Chapter 544
Chapter 544:
Julian put a hand on Liam’s chest. “You need to let the doctors work. And you need to get that arm looked at p>
Liam looked at Julian’s hand, then up at his face. “Get out of my way, Vance. She’s my wife p>
“Ex-wife,” Julian corrected him coldly. “And right now, she is the CEO of Oracle Holdings. Which makes her my business partner and my responsibility p>
Liam froze. The title hung in the air like a shield.
“I know who she is,” Liam whispered, his voice rough with exhaustion. “I know what she built. I know she owns half the city’s infrastructure. But right now, she’s not a CEO. She’s the woman I failed to protect p>
Julian’s expression softened, just a fraction. He saw the desperation in Liam’s eyes—not the shock of discovery, but the crushing weight of reality. Liam knew the stakes. He knew exactly how high Skye had climbed, and how far she had fallen in that warehouse.
“Then act like you deserve to be by her side,” Julian said. “Clean yourself up. If Oracle sees you bleeding out on her floor, she’ll try to manage the crisis instead of healing p>
Julian turned and walked toward the waiting ambulance.
“Come if you want. But stay out of the way. If she dies, Kensington, I will personally bury you next to her p>
Liam stood on the dock for a moment, watching the ambulance lights flash. He looked down at his bloodstained hands.
She was Oracle. She was a titan. And he had treated her like something fragile, only to let her shatter.
He clenched his fists.
“I’ll earn it back,” he whispered to the wind. “I’ll earn it all back p>
He started walking toward the house.
Meanwhile, in a hidden, fortified bunker deep in the Nevada mountains, Lucian Graves stood by a reinforced window. The warehouse operation was burned. The deal with Dominic was dead. Skye was gone.
He held a single pearl earring in his hand. It was Skye’s. She had lost it in the struggle.
The door opened, and a disheveled figure stumbled in. It was Sienna Quinn, looking frantic, clutching a designer bag as if it were a lifeline. She was a fugitive now, fleeing her own arrest warrant for embezzlement, hoping Lucian was still a safe harbor.
𝗢𝗋𝘨𝗮ո𝗂ze 𝘺𝗈u𝗿 r𝖾аdі𝗻g li𝘀𝘵 𝗈𝗇 𝖻e𝗅nо𝘷еl𝘴.с𝘰𝘮
“Lucian!” Sienna gasped. “They’re freezing my accounts! You have to help me p>
Lucian looked at the earring. He crushed it in his hand, turning the pearl into dust. He didn’t even turn to look at the desperate woman behind him.
“We are going to war, Sienna,” Lucian said softly. “And in war, there is no charity p>
The Vance Estate was a fortress of solitude and old money.
Skye woke up in the master guest suite. The room was bathed in soft, filtered sunlight. The air smelled of lavender and sterile saline.
She tried to sit up, but her body felt like it was made of lead. An IV line ran from her arm to a stand next to the bed.
“Careful,” a voice said.
Julian was sitting in a wingback chair by the window, reading a thick medical journal. He closed it and stood up.
“You’ve been out for forty-eight hours,” he said, pouring a glass of water. “The detox was… intense p>
Skye took the glass. Her hands shook, water sloshing over the rim. Julian steadied it for her.
“Liam?” Skye asked after drinking.