Chapter 195
Chapter 195:
While June was absorbed in conversation with a group of Wall Street bankers, Abbie stepped behind a massive marble pillar. Her hands trembled so violently she nearly dropped the vial. She unscrewed the cap and poured the entire contents into one of the champagne flutes.
The clear liquid dissolved instantly into the golden alcohol — no bubbles, no color change. A perfect, invisible contamination.
June finished her conversation and turned around.
“Abbie, get me a glass of water. My throat is dry p>
Abbie stepped out from behind the pillar, body rigid. There was no water on the tray.
“Dr. Erickson, the water station is all the way across the room,” she said, her voice fracturing. “I have this low-alcohol champagne. It will help p>
June didn’t suspect a thing. She reached out and took the glass.
From the shadows, the tattooed man smiled. He pulled out his phone and texted Alycia that the bait had been taken.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘣𝘦ѕ𝘵 𝘳𝗲𝖺𝗱in𝗀 exp𝖾𝘳i𝗲ո𝖼𝘦 o𝘯
June raised the glass and drank.
Abbie watched her swallow it. The guilt tore through her chest like a serrated blade. She turned and walked quickly toward the kitchen, unable to face what she had just done.
Less than five minutes later, the drug detonated in June’s bloodstream.
A wave of violent dizziness crashed through her. The chandeliers above fractured into double vision. Her breathing turned shallow and searingly hot. A strange, terrifying heat ignited at the base of her spine and shot through her nervous system, dissolving the strength in her legs.
June’s mind cut through the sensation with clinical precision. This wasn’t alcohol. She had been drugged.
She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. The sharp pain forced a sliver of clarity back into her dissolving consciousness. She seized the edge of a high-top table to keep from falling.
“June? You look terrible. Are you all right?” Brogan materialized beside her, his eyes sharp with concern. He reached out and caught her bare arm to steady her.
The moment his hand made contact, the drug amplified the sensation a hundredfold. A violent shudder tore through her body — but the drug, compounded by the trauma of Cole’s recent aggression, triggered a visceral, overwhelming revulsion at being touched. Her rational mind recognized Brogan. Her body reacted with pure panic.
She wrenched her arm free.
“Don’t touch me,” June gasped, her voice a harsh rasp. “The restroom — I need to wash my face p>
Brogan’s frown deepened. “I’m coming with you p>
“No. Stay away from me,” she ordered, her voice fierce despite everything unraveling inside her.
She had to get out of the public eye before she lost control entirely. She grabbed her crutches and pushed through the heavy side doors, her movements jerky and uncoordinated, heading down the long, isolated corridor toward the restrooms.
Brogan stood frozen for a moment, every instinct screaming. He turned immediately and signaled the head of hotel security.
But in the hallway, the tattooed man had already slipped through the doors. He moved silently behind June, closing the distance.
June’s vision was failing. She hit the cold wall of the corridor, her chest heaving as the darkness pressed in from all sides.