emChapter 50 Delivered to His Bed/em

emChapter 50 Delivered to His Bed/em

em“Very good.” Mandy smiled and nodded. The server uncorked the bottle right there, poured wine into three sses—for Mandy, Helen, and Sloane—and then quietly exited the room./em

em“Come on, let’s toast to the Madam,” Helen said, lifting her ss. “To thank her for being willing to lend a hand.” She motioned for Sloane to follow her lead./em

emSloane saw the bottle had been opened on the spot, so she picked up her ss and clinked it with theirs./em

emTheir sses met with a soft chime. Sloane took another small sip. The wine spread across her tongue with its usual tartness–then came a sharp, bitter aftertaste that didn’t belong./em

emHer eyes narrowed slightly, a faint glint flickering in their depths./em

emWithout a word, Sloane set her ss down./em

emHelen and Mandy kept chatting, but Sloane found her vision growing hazy. The next moment, her body slumped forward onto the table./em

emHelen and Mandy exchanged a satisfied nce./em

em“She must’ve had too much,” Mandy said calmly. “Help her to one of the rooms so/em

emshe can rest.”/em

em“Got it.” Helen quickly stood and supported Sloane as she led her out of the private/em

emroom./em

emMandy,pletely unfazed, walked out of the hotel./em

emIn the darkness, Sloane’s eyes suddenly snapped open. She flipped up from the bed in one swift motion./em

emThe dim light revealed the room’svish furnishings–clearly the presidential suite/em

emof a hotel./em

emShe’d known the wine was tampered with the moment it touched her tongue. Since all three of them had drunk from the same bottle, and she was the only one/em

emaffected, the problem could only have been on her ss./em

emSloane let out a coldugh. They really went all out to drug me. /em

emBut what was their endgame? Why go this far together? What were they trying to pull?/em

emClick. The lock gave a soft sound./em

emFootsteps echoed in the silence–steady, deliberate taps of dress shoes on tile./em

emFrom the sound alone, Sloane could tell it was a young man./em

emThe steps paused just beyond the threshold. Then, with a low creak, the door opened./em

emShe timed it perfectly, her body a blur as she lunged at the shadow in the doorway./em

emBut the man was prepared. He sidestepped her effortlessly, spun, and countered with a sharp chop toward her neck./em

emSloane arched back like a bow, narrowly avoiding the strike with a graceful twist./em

emIn the dark, their bodies moved like streaks of shadow, fists slicing through the air. Sloane was stunned. The man’s movements were fast, aggressive, and sharp. Every strike was precise and ruthless. He’s highly trained./em

emThe shadow was equally surprised. He hadn’t expected the room’s upant to have such speed and skill. Her fighting was controlled, fast, and lethal./em

emThey traded blows in a flurry–each seeking an opening./em

emAtst, they both struck at the same moment, each hand closing around the other’s throat./em

emCaught in a deadlock, Sloane’s ring shifted slightly–releasing a hidden needle with a faint metallic click./em

emIn the faint glow from the hallway, the man caught the glint of the de. rmed, he blurted out her name. “Sloane?”/em

emHer eyes widened at the familiar voice. “Lucas?”/em

emThey both let go at once./em

emClick. Lucas turned on the lights. Sloane winced at the sudden brightness and narrowed her eyes against it./em

emThey locked eyes–and spoke at the same time./em

em“What are you doing here?”/em

emLucas looked her up and down, confirming she wasn’t hurt, then said, “I had a meeting scheduled here to talk business.”/em

emSloane gave a slow nod, piecing it all together. “I see.”/em

emEarlier that day, the Rivers family had tried to force her into asking Lucas for help. When she refused, they set this trap instead–drugging her and delivering her straight to his hotel room./em

emBut what role had Mandy yed in all this?/em