Chapter 178
By the time the doctor finished taking care of his wound, there were blood soaked, cotton balls littered on the tray beside the bed, and the sharp scent of antiseptic in the air
Antonio barely flinched as the needle pierced his skin, and it was all thanks to the fact that the doctor had administered local anesthesia.
He couldn’t feel his hand, but he didn’t care about that. The doctor said it would wear off, so he was fine.
“It’s time for my phone call,” he remanded the doctor:
“Hold on, let me get it,” she said as she left the m
it the room. Moments later, she came back with one, and she handed him the phone.
“Five minutes,” the doctor reminded him, her tone chipped but not unkind.
“I have to be here as protocol demands.” She lingered nearby, arms crossed, as she waited for him to make the call..
Antonio nodded, acknowledging her words, and he proceeded to dual Martins‘ number from memory.
He had a thing where he learned important numbers and stored them in his head in case a situation came up, and he didn’t have his phone with
Part of those numbers were, Martins, Alejandro, his parents and of course, Zabelle’s
The line
line rang once, twice, then
“Hello?” Martins‘ voice crackled through the receiver, laced with the usual gruff alertness. “Who is this?”
“You’ve got thirty seconds to explain why I’m still rotting in this hellhole,” Antonio snapped, his voice a blade,
Across the room, the doctor stiffened, but he didn’t care. Let her hear. Let them all hear. His anger had boiled over, and he needed to let some
“Yesterday, I was stabbed and today, just a few minutes ago, someone tried to finish the job. Are you waiting for them to finish the job before do what is needed of you?”
There was a second of silence before Martins replied, his voice strained but controlled, “We’re close, sir. The witness testimony we needed finally came through this morning. We’re gathering all of the office so the case against you can be dismissed.”
“Close isn’t good enough I want names and I want to see some change, Martins, Whoever’s sending these idiots after me–I want them all facing the full wrath of the law.”
No he didn’t. He wanted to personally get his hands on those bastards so he could
id kill them all, but he couldn’t say that, thanks to where he was
He then lowered his voice, icy and deliberate. “And if Zabelle so much as stubs her toe because you’re delaying with the whole thing. I’ll bury you
Martins didn’t miss a beat. “The team’s still on her, sir. Two cars, four men. She’s safe.”
Antonio’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. Safe. That word had become a prayer since his arrest and since the world decided he was a monster
But then Martins hesitated-a quiet intake of breath, almost unnoticeable. Antonio’s instincts prickled as he knew what it meant whenever Martins
“What else?” he demanded
The doctor tapped her wrist pointedly. Antonio shot her a glare and held up two fingers. “Two minutes,” he mouthed. She frowned, but thankfully, she didn’t argue
Martins sighed. “There’s something you should know. After her visit today, Mrs. Garcia made a detour. She stopped at Jeremy’s company” The name lut Antonio like a bullet Jeremy’s company? The room seemed to tilt, the fluorescent lights blurring into a haze.
Zabelle had walked into that snake’s den alone! Why! Especially alter everything Jeremy had done? And where the fuck were her guards! “Why?” The word came out raw and venous
“We don’t know yet. She was inside for eighteen minutes. No visible distress when she left, but_” Martins trailed off
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Chapter 178
Antonio’s law tightened as he wondered why Zabelle had gone to see the bastard.
Jealously immediately reared its head and Antonio tried his best to control, but he wasn’t especially as it was a strange emotion to him.
Jeremy was a ghost from her past, a wound she’d sworn had healed. Why reopen it now!
No, he couldn’t make such conclusions.
“Dig deeper.” Antonio ordered. “I want every camera, every email, every breath from that building analyzed. If Jeremy is causing problems for her, I want to know.”
“Understood so“
The doctor stepped forward, her patience evaporating. “Time’s up. Mr. Garcia.”
Antonio didn’t argue as it ended the call without another word and tossed the phone onto the bed. His injured hand was still numb, but the bandages already speckled red where his fist had clenched too hard.
“Rest,” the doctor insisted as she picked up the phone, her stern facade softening slightly. “You’ll tear the stitches.”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His mind raced, replaying every detail: Zabelle’s trembling hands as she’d left his hospital room earlier that day, the hollow look in her eyes when they talked.
So why did she
she go to see Jeremy!
Had Jeremy threatened her? Blackmailed her? Or worse–had she gone to him willingly?
The thought clawed at Antonio’s chest, and it was sharp.
He’d seen the way Jeremy looked at her, like a predator circling prey. He was no stranger to the fact that the asshole was getting to Zabelle back.
He would never allow that to happen, not in this life or in the next.
What wasn’t she telling him?
The heart monitor beeped faster, betraying him. The doctor glanced at it, then at Antonio, her brows furrowed. “Your blood pressure spiking. I’m ordering sedation if you don’t calm down.”
“Do it because I’m finding it very hard to get sleep,” he muttered.
The doctor decided to follow through with her words and by the time she finished administering the injection, exhaustion weighed on him, the drugs and adrenaline crash fighting for dominance.
However, barely a few minutes in and he realized that whatever the doctor gave him was strong as he slowly started to fall asleep.
As the room faded to gray at the edges, his last coherent thought was a vow
“I’m getting out of here. And then, Jeremy! You’re dead.”
