LOGINChapter 78By 6:00 AM, the storm had finally broken.The flashing red and blue lights of half a dozen police cruisers painted the front of the Frost Estate in an eerie, pulsing glow. Julian stood on the front steps, flanked by Zara’s private security detail, explaining to a highly confused police captain how six elite mercenaries had been entirely subdued by a localized tear-gas malfunction.Inside the East Wing, the titanium blast doors had finally retracted.Zara sat on the edge of the king-sized bed, her face buried in Ethan’s good shoulder. She had been crying for hours, the sheer adrenaline and terror of the night finally breaking her iron resolve.Leo was sitting at the foot of the bed, his tablet resting on his knees. He was completely unharmed, looking terribly proud of himself, though he had wisely chosen not to mention the electrified fence to the police.A low, pained groan vibrated through Ethan’s chest.Zara gasped, pulling back slightly.Ethan’s storm-gray eyes slowly fl
Chapter 77The storm outside the Frost Estate intensified, heavy sheets of rain battering the thick, reinforced glass of the East Wing.Inside the primary suite, the air was heavy with the scent of antiseptic and Ethan’s fever sweat. Zara sat rigidly in the armchair, her blue eyes fixed on the steady, rhythmic rise and fall of Ethan’s chest. The Prussian Blue had stabilized his heart rate, but he was completely exhausted, lost in the deep, regenerative sleep his brain desperately needed.Suddenly, the ambient lighting in the room flickered.Zara sat up straight, her gaze darting toward the ceiling. The lights flickered again, followed by a low, mechanical hum vibrating through the floorboards.Clank. Clank. Clank.Heavy, metallic thuds echoed down the hallway.Zara knew that sound. It was the automated deployment of the estate’s titanium blast doors. The entire East Wing was going into full lockdown mode.She shot out of her chair, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs
Chapter 76Ten minutes later, the double doors of the suite flew open.Dr. Hayes, the Frost family’s private, highly discreet physician, rushed into the room carrying two heavy black medical bags. He took one look at the billionaire thrashing on the bed sweating profusely and trapped in a violent hallucinatory loop and immediately dropped his bags."Hold his arm still, Zara!" Dr. Hayes commanded, ripping open a sterile syringe package. "I need to hit a vein before he throws himself into a full grand mal seizure!""What is happening to him?" Zara asked, her voice cracking as she used her entire body weight to pin Ethan’s uninjured arm flat against the mattress."Based on the toxicology report you forwarded me, he’s entering acute Scopolamine withdrawal," Dr. Hayes explained rapidly, tying a tourniquet around Ethan’s bicep. "The brain is desperately misfiring to bridge the gap the chemicals left behind. The hallucinations are essentially five years of suppressed memories hitting his fro
Chapter 75The line went dead, leaving nothing but a dial tone echoing in Zara’s ear.She stood frozen in the grand hallway of her estate, the phone slipping from her fingers. It clattered heavily against the polished marble floor. The sound snapped her out of her paralyzed state, but the chill in her veins remained absolute.Withdrawal.She had been so focused on stopping the poison that she completely forgot the agonizing biology of addiction. The toxic compound wasn't just in his system; it had hijacked his brain’s chemistry. By crushing those pills on the front steps, she hadn't just cut off the poison. She had initiated a violent neurological collapse."Mom?" Leo tugged on the hem of her cashmere sweater, his small brow furrowed in concern. "Your heart rate just spiked. Is the bad man threatening you again?"Zara quickly knelt down, forcing a shaky, reassuring smile onto her face. She smoothed Leo’s dark hair back. "I'm fine, baby. Just a stressful work call. Why don't you go to
Chapter 74The crisp afternoon air instantly grew toxic.Zara spun around on the top step, her body immediately shifting to place herself entirely between Ethan and her stepsister. Her blue eyes locked onto the amber pill bottle in Chloe’s hand, and a flash of pure, murderous intent ignited in her gaze."He doesn't need your vitamins, Chloe," Zara stated, her voice echoing with lethal authority across the courtyard. "My medical staff has a full regimen prepared for him."Chloe ignored her, trying to push past Zara to reach Ethan. Her face was flushed, her eyes wide with a desperate, frantic panic. Victor had explicitly ordered her to get the pills into the estate by any means necessary."Move out of my way, Zara," Chloe hissed, holding the bottle out toward Ethan. "Baby, you know what Dr. Aris said. If you skip this, your stress migraines will trigger a vascular event. You have to take it right now."Ethan stood entirely perfectly still.He looked at the amber bottle. Inside those inn
Chapter 73The silence in the boardroom stretched so tight it felt like the glass windows might shatter.Victor Vance stared at Zara, his mind furiously attempting to calculate how she had acquired a highly classified, heavily guarded medical file. His pulse hammered at his temples. He was a ruthless corporate titan, but looking into the icy blue eyes of Zara Frost, he realized he had made a fatal miscalculation.He had treated her like prey. He had forgotten she was an apex predator."You're bluffing," Chloe hissed, her voice trembling as she clung to Victor’s arm. "You don't have anything! She’s bluffing, Victor.""Am I?" Zara pulled a single, folded sheet of paper from the inside pocket of her crimson blazer. She didn't hand it to them. She merely held it up, allowing Victor to see the unmistakable Swiss laboratory crest and the highlighted chemical breakdown of Ethan’s blood.Victor’s breath hitched."Say one more word, Chloe," Zara challenged softly, never breaking eye contact wi







