Chapter 310
Chapter 310:
Rose pushed open the door and stepped outside, immediately engulfed by chaos. The street was jammed with emergency vehicles, their lights painting everything in pulses of red and blue. Police shouted orders. Paramedics rushed past with stretchers. Smoke hung in the air like fog, burning her eyes and throat. She moved through the crowd, invisible in the confusion. No one noticed another shocked face, another person staring at the burning building.
Rose pulled the wig from her bag and slipped it on, then added the glasses. The transformation was simple but effective. No one looking for Rose Lewis would see her here.
As she pushed closer to the police barriers, Rose caught snatches of conversation around her:
“They’re saying at least three bombs…”
“…someone targeted the Phoenix Foundation…”
“…dozens injured, maybe worse…”
“…they got Victoria Kane out but…”
Rose froze, focusing on a man speaking to a police officer.
“I saw them take her out on a stretcher,” the man was saying. “Victoria Kane. She collapsed right after they rescued her adopted daughter from inside.”
Rescued. The word hit Rose like a physical blow. Camille had been rescued. She wasn’t dead.
A scream built in Rose’s throat, threatening to escape. She swallowed it back, her hands clenched so tightly her nails cut into her palms. The pain helped focus her thoughts.
If Camille was alive, then Rose hadn’t won yet. The destruction around her, the burning building, the injured guests, the ruined gala—none of it mattered if Camille still breathed.
Rose pushed through the crowd until she reached the line of ambulances. Medical personnel rushed between them, carrying the injured, calling out orders. She scanned each face, each stretcher, looking for any sign of her sister. There—a flash of blue fabric. The color of Camille’s gown. Rose moved closer, peering through the open doors of an ambulance.
A woman lay inside, an oxygen mask covering her face, paramedics working around her. But it wasn’t Camille. Just another guest in a blue dress, another victim of Rose’s plan.
Frustration boiled inside her. Rose turned in a circle, trying to see everything at once. Where was Camille? Where was Victoria? Had they already been taken to a hospital?
A police officer approached, eyeing her suspiciously. “Ma’am, you need to step back behind the barricade.”
Rose nodded, forcing her face into an expression of shock and concern. “I’m sorry. I was looking for my friend. She was at the gala.”
“All victims are being transported to Memorial Hospital or City General,” the officer said more gently now. “You should check there.”
.
.
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