Chapter 265
Chapter 265:
The private club was dim, smelling of aged leather and cigar smoke — a quiet sanctuary for men with too much money and too many problems. Dallas sat in a corner booth, a bottle of Japanese whiskey on the table already a quarter empty.
Zane slid into the seat opposite him. He looked at the bottle, then at Dallas’s face.
“If you want someone to disappear, there are cleaner ways,” Zane said, loosening his tie. “You don’t have to drown yourself first p>
Dallas poured another glass. The amber liquid swirled. “She chose him p>
“She chose her dying stepmother,” Zane corrected, his voice measured. “Don’t confuse the two. You know Eliza — she’s loyal to a fault. It’s one of the things that worries me most about her, but it’s also why you love her p>
“Anson is in there with her,” Dallas said, taking a long drink, the burn doing nothing to numb him. “He’s using that old woman as a shield. He’s trapped her p>
“Then go get her,” Zane grabbed the bottle before Dallas could pour again. “You’re her husband. Walk in there, throw Anson out a window, and take your wife home p>
𝗔𝘥𝘥𝗶с𝘁𝗂v𝖾 ո𝗼vе𝘭ѕ 𝘰ո 𝗀а𝗅ոо𝗏𝖾𝗹ѕ.𝘤о𝗺
Dallas laughed — a dry, humorless sound. “What’s the point of dragging her out if her head is still in that room? If she feels guilty? I don’t want a hostage, Zane.” He set his phone on the table. The screen was dark. “She hasn’t texted. Not once p>
“Maybe her phone died,” Zane offered. “ICUs have terrible reception p>
“Or maybe she’s holding his hand again,” Dallas said, staring at the device. “Maybe she’s remembering why she loved him for ten years p>
“Stop it,” Zane said sharply. “You’re spiraling. You’re deciding the outcome before the game is played p>
Dallas didn’t answer. He just watched the phone.
In the hospital room, Eliza was frantic. Victoria had crashed again, nurses swarming in from every direction. Eliza had been pushed into the corner, her presence suddenly irrelevant to the controlled chaos around the bed. Her phone was in her purse, the battery dead since she’d arrived. She had no charger. She had no way to reach him.
Back at the club, hours passed. The bottle emptied.
“If she doesn’t come home tonight…” Dallas murmured, his speech slightly slurred, his eyes losing focus.
“She’ll come home,” Zane said firmly. “Unless Anson locks her in a tower p>
Dallas didn’t smile. He had a feeling in his gut — dark and twisting — that the tower was exactly where she was headed.
It was three in the morning when Eliza finally walked out of the hospital. Her eyes were gritty with exhaustion, her body running on nothing. Victoria was stable, but the doctors had advised staying close.
“The doctor wants you nearby for the next twelve hours,” Anson said, his voice carefully threaded with concern as he walked her toward the exit. “In case anything changes. You should rest at the estate — it’s closer p>
“I need to go home to Dallas,” Eliza said, pulling out her dead phone and fumbling with it uselessly. “He’ll be worried. I’ll call him from a landline p>