A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 89

“I don’t regret it.”

Elissa answered without hesitation.

She’d already asked herself this question before, so her response was ready.

If it hadn’t been for this marriage–if Matriarch Paige Murphy hadn’t needed to keep the Atwater family in mind–she would’ve ended up a broken mess, her wings clipped long ago.

Even the Traditional Medicine Center wouldn’t have kept her on for long if the Murphy family found out about her.

Truth be told, neither the Atwater family nor even Frank ever truly treated her badly.

She’d once hoped Frank would be a good husband, but he hadn’t been. Still, it wasn’t anything that shattered her world.

For three years, she’d considered herself content.

Rowan let out a soft, mocking laugh. “You loved him that much?”

His tone was laced with sarcasm, but his dark eyes pinned her, as if determined to see through every last one of her defenses.

Elissa’s lips curled into a smile. “I did.”

She tilted her head, gazing up at him with eyes as clear as spring water. With a teasing smile, she asked, “Mr. Murphy, you seem awfully invested in this. Been single so long you can’t stand to see a friend loved by someone else?”

Frank and Rowan had once been good friends–a lifetime ago, it felt like.

Rowan’s expression froze for a split second, then he shrugged it off, replying airily, “Who said I was single?”

This time, Elissa was the one caught off guard.

Chapter 89

She blinked in surprise, an unspoken emotion flickering through her eyes. before she could catch hold of it.

She almost faltered, but after a moment, she managed a polite smile. “Well, congratulations.”

“Don’t forget to send me an invitation when you get married.”

She climbed into her car, but the whole conversation left her feeling

unsettled.

After turning it over in her mind, she finally figured it out.

It was jealousy, plain and simple.

Like a younger sister watching her brother get a girlfriend–suddenly, the person she was closest to belonged to someone else. At first, it stings a little. That’s normal, isn’t it?

Even though she and Rowan had fallen out, they’d shared so many years. of their lives, always relying on each other. Now that their bond had faded and he’d found someone truly close, it was only natural she’d feel a twinge of something.

It was normal, right?

Right.

Satisfied with her own logic, Elissa shook her head hard, banishing the messy thoughts, and drove home.

The next morning, a phone call from the police woke her.

Because of Hickey’s injury, Elissa–now a prime suspect–had to go down to the station for questioning.

“We’ve been to the hospital. The doctors said whoever brought the victim. in performed first aid immediately,” said the female detective taking her statement, her tone calm and professional. “I heard that was you?”

“It was,” Elissa replied with a nod.

“What’s your relationship to Hickey?”

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Chapter 61

“He’s my husband’s nephew.”

“And his mother, Marcia? Any history between you two? Any grudges?”

“Imaginary romantic rival?” Elissa’s voice was flat. “She thinks I want to steal my own husband from her.”

The detective paused, pen hovering above the paper as she tried to make. sense of it. “You mean… she’s having an affair with your husband?”

“You’ve got it right.” Elissa nodded.

The detective, falling back on habit, mused, “If that’s the case, you’d have

a motive.”

Elissa blinked, thrown by the logic. “That’s not quite right.”

Her voice grew serious as she tried to untangle the web for the detective. “She sees me as a rival, but I don’t see her that way. Whatever’s going on between them, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“If my husband wants a divorce, I’ll sign the papers without a second thought.”

“You will not.”

The door to the interview room banged open. Frank strode in, his tone brooking no argument and his face thunderous.

He’d heard she’d been summoned by the police and had come straight from his meeting.

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