“Get her out,” she said dryly.
The guards lifted Vivian by the arms. She fought, hissed, spat venom, but Nina didn’t listen anymore.
She turned and calmly walked back into the yard.
Her footsteps echoed against the stone path in the quiet garden. Somewhere behind the fence Vivian was still screaming, but Nina didn’t turn around. She only exhaled, long and heavy.
God, how infuriating.
And at the same time how good it felt to know that justice existed after all.
She wouldn’t have survived it if Vivian had gone on living happily with her husband—onher money.
That alone deserved a drink.
Bubble tea.
Question was—did delivery still work this late?
She looked at her phone. Too late. But maybe she could find a café that was still open.
Nina grabbed her keys from the shelf and headed to the garage. Started the engine and drove out. Thankfully, Vivian was no longer by the driveway.
She needed to sell this damned house and move. Somewhere no one knew her address. Who knew what else a woman that unhinged might come up with?
CHAPTER 52
It was nine in the evening. Jasper had one last surgery—an unscheduled case. A ten-year-old boy. They’d been operating for nearly four hours; the procedure ended successfully.
Jasper stepped out of the OR, walked silently down the hallway, poked his head into the staff lounge to say goodnight to the on-call doctor, then headed to his office.
He took off his coat and grabbed his phone from the desk. The screen lit up with three missed calls from Nolan. Jasper exhaled heavily. Talking to him tonight was the last thing he wanted, but three calls meant something was likely urgent.
He hit‘call back.’Nolan picked up almost instantly.
“Oh, finally!”
“What happened?” Jasper asked.
“Well… your girl is sitting in a bar right now.”
“What girl, Nolan?” Jasper frowned, thinking for a moment he meant Lynn.
Nolan laughed.
“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t get it. Nina. She’s at the bar counter, drinking and flirting with some guys. I just got the report. If you care—a bar called Rose.”
Jasper said nothing, but something unpleasant stirred inside him.
“And why should I care?” he said through clenched teeth.“She and I have nothing tying us together.”
“My job is to tell you,” Nolan replied and hung up without even a goodbye.
Jasper tossed the phone on the desk, gathered the documents he’d planned to review at home, and checked he hadn’t forgotten anything. Turned off the lights and walked out of the office.
Exhaustion dragged at him. Honestly, he wanted to crash in the staff lounge. But he dragged himself toward the parking lot.
He turned the key in the ignition and something cracked inside him. All his logic flew out the window. Instead of driving home, he jerked the wheel left—toward the bar.
