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Chapter 328
Chapter 328:
His voice was completely devoid of warmth. It was the exact mechanical tone he used to dismiss junior executives in a boardroom.
June blinked. Her brain struggled to process the sudden shift.
“My private jet is waiting on the tarmac,” Crawford continued, his words clipping the air like scissors. “Due to the nature of the FBI’s ongoing investigation and my status as a primary witness, I will be placed in a secure, isolated rehabilitation program for the next few weeks. All external communications will be strictly monitored and limited p>
He looked directly into her eyes.
“It’s a necessary security protocol,” Crawford said — then his eyes dropped deliberately to a fixed point on the pristine white blanket, refusing to meet her gaze. A muscle feathered along his clenched jaw with the physical effort of maintaining the facade.
The subtext was a brutal, silent slap to the face.
I am busy. You are a liability. Leave me alone.
June felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water directly over her head. The cold shock paralyzed her lungs.
She stared at the man in the bed. He looked like a ruthless, untouchable CEO arranging the logistics of a terminated business contract.
June swallowed hard. She forced the sudden, agonizing sting of disappointment down her throat.
“I understand,” June replied. Her voice was perfectly polite, perfectly distant. “I will let you rest p>
𝖳𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗇 𝗈𝗇
Crawford watched the light in her eyes completely extinguish.
Underneath the white hospital blanket, his right hand curled into a fist. He gripped the thin cotton sheet so hard his knuckles turned bone-white. The physical effort it took to keep his arm at his side — to stop himself from reaching out and pulling her into his chest — was tearing him apart.
The head nurse stood frozen near the monitors, feeling the temperature in the room plummet. The air was so thick with unspoken agony it was hard to breathe.
June did not waste another second. She turned on her heel and walked toward the door, her spine perfectly straight, refusing to let him see how deeply his coldness had stung.
Her hand wrapped around the metal door handle. She pushed it open.
“June p>
Crawford’s voice cracked like a whip across the room — hoarse, tearing at his throat.
June’s footsteps stopped instantly. She froze in the doorway. She did not turn around.
Crawford stared at the back of her head. He dragged air into his burning lungs. He had to finish it. He had to sever the tie completely to keep her safe.
“When you get back to New York,” Crawford rasped, his voice dripping with forced, cruel authority, “focus entirely on your laboratory. Do not get distracted by anything else p>
It sounded like a command from a boss to an employee. It was the ultimate, lethal cut to any personal connection they had built.
June’s left shoulder twitched slightly beneath the black medical sling.
She did not say a single word in response.
She stepped out into the hallway and let the heavy door swing shut behind her, locking the suffocating silence inside the room.