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***
Sawyer stared at his phone screen, tension coiling in his chest.
No call.
No text.
Nothing.
Ellie had never asked him for help before, and now, when she needed it the most, she still hadn't reached out?
A full night had passed. An entire fucking night. And she hadn’t even bothered to send a single message?
“Henry!” Sawyer’s voice cut through the office like a whip.
Henry, already out of breath from rushing over, barged in, half-scared to death. “Mr. Stark?”
“Did you get any calls from Ellie?” Sawyer’s jaw was clenched, his expression thunderous.
Henry gave him a confused look. "Mr. Stark, Miss Ellie didn’t call you yet?"
The way Sawyer glared at him made Henry rethink his life choices. Maybe today was his last day alive.
"No, Mr. Stark! No calls!" Henry quickly clarified. "Do you want me to call her? I can do it right now—maybe she needs something!"
“Her bank account and cards are still canceled?” Sawyer interrupted, voice tight with agitation.
"Yes, Mr. Stark. Just as you had instructed."
“God damn it,” Sawyer gritted out, running a hand through his already-messy hair, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and frustration.
Why hadn’t she called?
If her adoptive uncle had suddenly fallen ill and needed surgery, Sawyer should’ve been the first person Ellie turned to.
But because of their fight, she didn’t even inform him she was at the hospital?
His agitation spiked, and without another thought, he called Damion.
"Hey, man," Sawyer said, forcing his tone to sound casual, not desperate. "It’s about Ellie. How much is needed for the surgery? Forward the bill to my office. Don’t bother Ellie with this—I’ll cover everything."
"I wasn’t going to charge her at all, brother," Damion answered. "But I checked the file. The surgery bill’s already paid."
Sawyer’s body stiffened. “What?”
“Yeah. Someone named Jeremy Nox covered the entire bill.”
Chapter 18 A Rich Guy
“Motherfucker!” Sawyer’s rage surfaced so suddenly it was almost violent. His back went rigid, his breathing turned lethal, and Henry instinctively took a step back, clutching his tablet like a shield.
‘Miss Ellie, you’re going to get everyone killed—especially me.’ Henry swallowed hard. ‘Why the hell did I become a secretary? I should just go book my own funeral.’
Through gritted teeth, Sawyer forced out the name. "Jeremy Nox?"
"Yeah," Damion confirmed. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Actually, I saw him at the hospital with Ellie while the operation was going on. He looked familiar… hold on." His voice trailed off as he thought. "Wait a minute. Isn’t he the same guy Ellie told us was her new boyfriend that night at the bar? When you proposed to Olivia?"
“I didn’t fucking propose,” Sawyer snapped. “It was just a goddamn perfume!”