This time, success.
Sabrina's face lit up with excitement upon seeing Veronica. "Mom!" she exclaimed.
Veronica noticed she was inside a moving vehicle. "Where are you right now?" she inquired.
"I'm overseas," Sabrina replied enthusiastically. "I just took a helicopter ride to witness the wildebeest migration. There were countless animals moving in an endless stream. Watching from the helicopter was absolutely breathtaking!"
Veronica was momentarily stunned.
Wildebeest migration in June?
The revelation hit Veronica like a wave. Cullen and Niall were currently in Rowland, not Maeve.
She was aware that since Cullen had assumed responsibility for Sabrina, he'd ensured bodyguards accompanied her whenever he wasn't available, giving her freedom to explore as she wished.
Nevertheless, Sabrina was still so young. Now Cullen and Niall had traveled to Rowland, leaving Sabrina to journey such a considerable distance with only security personnel for company.
What if an emergency arose?
Veronica tightened her grip on her phone, struggling to maintain her composure. "Did you travel there with your father?" she asked.
"No," Sabrina answered. "Dad mentioned he was too busy to accompany me, so he suggested I find something enjoyable to do on my own."
"I saw the animal migration on television previously and was really eager to experience it firsthand, so I mentioned it to Dad, and he arranged for someone to escort me here."