Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 286

It was Padgett Novak.

Padgett hurried past, looking nothing like his usual composed self. His clothes were different, and his hair—normally so meticulously styled—was a mess, strands falling haphazardly across his forehead.

Bianca opened her mouth to call out to him, but remembered she had more pressing matters and let it go.

Padgett moved quickly, disappearing from sight within minutes.

Just then, Jude’s car pulled up. Bianca slid into the passenger seat, and they sped off toward the accident scene.

By the time they arrived, Seth was already being loaded into the ambulance.

The silver-topped Maybach had slammed into a roadside sculpture, the whole body of the car overturned, its front end crushed nearly beyond recognition.

Traffic officers were busy cordoning off the area and directing the flow of cars around the wreck.

Bianca and Jude followed the ambulance to the hospital.

Only when they arrived did Bianca realize how badly Seth was hurt.

There was a gash above his eyebrow where glass had cut into his skin, deep enough that he’d need stitches. Bruises and scrapes covered the rest of him to varying degrees.

Thankfully, none of the injuries were life-threatening. Bianca let out a long, shaky breath of relief.

While she sat with Seth as the doctors treated his wounds, Lillian called to check in.

Bianca gave her a brief rundown of what had happened.

With others present, neither of them mentioned anything about Noreen. They both knew better than to bring it up.

Lillian, for her part, had learned to read between the lines. She knew Bianca would want to know what happened next, so once they hung up, she sent a text.

“Noreen was taken away by Carman.”

Bianca froze. “What was he doing there?”

“Who knows!” Lillian replied, clearly frustrated.

Jude and Healy walked in just in time to hear that, and Jude groaned, “If you two have the energy to flirt, clearly your head’s still working.”

Healy snickered, “What, did you forget how to drive? How’d you manage to hit the curb?”

Seth shrugged, “I was on the phone. Got distracted.”

Bianca’s face fell. “I never should have called you.”

Seth reached for her hand. “Come on, I’m fine. It was my fault for not paying attention. It has nothing to do with you.”

Jude rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright, we’ll get out of here before we choke on your lovey-dovey act. First, we miss out on drinks, and now we’re stuck watching you two? No thanks.”

Since Seth was alright, Jude and Healy didn’t hang around.

On their way out, Jude suddenly remembered something. “By the way, where were you earlier?” he asked Healy. “You know how long Bianca and I waited for you?”

Healy glanced away, his eyes evasive. “Just had something to take care of. That’s why I was late.”