Chapter 262 Knowing the truth

Chapter 262: Chapter 262 Knowing the truth

_Rowena’s POV_

I backed away another step, my shoulder pressing against the wood of the front door frame. My heart was pounding hard against my ribs, making my chest ache with a dull, throbbing pain.

Kyle stayed completely still in the middle of the room. The gentle smile was still on his face, but his hazel eyes were flat and dark, completely devoid of any light.

"What news from the highway, Kyle?" I asked again, forcing my voice to stay steady despite the weakness in my legs. "Why would Alaric be dealing with news from the highway? And what highway?”

Kyle looked down at the syringe in his hand, then looked back up at me. He let out a long sigh, shaking his head like a teacher disappointed in a student.

"You really are far too smart for your own good, Rowena," Kyle said. His tone was conversational, almost friendly, but the chill in his voice sent a wave of icy horror down my spine. "I was hoping we could finish this quietly without you stressing your body any further."

"Finish what?" my voice rasped out. "What did you do?"

"Prince Ezekiel had an unfortunate accident on his way back to the packhouse," Kyle explained smoothly, taking one slow step toward me. "He overheard something he shouldn’t have at the hospital. He tried to run and tell Alaric about your little secret, so I had my men hit his car with a truck. By now, he is likely dead on an operating table."

My breath hitched in my throat. My mind reeled in pure shock as the pieces slammed together.

The fake leads at the market, the erased ledgers, the sick girl in Room 304. It had all been an act. He was not an innocent doctor caught in our political crossfire, he was the spy!

"You..." I gasped, clutching my stomach as a sudden, violent wave of pain shot through my core. "The soup... at the restaurant... Kyle!”

"A clear, odorless toxin," Kyle said, taking another step forward with a smile. "It attacks the heart lining slowly, mimicking severe exhaustion and early pregnancy complications. You willingly hid yourself away in my ward, isolated yourself from your guards, and drank every dose I gave you."

He raised the syringe, his thumb resting lightly on the plunger.

"And now, you are going to sit down and take this final shot. It will stop your heart completely within ten minutes. Drake’s father will be avenged, and Alaric’s bloodline dies with you."

Panic flooded my veins, my instinct to protect my unborn baby kicked in with fierce, burning heat.

I didn’t try to fight him head-on; my body was far too weak. Instead, I reached behind my back, grabbed a vase off the side table, and threw it straight at his face with all the strength I had left.

Kyle dodged to the left, the vase shattering against the wall behind him.

That split second was all I needed. I turned, pulled open the iron latch, and bolted up the stairs toward the second floor, slamming and locking the master bedroom door behind me.

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_Alaric’s POV_ ℯℯ𝑙.

The hospital security team stood in a tight line outside Kyle’s office on the second floor. Gideon slammed the door open, but the room was completely empty.

Desk drawers were pulled open, medical files were scattered across the floor, and the communication terminal was burned to a cinder.

"He’s gone!" Gideon spat out, kicking a fallen chair across the room. "He cleared his office and wiped the hard drives!"

I walked into the center of the room, my aura flaring so hard the windows vibrated in their frames. Pierre walked in right behind me, his face pale, his eyes burning with a terrifying, deadly calm.

"Kasper," I growled, my voice echoing off the walls like thunder. "Give me a location."

Kasper was frantically tapping his tablet, his face dripping with sweat. "I can’t track Rowena’s phone, the signal was killed inside the hospital service elevator. And Kyle’s personal vehicle GPS has been completely scrambled!”

"What about the security feeds?!" Pierre demanded, grabbing Kasper’s arm. "Did anyone see where he took her?!"

"I pulled the rear lot cameras," Kasper said, holding up the tablet screen. "It shows Kyle helping Rowena into an unmarked black van with fake plates twenty minutes ago. Once they hit the main highway, the van vanished into the blind spots of the city traffic network."

I slammed my fist into the desk, splitting the surface down the middle.

"He could be anywhere in the territory," Gideon said grimly, looking at the city map on his pad. "Kyle has three different medical licenses and dozens of potential safe houses under different alias names. It will take hours to search them all."

"Then we search every single one of them!" I bellowed, my eyes glowing with pure rage. "Put every guard on the streets! Block the territory borders! No one leaves this city until I have Rowena back!"

Pierre looked at me, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists. "He hurt Ezekiel, Alaric. If he touches a single hair on Rowena’s head, I will butcher him myself."

I knew Pierre acted that way because he was confused, but now he’s okay. And angry.

"We will find them," I growled, turning toward the exit. "Move out!"

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_Rowena’s POV_

I backed away from the locked bedroom door, my breath coming out in ragged, painful gasps.

Outside in the hallway, slow footsteps approached the door.

"Rowena," Kyle’s calm, terrifying voice drifted through the door. "Locking yourself in a room will not save you. There are no phones in that room, the windows are reinforced steel, and no one is coming to help you."

A loud click sounded as Kyle inserted a master key into the lock from the outside.

I looked around the room frantically for anything to defend myself with. My body was burning, my head was spinning, and my legs felt like lead. I backed toward the far corner, grabbing an iron desk lamp, holding it tight against my chest.

The doorknob turned slowly, and the door swung open.

If my body was normal, I would have fought him head on. But right now, I was fighting poison, to stay alive and also keep my unborn child alive.

Kyle stepped inside, holding the syringe in one hand and his master key in the other. He locked the door behind himself, stepping into the room with a calm smile.

"It is over, Rowena," Kyle murmured, taking a step toward me. "No more running, please.”