I Walked Away And He Lost His Mind (Zephyra and Steven) novel Chapter 608

“If you need a woman, I know plenty. In fact, there's a girl at my company named Verna. Looks like an angel, absolutely stunning. I was thinking of having some fun with her myself, but if you're interested, I can introduce you. She's poor. A little cash and she'll be all yours.”

As the crass words filled his ear, Horace's eyes narrowed, but his voice remained smooth.

“Thank you for the offer, Thomas, but I'm only interested in Zephyra.”

“How boring. You just haven't been with enough women. You're just like Steven, letting love make a fool of you,” Thomas said dismissively. “Anyway, I'll talk to you later.”

The line went dead.

Horace's handsome face hardened, a flash of disgust in his eyes. Then, a smile touched his lips as he tapped his phone against the desk, over and over.

“Perfect. The bigger the scumbag, the better.”

His assistant entered the room. “Mr. Spencer, Mr. Brooks is back at the office. He'll be here any minute.”

Horace nodded, glanced at his watch—it was just after five—and dialed a number again. Still no answer.

His brow furrowed slightly. He scrolled through his contacts, about to call Rachel, when her call came through first.

“Rachel,” Horace answered immediately, getting straight to the point. “Why isn't Zephyra answering my calls? It's five o'clock. She should be heading to the airport.”

There was a long silence on the other end before Rachel's hoarse voice came through.

“Horace... where are you? The Hoa Bridge... it collapsed a little while ago. Zephyra... she went down with it.”

Horace's heart seemed to stop. The color drained from his face.

Just then, Noah Brooks, tall and elegant in a gray overcoat, walked into the room. He spotted Horace and was about to speak, but Horace brushed right past him in a rush, practically running out the door.

Noah raised an eyebrow, watching the man stumble away. “Wasn't he here to see me? Why'd he run off?”

Horace's assistant was stunned for a moment, then quickly recovered and offered an apologetic smile. “Mr. Brooks, I'm so sorry. Mr. Spencer just got a call... a family emergency. He was distraught... Please don't be upset. I promise he'll apologize personally. Would it be possible to reschedule?”

Steven checked with the police; none of the rescued were people he knew. His face was a tight mask as he stood waiting on the shore. Then he caught sight of a familiar figure and strode toward her.

“Rachel.”

Rachel turned abruptly at the sound of her name, her eyes red and swollen.

She saw Steven, dressed in a suit, his handsome face colder than ice. Beyond that chilling indifference, his expression was unreadable, betraying nothing.

“You know Zephyra was in the accident?” Rachel clenched her fists, fighting back the urge to break down as she stared out at the dark water.

“I seem to recall you saying just today that you were cutting all ties with her, that it was completely over. What are you doing here now?”

“Zephyra can't separate from me. As long as I'm fine, she'll be fine,” Steven said, not answering Rachel's question directly. His tall frame towered over her.

“What is she playing at? Does she think things have gotten out of hand, so she's faking her own death to escape?” His expression remained calm, but a terrifying darkness swirled in his eyes. “Tell her that if she thinks she can just disappear on me, the consequences will be far worse—”