NovelGoldChapter 565
After a tense round of treatment, Rachel was finally out of danger.
Haynes, Keen, and Jasper spent the entire night by her bedside at the hospital, refusing to leave her alone. The
next day, they hovered over her with gentle concern, attentive to her every need.
Rachel noticed that Haynes and Keen, who had been growing distant lately, now seemed to have returned to the
way they used to be warm, solicitous, almost doting. That pleased her immensely.
She hadn't managed to use this incident to get rid of Stella as she'd hoped, but regaining the affection of Haynes
and his son was a decent consolation prize.
That afternoon, Jasper went out to pick up lunch, leaving Rachel alone in her hospital room. Bored, she lounged
back against the pillows, scrolling absently through her phone.
Despite the tic bruises and bandages, her injuries weren't as severe as they looked-just scuts and
bruises, nothing that would jeopardize her upcoming concert.
A soft knock cat the door.
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Rachel assumed Jasper was back. "Jasper, did Haynie say anything? Is he coming by today or-"
She broke off mid-sentence. Her face froze.
"Joshua Gardner... What are you doing here?"
Joshua set down a bouquet of fresh flowers and offered her a pleasant smile. "You were hurt pretty badly. It's only
natural I'd want to check in on you, isn't it? Or am | not welcome?"
Rachel forced a smile. "Of course you're welcome... It's just—Jasper and Haynie could walk in any minute. If they
saw you here, they might start asking questions."
At that moment, Rachel still had no idea that Joshua had already succeeded in getting close to Stella.
Joshua's tone was calm, almost casual. "Don't worry. Jasper's been delayed by one of my people-he won't be
back for a while. As for Haynes, he's tied up at the signing event right now. He won't be here any tsoon. No
one's going to find out | was here."
Rachel hesitated, a chill breaking out across her palms.
Neither of them spoke, and the room fell into a tense, uneasy silence.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Rachel broke it. “Joshua... Is Lind one of yours?"
Joshua gave a faint, knowing smile. “I run things on the underground market. No job, no deal happens there
withoutknowing about it."
Rachel's lips parted, her panic ebbing away, replaced by a steely, bitter gloom. "Joshua, why didn't you just kill
Stella?"
Joshua replied, "I already told you my reasons. But you, Rachel-why didn't you ctoabout this?
Something this big, and you keptin the dark?"
His smile was almost mocking. "Or is it that you don't trust me?"
Rachel exhaled, steadying herself. "It's not that didn't want to tell you. | was afraid if something went wrong,
you'd get dragged down with me. So
NO
| figured it was better to go all and hire someone through the underground."
Joshua shook his head. “Rachel, your plan was full of holes. If | hadn't stepped in to clean up your mess, you'd
have been caught by Haynes and Foreman long before Stella even showed up to swap places.
Rachel knew she couldn't hold a candle to Joshua when it cto brains. Ten of her couldn't match him.
Still, Stella made her feel threatened—an urgent, gnawing danger she couldn't ignore. Stella was a thorn in her
side, and no matter the cost, Rachel was determined to get rid of her.
She looked Joshua in the eye. "So you're the one who turned my attempt on Stella's life into a setup to win
sympathy?"
Joshua didn't deny it. "Lind's the
man | arranged for you. He's skilled, a dead shot-he can handle himself, even if things go sideways. He's far
better than those unreliable
ve
mercenaries you scraped together on the black market."
Rachel pressed her lips together, saying nothing. Transactions on the underground were always anonymous. In
truth, she had no idea who she'd actually hired.
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