I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 573

Quentin was highly invested in this field and listened with rapt attention.

Zoe's technical presentation wrapped up after about thirty minutes, leaving many attendees hungry for more.

Sienna had already slipped out of the hall, but she couldn't find Hayden anywhere. He wasn't answering his phone.

She was getting anxious, wondering where he had gone.

As soon as the presentation ended, Zoe was swarmed by the crowd. Ian had a dozen questions but couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Ethan stormed back over, grabbing their arms.

"What is wrong with you two? You're still here? Hayden and Sienna are gone."

"You go ahead. I need to stay. I have something to take care of."

Quentin had his own medical tech questions to ask Zoe, leaving Ethan completely dumbfounded.

"You guys actually believe her?"

They were completely blind to how much money Sienna could generate for a company. Their obsession with Zoe left Ethan practically foaming at the mouth.

"We believe in the science." That single sentence shut Ethan up.

"Fine, science."

Ethan spun around, seething, and stormed off.

He hadn't made it ten feet when an unnatural chaos erupted near the entrance.

"Protect Commissioner Sterling!"

Armed assailants had infiltrated the venue. Someone fired a shot into the ceiling, and the crowd descended into absolute panic.

The young academics and scholars had never seen a real firefight, let alone live automatic weapons.

Zoe remained incredibly calm. Her martial arts training kicked in instantly. Timothy and Sebastian were also more than capable of protecting themselves and engaging the shooters.

Security forces flooded the hall, forming a protective perimeter around Sterling while returning fire.

Why was she here?

Yara's eyes were ice-cold, her tone venomous.

"If you don't know what you're doing, stay out of the way."

She had been moving to extract Sterling when Garrett blundered into her path. The delay exposed her to the shooter. If he hadn't been there, she could have taken the assailant down cleanly. Instead, the man fired at them.

Garrett was just a civilian—strong, but totally untrained.

He didn't even realize how close he had just come to dying. Yara, on the other hand, was covered in a cold sweat, her adrenaline instantly morphing into fury.

She despised undercover assignments that required her to play the love interest to lower a target's guard, especially when the target was a soft, well-dressed corporate suit. She was done with it.

Glancing over and confirming Sterling was secure, she exhaled sharply. Her hostility didn't deter Garrett; it only made him frown deeper.

"You're shot. Let me get you to a hospital."