Left for Dead Came Back for Everything novel Chapter 154

Eliza listened quietly.

A brief silence settled over them.

"What about the Roth family?" she asked. "Zander's father has medical training. Did he take her pulse?"

"I'm guessing not yet," Julian replied.

Eliza let out a soft scoff, leaving the rest unspoken.

That answer was entirely within her expectations.

The scenery outside the window blurred past as the buildings grew denser and the evening light began to fade.

Thinking of Gwen's deafening excitement from the day before, Eliza finally asked the question she had been holding back.

"Julian, how are you so well-connected in the entertainment industry?"

Her gaze landed on his profile, earnest and faintly probing.

"The job for 'Echoes of the Valley'... you recommended me to Jane York, didn't you?"

Julian's fingers twitched against the armrest.

He wanted to deny it.

The excuse was already on the tip of his tongue, perfectly rehearsed: *'I just happen to know Jane, and when we were talking about work, I casually mentioned your video.'*

It was a solid alibi, logically sound. If he said it, she would probably believe it.

But he looked at her.

Just one glance.

In the dim light of the car, her eyes were exceptionally bright, watching him earnestly, waiting for the truth.

And with that single glance...

Julian swallowed the lie he had prepared.

"...I did recommend you to Jane."

His voice didn't waver.

"My family has some upstream investments in the entertainment sector, so we partner with H Films. Jane is an old friend. I sent her your video, and she contacted me that very day saying she wanted to meet you."

Eliza stared at him, her brows furrowing slightly as if she were getting a little annoyed.

"And what about Sean Sherwood—"

"Sean Sherwood is the CEO of H Films. We're just business associates, but he's notoriously difficult to please."

Julian met her gaze directly, his tone as even as ever. "He demands absolute perfection. They call him 'The Frame-Rate Tyrant,' and nobody in the industry dares to half-ass a job for him. If he doesn't like your work, no amount of connections will stop him from replacing you."

He paused.

He looked down, his eyes landing on Eliza's left leg.

"I've been worried about your knee. Cortisone shots aren't a permanent solution; they only mask the symptoms without fixing the root cause. Back when we were on the island, I realized you needed a proper specialist to look at it right away."

The refusal died in Eliza's throat.

She looked down at her left knee.

Her pants covered the scar, but she knew it was there.

That hideous mark crawling across her skin like a centipede.

It had been three years.

She wanted to dance.

Not the way she had been—barely scraping by. She truly wanted to dance. She wanted to stand on that stage without needing a painkiller every time the music stopped, without spending her nights fiercely massaging her joints just to relieve the dull, agonizing ache.

"...Okay."

Her voice was very quiet.

"I'll go with you."

"Thank you... Julian."

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