Chapter 31: The Voice Message
Chapter 31: The Voice Message
The world returned to Noah in fragments.
At first, it was nothing but sound—the steady beep of a monitor, the low hum of fluorescent lights, and the faint shuffle of rubber soles against sterile tiles. Then came the weight—the heaviness of his limbs, the ache in his chest, the dry burn in his throat as if he’d swallowed fire. He forced his eyelids open, the light blinding, stabbing at his skull.
For a moment, he didn’t know where he was. Panic clawed up his throat. His chest rose and fell with sharp, shallow breaths until his gaze settled on the whitewashed ceiling and the machines surrounding him. A hospital.
Noah blinked hard, trying to focus, to remember. And then it hit him—Eve.
His heart stuttered against the monitor. He remembered the night of the accident, the dark car, the blurred lights, and the faint echo of her voice—sweet, venomous, and dangerous. He had seen something he wasn’t supposed to. He had known too much. And Eve… Eve had made sure he paid for it.
He swallowed against the dryness in his throat, whispering, “Sienna…”
The name cut through the fog. The one person who needed to know. The one person who was walking blindly into Eve’s trap.
Noah turned his head weakly to the side, searching for his phone. But the nightstand was bare. He groaned, frustration bubbling up in his chest. His pockets were empty—of course, he was in a hospital gown. His phone was gone.
“No… no, no…” He coughed, his voice rough and broken.
He tried to sit up, but pain ripped through his ribs like a knife. His hands shook violently as he reached for the call button, pressing it with what little strength he had. Moments later, the nurse walked in—a middle-aged woman with kind but distracted eyes, checking his IV, noting his vitals.
“You’re awake,” she said gently, almost with relief. “You’ve been out for weeks.”
Noah licked his cracked lips. “Phone,” he rasped.
She frowned. “You need rest.”
“No,” he croaked, urgency bleeding through his tone. “Please. Just a phone. One call.” His hand trembled as he reached toward her pocket, desperation making his eyes burn. “It’s… it’s important.”
The nurse hesitated, clearly torn between hospital rules and the plea of a man who looked half-broken. Finally, with a sigh, she pulled her phone from her pocket. “One call. But keep it short. You’re too weak.”
Noah’s chest rattled with relief. His fingers shook as he typed in the number he had memorized, a number that had become almost instinctive. Sienna’s.
The dial tone buzzed in his ear, and for a fleeting moment, hope swelled inside him. She would pick up. She had to pick up. But after the third ring, an automated voice told him to leave a message.
Noah closed his eyes, swallowing down the panic that rose in his chest. His time was limited. His voice was weak. He had one chance.
“Si—Sienna…” he began, his words broken, hoarse. “It’s me… Noah. Don’t… don’t hang up. Please listen…”
He coughed hard, the sound ragged, but forced himself to continue.
“There’s something you don’t know. Eve… she’s not who she says she is. You can’t trust her. She’s dangerous. I—I know what she’s been doing. I saw it before the accident.” His breaths came unevenly, every word costing him. “Her name… it’s not Eve. She’s lying to you. She has her reasons, Sienna, and they’re not what you think.”
He paused, his hand gripping the sheets tightly, knuckles white. His voice dropped to a trembling whisper, urgent, frantic.
“She blames you for her father. She thinks you destroyed him. That’s why she’s here. That’s why she’s doing this. She’s… she’s sleeping with Daniel. She’s using him. She wants your empire, your name, everything you love.”
Noah’s throat constricted, the beeping of the monitor quickening. He could feel his strength slipping, but he had to get it all out. He had to warn her before it was too late.
“You have to be careful. She—”
The creak of the door made his blood run cold.
Footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Deliberate.
Noah froze, the phone trembling in his hand. He turned his head just slightly, his vision blurring, but he could make out the shadow of a figure entering the room. The silhouette was unfamiliar, but the dread that filled him was immediate.
His heart hammered in his chest, panic surging. Whoever it was, he knew—they weren’t here to help.
Quickly, with the last of his strength, he pressed the screen and ended the message, sending it straight to Sienna before he could be stopped.
The figure stepped closer, the outline sharp against the dim light. Noah tried to speak, but his voice cracked, the phone slipping from his grip onto the sheets. His chest heaved with shallow breaths, his body trembling violently.
The nurse’s phone was snatched from the bed by the intruder’s hand. Noah’s eyes widened in terror.
The figure leaned closer, their voice a low, venomous whisper.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
Noah’s chest ached with the weight of fear, but inside, a single flicker of relief burned—Sienna had the message. He’d managed to send it.
The last sound he heard was the steady beep of the monitor, racing in time with his breaking heart.
Far away, in her penthouse, Sienna sat in silence after she had a call with Lucas, her phone buzzing with a new voicemail.
She didn’t recognize the number. She declined the calls unless she started receiving voicemails too. It rarely happens that a stranger calls her, Noah make sures her number is safe. But he is not around right now.
With a sigh, she almost ignored it—until a strange chill swept through her. What if he is Noah? Her intuition spoke louder in her mind. She finally pressed the play button.
And Noah’s broken voice whispered into her ear making her eyes wide:
“You can’t trust her. She’s not who she claims to be… and she’s sleeping with Daniel.”