Chapter 106
Rowan's POV
The quarterly report blurred into meaningless numbers when my phone lit up with Emily's name.
"Rowan! Lena's in trouble!" Her voice cracked with panic. "Sterling Hotel—your hotel—room 1208, twelfth floor. Nora drugged her—"
Everything else fell away.
Papers scattered across my desk as I bolted for the door. "Jack! Car! Sterling Hotel! NOW!"
The reports could burn for all I cared.
---
The city lights streaked past in a blur of red and gold. Jack white-knuckled the passenger seat as I pushed the speedometer past anything reasonable.
"Sir, we should—"
"Faster."
My hands gripped the wheel until my knuckles went bone-white. The engine roared beneath us, but it wasn't fast enough. Nothing was fast enough.
Lena signing the divorce papers. Her quiet voice: "We were never real."
Her walking out of Lakeview with Martha, not looking back.
What if I was too late? What if she—
No.
I pressed the accelerator harder.
---
The keycard beeped green. The door flew open.
Emily knelt beside the bed. Lena lay there, face chalk-white, barely breathing.
I crossed to her in two strides, fingers finding the pulse point at her wrist. Weak. Too weak. But there.
"Ambulance is coming," Emily said, voice shaking.
I barely heard her. My hand moved to Lena's face—cold skin, shallow breaths.
In the corner, Nora stood frozen, mascara streaked, shaking.
I looked at her once. Said one word.
"You."
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
"Rowan, not now," Emily snapped. "We need to focus on Lena."
She was right. But the rage simmering under my skin didn't care about right.
---
The ambulance screamed through traffic. I refused to let go of Lena's hand.
"Sir, you'll need to give us space to work—"
"No."
The paramedic hesitated, then nodded.
They checked her vitals—blood pressure, oxygen levels, pupil response. One of them muttered something about Aphrodisiac, dosage, and time frame.
"Will she be okay?" My voice came out rougher than I intended.
"We're doing everything we can. Vital signs are stable, but we need to get her to the hospital for full toxicology and monitoring."
Stable. The word should have been reassuring.
It wasn't.
I stared at the monitor beside her—green lines tracing the rhythm of her heartbeat. Each beep felt like an accusation.
You weren't there. You didn't protect her. You let this happen.
My thumb traced circles on the back of her hand. Her skin was so hot.
"Stay with me," I whispered. "You're safe now."
The words felt hollow. She wasn't safe. She'd never been safe—not from her parents, not from Nora, not from any of this.
Not from me.
Across from me, Emily sat with her arms wrapped around herself, eyes red-rimmed and fixed on our joined hands.
She didn't say anything. Didn't have to.
---
They wheeled Lena straight into the ER. A nurse stepped in front of me when I tried to follow.
"Sir, you'll need to wait out here. We'll update you as soon as—"
"I need to be with her."
"Family only right now."
"I'm her husband."
Ex-husband, a voice in my head corrected viciously.
The nurse glanced at Emily, who nodded confirmation, then reluctantly stepped aside. "Wait in the family area. Someone will come get you once we have more information."
Emily caught my arm before I could push past. "Rowan. Let them work."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to tear through that door and make sure they understood exactly how critical this was.
But Emily was right. Again.
So I let her pull me to the waiting area and forced myself to sit in one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs that seemed designed specifically to make crisis feel worse.
Thirty seconds later, I was on my feet again, pacing.
Jack arrived with coffee I didn't drink and updates I barely heard. The clock on the wall moved in slow motion. Each minute stretched into an eternity.
What if she doesn't wake up? What if there's permanent damage? What if—
I shoved the thoughts down and kept walking. Five steps to the vending machines. Five steps back.
Jack approached with his phone. "Sir, I have an update from the police."
I stopped pacing. "Go."
"Nora has been taken into custody. They're questioning her now." He paused, checking his notes. "They found evidence on her phone—encrypted messages with Marcus. He was the one who orchestrated this."
My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might crack. "Orchestrated what, exactly?"
"From what they can tell, he provided the drugs and financing. There was camera equipment in the room. They were planning to..." Jack's voice faltered. "To photograph compromising situations and use them to destroy Ms. Grant's reputation."
The words landed like physical blows.
Marcus. Her own father.
I'd known the man was poison. Known he'd hurt Lena before. But this—
"Where is he?"
"We believe he's still in Switzerland. The police are working with Interpol to—"
"Not fast enough." I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. He answered on the first ring. "I need you to find Marcus Grant. Use every resource we have. I don't care what it costs."
"Rowan, what—"
"Just find him. And when you do, make sure the authorities know exactly where he is."
I hung up and turned back to Jack. "Get me the best criminal attorney in the state. I want them coordinating with the police. Whatever evidence they need, whatever resources—I want this airtight. Nora and Marcus both go down for this."
"Already on it, sir."
"Good."
The rage felt cleaner than the fear. Easier to handle. I could do something with rage—direct it, weaponize it, make sure the people who hurt Lena paid for every second of what they'd put her through.
The fear, though. The terror that had gripped me since Emily's call.
That was harder to shake.
---
A doctor emerged from the ER, pulling off her surgical mask. I was in front of her before she'd taken three steps.
"How is she?"
"Are you family?"
"Her husband." The lie came out automatic. Easier than explaining.
The doctor glanced at her tablet. "Ms. Grant is stable. We've completed gastric lavage and administered activated charcoal. The drug in her system was Aphrodisiac. The dosage was significant, enough to overwhelm her senses and leave her dazed for several hours, but not life-threatening."
"When will she wake up?"
"Likely within the next few hours. We'll be monitoring her closely." She looked up from the tablet, meeting my eyes. "She was very lucky. If she'd been alone, or if help hadn't arrived when it did..."
She didn't finish the sentence. Didn't need to.
"Can I see her?"
The doctor hesitated, then nodded. "She's being moved to a private room now. The nurse will take you up once she's settled."
"Thank you."
As the doctor walked away, Emily appeared at my elbow. "She's going to be okay."
"Because you got there in time." I looked at her. "Thank you."
Emily's expression softened slightly. "Don't thank me. Just... be there when she wakes up. Really be there."
I nodded.
A nurse appeared to lead us upstairs. With each step toward Lena's room, the fear and rage churning in my chest settled into something colder.
Something like purpose.
I hadn't protected her before. Hadn't seen the danger until it was almost too late.
That ended now.