The Rose He Showed Off Is Putting Down Roots in a Garden of Her Own novel Chapter 282

Terrified his mother would be discovered, Zane immediately volunteered, "I'll take it up."

Just then, an officer monitoring the security feeds ran over to report that a woman from the presidential suite had sprinted out to the elevators.

Panic set in, and Zane came clean. "My mother and Beatrice are up there. If a woman ran out, it's either my mom or Beatrice."

Chief Beck immediately dispatched a SWAT officer to protect them and arranged for someone else to rush the medication upstairs.

One of the escorts was still a college student. The stress of the massive police lockdown, combined with the fear that his school would find out how he made quick cash, triggered a heart attack. Luckily, the medication arrived just in time, and an ambulance soon hauled him away through a secure service corridor.

The night dragged on, but the attacker was nowhere to be found.

The hotel's emergency PA system broadcasted safety reminders at regular intervals, but the constant announcements only fueled the rising panic.

Zane sat on a sofa in the first-floor lobby. He wanted to call Elara Vance, but didn't want to wake her. He just sat there, gripping his phone, never actually dialing the number.

Suddenly, his phone rang in his hand. Zane froze for a second before answering. "What's wrong?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

Elara's groggy voice drifted through the receiver.

Zane checked his screen and realized he had accidentally sent a text he drafted earlier that night before leaving for Eastford.

He had wanted to ask if she'd come with him, but held off so she could sleep.

Somehow, his thumb had slipped.

"What are you doing in Eastford in the middle of the night?"

A smile touched Zane's lips. "Just handling some family business."

"Family business, and you were going to drag me into it?" Elara said. "It's the middle of the night. Is this business of yours sorted out?"

"It was, but fate had other plans. Now it's a complete mess."

Just as Elara opened her mouth to reply, she faintly heard someone shouting a formal report in the background.

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