The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 600

It had been a few days since Julian headed to Mistwood Bay to investigate the Thorne family. Out of concern for his safety, I never initiated contact, opting to wait until he had concrete results to share.

But today, I received a crucial piece of information that felt too important to sit on. I decided it was necessary to give him a heads-up, hoping it might aid his investigation.

To my surprise, Julian replied the second I hit send. "Can you talk?"

I slipped into the restroom and called him. "Julian."

"I'm still digging. The Thorne family has a batch of industrial chemicals in Mistwood Bay, and their origin is completely shady. I'm currently working undercover among the transport crew to get a feel for the situation. Time is tight and texting is risky, so I just called," Julian said, his voice dropping low against a backdrop of chaotic noise.

"Thanks for everything," I said, not wasting any time as I quickly relayed the latest developments on my end. "Zelda wasn't taken away by the police for no reason. I suspect she was involved in my kidnapping. Do you think she has ties to the Thorne family?"

"It's entirely possible. After all, even though the Thornes and the Sterlings share mutual financial interests, they're constantly on guard against each other. Since Ferris is the golden boy of the Sterling family, it's standard operating procedure for the Thornes to plant a spy or two around him," Julian replied after a brief moment of thought.

I froze upon hearing this. "Haven't the Thornes and Sterlings always been bitter enemies?"

The Thorne and Sterling families had always been fierce competitors.