Xena didn’t notice the chill hidden behind his smile—she simply thought Darren was genuinely worried about Noah. She hurried to reassure him, “Darren, you mustn’t worry so much. Noah’s always been lucky; he’ll pull through this. I’m sure of it.”
No sooner had the words left her lips than the hospital room door creaked open.
Lena stumbled in, pale as a ghost. Sweat-soaked hair clung to her cheeks, and her hand—the one stabbed by a fork—was haphazardly wrapped in a blood-soaked napkin. Crimson dripped steadily from between her fingers.
“Darren…”
She ground out every word through clenched teeth. “That wretched woman—she refuses to come!”
Darren took in Lena’s disheveled state and the bitter message she carried. His chest heaved with rage. He stared at Noah, lying motionless on the bed, uncertain if he’d ever wake again, and fury swept through him.
“Charlotte… She actually…”
She was really willing to abandon her own son.
Xena hurried to Lena’s side, feigning concern as she reached out. “Let me take a look at your hand, Lena—come, you need to see a doctor.”
Without waiting for a response, she gently guided Lena out of the room.
Now only Darren remained, his imposing figure cast in stark relief by the harsh overhead lights. The critical seventy-two-hour window was slipping away, second by second, and Charlotte—their only hope—was determined not to show her face.
Last time Noah landed in intensive care, Charlotte was frantic, pacing like a caged animal; she’d even slapped Darren three times right outside the ICU doors. How could she be so cold now? What had changed?
His thoughts were spinning when his phone buzzed. It was one of his men. “Mr. Harrington, we’ve decrypted that encrypted IP address you asked about.”
Darren’s eyes sharpened. “Who’s behind it?”
“It’s registered anonymously, but we traced the phone number used to create it. The source is in Avalor.”
Avalor? Could it be Bradley?
The name flared in Darren’s mind, and a glacial spark lit in his eyes.
Bradley—the very man who’d forged Xena’s identity, manipulated her into impersonating Shortie, and muddied Darren’s judgment at every turn. Was all this just to bring down the Harrington Group?
There was a pause on the line, his subordinate’s tone suddenly hesitant. “Mr. Harrington, there’s something else we found…”

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