The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 424

The interior of the car was completely silent, filled only with the soft crunch of tires against the pavement and the low hum of the engine.

After Sebastian Thorne spoke those three words, the air in the cabin seemed to freeze for a split second.

"Christian Lancaster."

Evelyn Sullivan's fingers paused slightly. She turned her head, looking at him with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"Why him?"

Sebastian's expression shifted.

His battered back still ached, and the gash on his ear throbbed relentlessly, but none of it compared to the impact of her question. The metallic taste of blood he had just forced down threatened to rise in his throat once more.

He looked at her, his voice tight. "You don't believe me?"

Evelyn blinked, momentarily stunned.

"Excuse me?"

Sebastian's Adam's apple bobbed as his voice dropped a fraction lower. "Do you think I'm intentionally pinning this on him?"

Evelyn stared at him, taking a few seconds to process his words.

The corners of her lips curved up slightly—not quite a smile, but a look of sheer resignation.

"You're overthinking it," she said. "I just didn't expect him to have the time or energy to pull something like this while dealing with his own internal and external crises."

She paused, recalling the message she had received earlier.

"Besides, Piper just had a major incident. I wouldn't have guessed he could still..."

She trailed off, simply shaking her head.

Sebastian's complexion finally softened. He looked out the window, his tone light. "Ever since that banquet, he's had people on me. He doesn't want me making it back alive."

Evelyn studied him.

In the dim light filtering through the window, his profile was all hard lines and a tightly clenched jaw. The cut on his ear had stopped bleeding, but the skin around it remained an angry, glaring red in the shadows.