A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 577

Medical staff occasionally hurried past them, but upon sensing the explosive tension between the two men, they all hastily lowered their heads and took wide detours, completely terrified to intervene.

Frank slowly raised a hand to adjust his watch strap. The last traces of his mild-mannered facade peeled away, replaced by an icy, mocking sneer. "I already told you, I don't know anything."

"But since we've been friends for so many years, Mr. Murphy, allow me to offer you a piece of advice."

Frank's lips curved upward in a blatant display of arrogance. Meeting Rowan's lethal glare head-on, he chuckled softly. "The game isn't over yet. We'll see who the real winner is in the end."

He leaned in slightly, his tone dripping with sheer provocation. "Whether it's my ex-wife or my child, I'm... taking them both back!"

*Smack!*

The second the words left his mouth, a vicious, bone-crushing punch slammed squarely into his cheekbone.

He stumbled back and immediately tried to retaliate, but Rowan easily anticipated the move. With terrifying speed, Rowan countered his strike, violently slamming him back against the wall with a sickening thud and pinning him there with an iron grip.

When it came to hand-to-hand combat, the gap in their skill levels was humiliatingly obvious.

Rowan stared down at the man he had practically grown up with, suddenly letting out a dark laugh. "Tell me, how did I never realize you were such a cowardly, underhanded piece of trash?"

"Sure,"

Frank stopped struggling. Pinned against the cold wall, he let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. "I'm a piece of trash. But what about you? You knew full well she hadn't divorced me yet, but you deliberately moved into the apartment right across from hers. What exactly were your honorable intentions?"

He had trusted Rowan so completely back then. He had even asked Rowan to look after Elissa.

He hadn't realized he was throwing a lamb straight into a wolf's den.

"Frank."

A calm, soft voice suddenly echoed from the other end of the corridor.

Elissa stood there in a soft wool sweater. Her voice was quiet, but it carried an undeniable, devastating weight. "If you want to play the blame game regarding our marriage, you can blame yourself, or you can blame me. The only person you don't get to blame is him."

"From the very beginning of that marriage, you knew exactly what you wanted from it. It's just that there was a little mix-up, and things didn't go the way you planned."

Elissa's tone was gentle, but her words ruthlessly ripped away the final shreds of his dignity. "Of course, I wasn't innocent either. I got exactly what I wanted out of the deal too."

He had needed an obedient, quiet wife who wouldn't pry into his private life.

And she had needed an escape from the Murphy family to gain a sliver of freedom.

They had both achieved their goals.

The only tragedy was that Frank had fallen for the wrong girl and completely crashed his own ship in the process.

Rowan froze. He watched as the girl he had raised and protected walked toward him, stepping right between him and Frank. She reached out, sliding her small, warm hand into his. "That's enough. Let's go back to the room. I don't feel good leaving Jacqueline alone for too long."

Not a single time.

The man dropped his gaze in sheer defeat. The brutally honest words Elissa had just spoken echoed endlessly in his mind.

She had defended Rowan with such fierce loyalty.

And he had absolutely no idea how to refute a single word she had said.

Down the hall, the faint click of a hospital door shutting echoed in the silence. Frank slowly pushed himself off the wall and walked mechanically toward the elevator. He hit the button for the lobby and descended.

Outside the hospital, the city lights were already blazing. It wasn't quite winter yet, but when the wind hit him, Frank felt an icy chill seep straight into his bones.

For the very first time, a desperate, impossible thought clawed at his chest.

*Why couldn't he turn back time?*

He would have treated her so beautifully. He would have spent his entire life loving only her.

He walked to his car. Just as he opened the door, his phone rang.

Frank slid into the driver's seat. He answered the call, his expression turning terrifyingly grim. "Aren't you afraid I'll expose this entire setup to the Wilkinson family? Where are you right now? Give me the antidote immediately."