She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 631

After a deep conversation, Sagan completely let his guard down around Loyce. "The schedule changed," he confessed. "They're coming for Saba early."

"The lion? Tomorrow?" Loyce asked.

Sagan nodded, his eyes full of heartache. "Ayla hasn't stopped crying. She can't bear to let him go so soon, and I'm worried about her. I wanted to stay home tomorrow morning to see Saba off with her, but I have to work. I can't get away."

"Have you thought about reconsidering?" Loyce asked gently.

"Reconsidering what?"

"Changing the sanctuary or something," she said. "I don't have a good feeling about the Klein Sanctuary."

She didn't mention the suspiciously convenient timing—Saba being transferred early, right as Corinne arrived ahead of schedule. A bad feeling was gnawing at her.

Sagan looked confused. "Is there something wrong with that place?"

Without concrete proof, Loyce couldn't explain her suspicions. "Is it impossible to change?"

He shook his head. "The contract is signed. We can't back out now. Negotiating with another sanctuary would take too much time, and the neighbors are already furious. If I drag this out any longer, I'm afraid someone will just shoot Saba from outside the fence. Sending him back to a sanctuary early is the best thing for him."

Loyce understood his dilemma. After a moment of thought, she offered, "I'm actually quite interested in Saba. As an influential investor, I could tell your boss I need you to take me back to the resort. That would give you the morning off to see Saba onto the transport with your daughter."

Sagan's eyes lit up. "Really?! You'd sacrifice your vacation time just to get me half a day off?"

"Why not? Would it be alright if I came to your house with you? I'd love to document the moment and share your story online. It would be great publicity for wildlife conservation, don't you think?"

Storm didn't pry, but he couldn't help thinking this was an awfully grand entrance. The men he'd spotted were elite operatives of the Costa family. Unless there was a massive, high-stakes mission, you'd never catch them out in the field. Deploying them just to shadow Hank and protect a girl seemed like massive overkill.

The next morning, after giving a heads-up to the Bloomberry staff, Loyce rode in Sagan's car toward his house.

When they were still an hour away, she received an urgent text from Storm.

The transport team from the Klein Sanctuary had arrived early. They were forcing Saba into a cage. The little girl had been crying hysterically, which had agitated the lion. In the end, the mother had locked the girl in her room.

Storm had intended to keep watching, but there had been a knock at his door. He was currently posing as a landscape painter renting a room nearby, and his elderly landlady had brought him breakfast. Distracted by thanking her, he hadn't noticed the window of the child's bedroom opening in the house behind him.

Realizing they were too late, Loyce watched as Sagan received a call from his wife. He slammed a hand against the steering wheel, his face etched with frustration. "Why did they have to come so early? Couldn't they just wait for me to get back so we could say goodbye to Saba together?"