Chapter 689
Chapter 689:
“Or,” Skye said, looking at the man in the bed, “they might just find a common enemy. Victoria is a survivor. Right now, that’s exactly what Julian needs p>
The monitor beeped steadily. Julian squeezed Skye’s hand.
The game was changing again. And this time, the board was bigger.
The rhythmic beeping of the cardiac monitor was the only thing tethering the room to reality. It was a sterile, monotonous sound, counting out the seconds of a life that hung in the balance—or so it appeared to anyone watching from the hallway. Julian Vance lay on the hospital bed, his skin the color of parchment. The tubes snaking from his arms and nose made him look small, defeated.
But I knew better now.
The faint pressure of his fingers against my palm—a signal given just moments ago while Liam stood beside me—had shattered the illusion of his demise.
Liam let out a breath that was half sigh, half laugh. He looked from Julian’s hand, still gripping mine, to the door.
“I’m going to go get us some food,” Liam said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. He didn’t look surprised; he looked relieved, the tension in his shoulders finally unknotting. “I have a feeling our patient is going to be hungry when the coast is clear. I’ll stand guard outside for a bit, give you two a moment to… strategize p>
“Thanks, Liam,” I whispered.
Liam squeezed my shoulder, his thumb brushing the nape of my neck in a silent gesture of support, before slipping out of the room. The door clicked shut, sealing us in.
I turned back to the bed. “He’s gone, Julian. You can drop the act p>
Julian’s eyes snapped open.
There was no grogginess, no confusion. His pupils were sharp, clear, and dancing with a terrifying amount of amusement.
“Shh,” he hissed.
He brought a finger to his lips, his eyes darting toward the door. “Don’t scare away my audience, Skye. The nurse is due for rounds in four minutes p>
F𝘪D𝗙𝘴 oո 𝗯𝖾𝗅𝗇𝘰𝘷еlѕ.c𝗈𝘮
I stared at him. My brain couldn’t process the shift, even though I had felt the signal. One second he was the tragic victim; the next, he looked like a cat who had just swallowed the canary and the cage.
“You…” I choked out, the residual fear from the last few hours bubbling up into anger. “You’re enjoying this p>
Julian sat up. He reached for the IV in his hand and peeled it off. It wasn’t embedded in his vein; it was taped to the skin, the needle tip resting harmlessly against the surface. A prop. A masterful, infuriating prop.
“If I don’t play dead, how do I get the vultures to land?” Julian stretched, his neck cracking audibly. He rubbed his chest where the EKG leads were attached. “Those things itch like hell. And for the record, I’m not enjoying the itch—just the results p>
Rage, hot and sudden, flooded through me. I stood up, my chair scraping loudly against the floor.
“Do you have any idea what you put me through?” I hissed, keeping my voice low but filling it with venom. “Liam was ready to buy this hospital just to get you better doctors. I’ve been sitting here blaming myself for three hours! I thought I lost you, Julian p>
“I know,” Julian said. His expression softened, the mockery fading into something resembling apology. “And I appreciate the cover you provided with those fake acquisition contracts yesterday. You successfully blocked Eleanor’s legitimate channels. That was brilliant, Skye. But that’s exactly why I had to do this. She needed to believe I was out of the game permanently p>