Chapter 85

Andrew Lucas's heart stopped beating.

His eyes remained fixed on Susan Thompson's pale face. Only when he saw the faint rise and fall of her chest did his pulse resume.

"Susan!" His voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

His fingertips brushed against the dampness on her back. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in crimson. Andrew's pupils constricted violently as unprecedented fury surged through him.

"Who did this?"

Silence answered him.

He carefully gathered her into his arms but froze when his hand grazed her left wrist. The leather glove was soaked with blood, fused to the wound beneath.

His movements were impossibly gentle, yet fresh droplets of blood still welled up.

"Mmm..." Susan frowned unconsciously in her unconscious state.

Andrew's breath hitched. He had never seen her like this—so fragile she might shatter at the slightest touch. The woman who usually bared her claws at him now lay frighteningly still.

Another patch of red bloomed across her shirt.

Andrew tore off his tie and dialed Bella Lucas. "Bring Mom's special medication. Now."

"You're hurt?" Bella's voice shot up an octave.

"Twenty minutes." He hung up and called Leo Miller instead. "Find out who hurt her. I want answers before dawn."

Before Leo could respond, the sound of shattering glass came through the line.

"Boss?"

"If you can't find out, get your ass transferred to the African branch."

When Bella burst into the apartment, she found Andrew standing by the bed, his aura dark and oppressive. The sight of the curled-up figure on the mattress drained the color from her face.

"You actually—"

She yanked back the thin blanket and gasped. Crisscrossing wounds still oozed blood across Susan's back, and her left hand was a mangled mess.

"Andrew, have you lost your mind?" Bella hurled the medical kit at him. "Torturing a woman? You're a disgrace to the Lucas name!"

Andrew sidestepped the projectile, his expression murderous. "It wasn't me."

"Then who? Nicole Capra?" Bella sneered. "Hurting the real deal over some stand-in? How impressive!"

Susan jerked violently when the antiseptic touched her wounds.

"Be gentle!" Andrew seized Bella's wrist.

She shook him off. "Now you care?" Suddenly leaning closer to Susan's face, she recoiled in shock. "This is... Susan?"

The air turned to ice.

"You found her?" Bella's voice trembled. "And then did this to her?"

Andrew's jaw clenched. "I said it wasn't me."

"Then who?" A strange look crossed Bella's face. "Don't tell me... it's because of Ethan Sullivan?"

Seeing her brother's stormy expression, realization dawned. "You're jealous she's with Ethan? Andrew, when did you become so despic—"

"Shut up!"

At that moment, Susan's eyes fluttered open.

The cotton swab fell from Bella's fingers. She whirled on Andrew and grabbed his collar. "You're finished! I'm calling Ethan right now!"

"Don't you dare!"

"Watch me!" Bella pulled out her phone. "When Ethan finds out what you did to his girlfri—"

"She's my wife."

Five simple words froze Bella mid-motion.

"What?"

Andrew stared at the frail figure on the bed, his gaze unreadable. "Susan has always been my wife."