The CEO's Midnight Remedy novel Chapter 335

Chapter 335

Devon’s POV

When I arrived at Evelyn’s ward, I watched her chest rise and fall as she slept, counting each breath like I used to when we were children. The hospital monitors beeped in a steady rhythm, their glow casting shadows across her bandaged legs and arms. The wheelchair sat in the corner–a permanent reminder of what my family had taken from her. Yes, she was my sister, but we were not related by blood.

Her eyes fluttered open, immediately finding mine. Even through her pain, that spark of recognition softened her expression. “Another nightmare?” she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Your dark circles are worse than mine.”

I didn’t answer. I never knew how to respond when she worried about me, when it should be the opposite. My fingers traced the ornate patterns on her wheelchair’s armrest, lingering over the burn–scarred decorative carvings. “Does it hurt?” I finally asked.

“Not as much as that day’s fire,” she replied with a small smile that twisted something inside my chest. “Twenty years, Devon, and I’ve never once regretted that push.”

Twenty years. Two decades since I’d stood frozen in the burning hallway, since Evelyn had used the last of her strength to shove me toward the window before the beam collapsed where I’d been standing. Before my family decided a disabled foster daughter was no longer useful.

“I don’t want strangers caring for me,” she continued, her voice gaining strength. “They look at me the same way Eleanor does–like I’m

just a failed marriage tool.”

My hand covered hers, anger rising like bile in my throat. “No one has called you that since I’ve had the power to stop it. You’re my sister,

Evelyn–whether or not you have Kane blood.”

She lifted her hand weakly, touching the ruby necklace at her throat–the one I’d spent ten million dollars to reclaim at auction. The one my father had given her upon adoption, then callously reclaimed after the fire. “Do you remember what this is?” she asked. “Arthur gave it to me the day I was adopted. The only proof I was ever considered a ‘Kane.“”

“And they took it back after the fire because you ‘no longer had value to them,” I said, my voice dropping lower. “Now it’s where it

belongs.”

I heard a slight noise at the door and turned to see a nurse disappearing down the hall. Good. No one needed to witness this moment of vulnerability. I’d spent years building walls around the truth of the Kane family–around the scars both visible and invisible that we

carried.

The door opened again, and Lucas appeared, his expression tense. “Sir, a word?”

I squeezed Evelyn’s hand before stepping into the hall. The transition from brother to CEO was automatic–my face hardening, voice dropping to a controlled coldness.

“I pay you exceptionally well to prevent exactly this kind of accident,” I said, anger rising again.

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Chapter 335

“Sir, Ms. Smith became agitated after Connor called. She refused assistance and fell down the stairs before I could reach her.”

Connor. My brother. The one who’d watched Evelyn burn and done nothing. “Tell Connor that if he attempts to contact Evelyn again, hell regret it. He’s already destroyed her once.”

Lucas lowered his voice. “Sir, your medication from last night–is it still effective? Mrs. Kane is concerned about your insomnia…”

*Tell my mother,” I interrupted, “not to concern herself with the foster daughter she exiled. Or perhaps remind her to ask herself why an

adopted daughter kept only for marriage alliances was discarded once she lost the ability to walk.”

I pulled the old photograph from my pocket–Evelyn and me standing before the Kane estate, the edges charred from when I’d pulled it from the burning debris. My only proof that she’d ever been considered family.

“From now on, someone is with Evelyn at all times,” I instructed. “Your job is to protect her, not monitor her.”

As I strode toward the elevator, I thought of Aria waiting in the car. Aria, who somehow quieted the constant noise in my head. Who made sleep possible without medication. Who had no idea what darkness she’d stepped into by getting involved with me.

Who might run if she knew the truth.

Aria’s POV

I woke to the mattress dipping beside me. Opening my eyes, I saw Devon sliding under the covers, still wearing his dress shirt, though he’d removed his tie and jacket. The early morning light filtering through the curtains revealed dark circles under his eyes, more pronounced than usual.

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