The next second, Rowan barged in, a frigid, ruthless aura radiating from him.
Several highly trained bodyguards trailed closely behind him, instantly suffocating the atmosphere in the living room.
Rowan locked his piercing gaze on Lyra, his eyes turning glacial. "Lyra, you caused the car crash, didn't you?"
Lyra had just finished resetting her phone to its factory settings and immediately shot back. "I did no such thing! I was at the dentist all morning, spent noon with my mom, and came straight home after. I haven't gone anywhere else!"
"Since when does a killer need to do the dirty work themselves?" Rowan scoffed, snatching her phone to inspect it. "Wiped clean? Just what kind of secrets are you hiding from me, Lyra?"
A flash of panic crossed Lyra's eyes. She hadn't orchestrated Jasmine's accident, but she still relied on email to communicate with Alan and the rest of the team. If Rowan used her computer to hack into her inbox and uncovered her secrets, all her plans would be ruined.
"Why so defensive? Was it really you?" Rowan didn't wait for an answer. He strode directly toward the stairs, making it crystal clear he was heading for her bedroom to tear through her computer logs and hunt down any trace of evidence.
"Stop right there!" Lyra's heart dropped. She sprinted up the steps, blocking his path at the landing.
Rowan halted. His overwhelming presence made it hard to breathe as he ordered in a low, dangerous tone, "Move."
"Why should I?" Lyra gripped the banister tightly, refusing to let him pass, her spine stiff. "That is my personal bedroom and my private property. You have absolutely no right to search it!"
Rowan reached out to shove her aside, but Lyra fought back with everything she had, the two of them grappling on the staircase.
"Lyra..." Kayla, terrified she might get hurt, hurried up the steps.
"Kayla, stay back."
Rowan shot Kayla a predatory glare, freezing the other woman in her tracks.
No matter how hard Lyra tried to barricade the way, she was no match for Rowan's brute strength. He forced her to stumble backward.
Kayla caught her by the arms. "Lyra, just let him look. We have nothing to hide."
Rowan's footsteps were heavy and cold as he cleared the second-floor stairs, stopping swiftly at the end of the hallway.
In mere moments, he cracked the background ports and tore through the email firewall's layers of encryption. The black code jumped, and the inbox login page was forcibly bypassed and unlocked.
Lyra stood frozen, the blood turning to ice in her veins.
He had hacked her password that fast.
Just as he was about to open the emails, Rowan's phone rang.
He paused. Glancing down, he saw Caspian's name flashing on the screen and answered it.
"Rowan... it's me. I'm the one who caused the crash. You don't need to give Lyra a hard time."
Rowan's eyes shot up. "What did you say?"
"You still remember Aidan Hayes, my old tutor, right?"

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