Chapter 328
Chapter 328:
“I can’t,” the receptionist squeaked. “You don’t have an appointment, and Oracle left strict instructions p>
“I don’t need an appointment to see my wife,” Liam cut her off, leaning over the desk. The scent of stale whiskey had been replaced by the sharp tang of iodine and painkillers. “Tell her I’m not leaving until I look her in the eye p>
The elevator doors behind the desk slid open with a soft chime.
Gabriel Ross didn’t step out; he was wheeled out by a stern-faced nurse. He looked frail, his skin the color of parchment, an oxygen cannula resting beneath his nose. A blanket was draped over his legs, hiding the atrophy of his muscles, but his eyes were sharp, burning with the same intelligence that had built an empire.
Gabriel raised a trembling hand to halt the nurse a few feet away. He looked at Liam with a mixture of pity and disdain, his voice thin, amplified only by the silent acoustics of the stunned lobby.
“Oracle has no interest in Kensington Global’s collaboration, Liam,” Gabriel wheezed, each word costing him effort. “And neither does Skye. Go home. Heal p>
Liam took a step forward, his hands curling into fists at his sides, wincing as the movement pulled at his stitches. “You don’t speak for her, Gabriel. Not anymore. I saw her car. I know she’s watching p>
Gabriel didn’t flinch. He just tilted his head toward the mezzanine above them. “She sees everything, Liam. That doesn’t mean she cares p>
Liam followed his gaze. For a second, his heart stopped.
Skye was standing by the glass railing. She was looking down at him. She wore black, severe and sharp, and her face was unreadable. She looked like a judge watching an execution. She didn’t wave. She didn’t smile. She just watched, her gaze stripping him bare, acknowledging his survival with nothing more than a cold, indifferent blink.
Liam moved toward the stairs, instinct taking over. He needed to get to her. He needed to explain why he was still breathing, why the universe had denied him his exit.
Two security guards—massive men in dark suits—stepped in front of him. They didn’t say a word. They just became a wall.
Gabriel signaled the nurse to turn him around. Over his shoulder, he whispered, “You should go home, Liam. Old debts have a way of coming due when the sun goes down. And you look like you’re already running on borrowed time p>
Liam looked up at the mezzanine, but Skye was gone. The spot where she had stood was empty. The absence of her hit him harder than the bullet ever could have.
𝗢ո𝗅y c𝗈𝘮рl𝗲𝗍еd no𝗏𝘦𝘭𝗌 o𝗻 𝘣𝖾𝗅𝘯o𝘷е𝗹𝗌.со𝗆
He turned and walked out. He didn’t run. He walked with a stiffness that screamed of held-back violence and physical pain.
Outside, the sky had turned a bruised purple. The paparazzi were waiting at the curb. As soon as Liam pushed through the revolving doors, the flashes blinded him.
“Mr. Kensington! Is it true you’re meeting with the Sterling heiress p>
“Sources say you attempted suicide last week! Was it an overdose p>
Liam ignored them. He shoved past a camera lens that got too close and dove into the back of his waiting sedan. He slammed the door, shutting out the noise, but he couldn’t shut out the headline that flashed across his phone screen.
“KENSINGTON & STERLING: A KINDLED FLAME OR A FINAL GOODBYE p>
He threw the phone onto the leather seat. Someone was playing games. Someone was spinning a narrative that trapped him in a cage of his own making.
“Drive,” he ordered the driver, his head throbbing in rhythm with the engine. “Home p>
The drive to Kensington Manor was long and silent. By the time they pulled through the iron gates, the storm had broken. Rain lashed against the windows, turning the world into a blur of gray and black.
The manor stood dark on the hill. The east wing was boarded up, the scars of the fire still visible on the blackened stone. It didn’t look like a home. It looked like a mausoleum.