Chapter 419

A chill went down Rex's spine. "What do you mean, 'no need'?"

"She's with me. She's not seriously injured. Stop worrying." Laurel knew who her brother was searching for, so she saw no reason to hide it. "But it's late, and she needs to rest. I'll send you the address tomorrow."

Rex had just started to relax when her words sent a fresh jolt of anxiety through him. With Rowan's intense gaze boring into him, he pleaded, "Sis, please, my dear sister, just give me the address now. I just need to see her, just for a second."

A dial tone was his only reply.

Rex threw his phone on the table and looked at Rowan, defeated. "It's not that I don't want to help, but my hands are tied. In Cresthaven, if my sister wants to hide someone, no one can find them." The entire Wilkinson intelligence network was under her control, which was why even Jesse had found nothing.

"It's enough," Rowan said, exhaling slowly. The crushing tension in his chest finally began to ease. But after a day of suffocating anxiety, the feeling of near- drowning lingered. He bent forward, taking another deep breath, the aftershocks of fear still rattling him. All day, he had been tortured by countless what-ifs. Thank God, none of them had come true.

As long as she was safe. With Laurel, she was safer than anywhere else.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as lan called. "Sir, the driver has been apprehended. It seems the Wilkinsons made a call. They're interrogating him through the night."

"Good," Rowan said. "Tell the others to stand down. We don't need to search for Elissa anymore."

Even knowing she was safe, Rowan couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he was haunted by images of the crash. From now on, he would never let her leave Vistapeak City alone again.

The next morning, before he could even ask, Rex had the address. It was a private hospital owned by the Wilkinsons. The floor Elissa was on was reserved exclusively for family members.

It was still early when they arrived, but Rowan's pace quickened with every step. He needed to see her with his own eyes, to confirm she was alright.

He reached her room and was about to knock when the door, which was slightly ajar, swung open. The attending doctor's voice drifted out, clear as day.

"If you weren't pregnant, you'd probably be discharged today. But given the condition of the fetus it's best for you to remain on bed rest A multi-hour car ride back to Vistapeak City would definitely be risky."

Rowan and Rex both froze. Pregnant? Who was pregnant?

Rex's first instinct was to check the room number his sister had sent. "This is the right room."

Rowan's usually stern face was suddenly flooded with raw emotion. He pushed the door open and strode in.

He saw her, propped up on the bed, her expression soft as she gazed down at her own belly. The words he had prepared died in his throat Only. one question came out, simple and direct. "You... you're pregnant?"

Their eyes met. A jolt went through Elissa. Her fingers, resting on the bedsheets, tightened. Staring into the dark eyes she had known since childhood, she found herself unable to form a denial.

Rowan knew her too well. He saw

wher

the flicker of panic in her eyes, and his own heart began to race. "Is it.

from that night?" His voice was thick with emotion, his eyes reddening. The girl he loved was carrying his child.

He couldn't contain himself. He strode to the bedside, his heart pounding against

his ribs. “As soon as... as soon as you're better, we'll get married...”

***