To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 209

“Is it Brian’s, or Ryan’s?”

He paused, then added with a sly, meaningful twist, “Or could it be Jason Lawrence’s?”

Elara fixed her gaze on his face—he was trying hard to appear nonchalant, but his features practically screamed gossip. The swell of emotion in her chest gradually settled.

She arched an eyebrow, her voice steady. “Maybe it’s yours. Would you step up?”

Inside the car, the sudden silence felt almost otherworldly, a bubble cut off from reality.

Zane was quiet for a couple of seconds before he replied, “If I do something, I don’t run from the consequences.”

He turned his head to look out the window, his tone light, but the slight flutter of his lashes gave him away.

Just then, Elara’s phone rang.

It was Yves Caldwell calling.

She realized she’d been in touch with Yves Caldwell a lot lately.

“Assistant Caldwell, what’s going on?”

Yves’s voice was urgent. “Ma’am, Mr. Vincent was in a car accident. His right arm’s torn up pretty badly—you need to come sign an emergency consent form.”

Elara’s fingers clenched instinctively. “How did this happen?”

“Mr. Gareth’s been stirring up the old guard from when Patriarch Hackett Vincent ran things. They’ve backed Mr. Vincent into a corner. Lately, he’s been desperately searching for products similar to your company’s new truck batteries. Today, he was supposed to catch a flight, but—”

Yves let out a heavy sigh.

Elara pressed, “Was it an accident, or something more?”

“It’s hard to say for sure, but I was in the passenger seat and came out fine. Odds are, the investigation will lean toward foul play. I wanted to call you on the way to the hospital, but Mr. Vincent insisted you shouldn’t know. He actually seemed relieved that you’re no longer a target.”

Elara’s throat tightened. “Which hospital?”

“Harmony General.”

She hung up, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

“Could you take me to Harmony General?”

She directed the question to Quincy Shelton.

Quincy glanced in the rearview mirror, reading the distress on his boss’s face, and quietly told the driver to change course.

Elara fell silent, her mood visibly darkened.

Zane spoke up, his tone cool. “You’d think being widowed would almost be a relief, wouldn’t you?”

Why was she worrying about him?

Why was she about to sign an emergency consent form for him?

Had he ever looked back for her?

God, Yves Caldwell almost had her convinced she owed him something.

She gave a bitter laugh, tugged her coat tighter, and turned to leave, the bag of medicine swinging at her side.

She barely reached the front doors before nearly colliding with Lina, who’d just hurried out of a cab.

Lina, still dressed in white, looked as fragile as fine porcelain, her eyes red-rimmed from crying at the cemetery.

Seeing Elara heading out, Lina immediately glanced back toward the hospital, her face openly hostile.

“Weren’t you going to divorce him—be the bigger person, let me have him? What are you doing here now? Don’t think I don’t know you’re two-faced, Miss Artiste.”

Elara raised an eyebrow. “You’re right, I can’t match your consistency. No one lies and schemes with quite your flair.”

“Elara, don’t think I don’t know you went to see my mother the night before she died. Your hands are just as bloody as mine. You’re a monster, and I’ll never let you off the hook.”

Elara let out a cold laugh. “This monster? You and your family made me this way. Now your mother’s out of the game, and Gareth’s not exactly your lapdog. So tell me, Miss Winters, where are you going to find another pawn to hide the fact that you’re a wolf in lamb’s clothing?”