The Rose He Showed Off Is Putting Down Roots in a Garden of Her Own novel Chapter 10

Zane was leaning casually against the brass railing of the second floor, just lighting a fresh cigarette, when Vivian Vance came tearing through the lobby doors like a hurricane.

After trying and failing to reach her sister for days, Vivian had finally called Julian, only to learn they had a massive blowout and Elara had vanished.

Vivian had unleashed a string of vicious curses at Julian over the phone.

"If anything happens to my sister, I will burn your life to the ground!"

Vivian had practically dropped out of college just to save the Vance Group, willingly becoming Gideon Grant's kept woman in a desperate power play. Her personality was anything but weak.

"I don't care if it ruins me, I will take you down with me!"

Vivian had immediately set out to track Elara down.

By some absolute miracle, Elara finally answered her phone and admitted she was drinking at The Sapphire Lounge.

Zane exhaled a long plume of smoke. *Sorry, Vivian,* he thought dryly, stepping back into the shadows and completely removing himself from the impending blast zone.

Down in the lobby, Sebastian was practically vibrating with anxiety.

He was terrified Elara would throw a massive tantrum, that the ensuing scandal would spiral out of control, and that the club's elite clientele would flee.

Zane got to play puppet master and then vanish into the shadows, leaving Sebastian to clean up the catastrophic wreckage.

He desperately needed a plan to minimize the collateral damage and prevent the situation from exploding.

Right on cue, Leo Beckett's vice squad stormed the building.

A vice raid wasn't a polite inquiry. It was a blitzkrieg. Their only objective was shock, awe, and immediate containment before anyone could flush the evidence.

Using a master keycard confiscated from a terrified manager, the officers kicked Elara's suite door open, the sudden crash making everyone inside jump out of their skin.

Sebastian flinched from his hiding spot in the hallway. He loved those imported mahogany doors.

He briefly considered billing the damages to Elara's tab, but he knew Zane would probably murder him for it.

"Police!"

"Vice raid!"

"Nobody move!"

Vivian, who had managed to slip into the suite only minutes before, practically jumped out of her skin.

She wasn't married; she didn't give a damn about her own reputation. But Elara was the legally wedded Mrs. Sterling. If she got dragged into a police precinct for soliciting a male escort, the scandal would be apocalyptic. Panicking, Vivian stepped forward, frantically trying to explain away the situation.

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