Page 42 of The Billionaire’s Contract Bride

Aria’s eyes locked onto his. “And what will you sacrifice?”

Damien met her gaze without flinching. “We are about to discover that together.”

At the hospital, Aria was escorted through a subterranean service entrance surrounded by four armed guards. Evelyn’s floor was completely sealed. Dr. Patel met them in the hallway and confirmed that security had intercepted the intruder before anyone could physically reach her mother.

Aria sat beside Evelyn’s bed, holding her cool, quiet hand until the trembling in her own fingers finally stopped.

When she stepped back into the corridor twenty minutes later, Damien was gone.

Lucien waited by the elevator doors.

“Where is he?” Aria asked.

“Handling the breach.”

“I want to see the security footage.”

“That would be unwise, Mrs. Blackthorne.”

“So was marrying him.”

Lucien’s jaw tightened slightly. “I cannot argue with that logic.”

“Show me.”

The secondary security room contained six wall-mounted monitors and a visibly shaken hospital administrator. Lucien brought up the recording from 10:03 AM. A woman dressed in standard blue scrubs entered through a service corridor, keeping her face carefully angled away from the overhead cameras.

At 10:06, she scanned a stolen badge to access the private ICU wing.

At 10:07, a floor guard challenged her.

She turned instantly and fled down the stairwell.

Aria leaned closer to the high-definition display. Something about the woman’s deliberate, practiced movements felt hauntingly familiar.

“Go back five seconds,” Aria instructed.

Lucien paused and rewound the clip.

As the woman spun toward the stairwell, a silver pendant slipped out from beneath her collar, catching the fluorescent light.

A crescent moon.

“Freeze it there.”

The image blurred as Lucien enlarged it, but the distinct shape remained unmistakable.

“Where did she get that badge?” Aria asked the administrator.

The man swallowed hard. “It belonged to a staff nurse named Kayla Monroe. She reported her access badge missing shortly after the lockdown was initiated.”

“Where is Kayla now?”

“Security is currently attempting to locate her.”

Aria looked directly at Lucien. “Attempting?”

“Her apartment is completely cleared out,” Lucien stated. “Her cell phone was recovered from a disposal container two blocks from the hospital.”