A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 302

After picking up the prescription, Lorraine found out the pharmacy was closed for lunch. She handed over the slip, filled in the delivery address, and then drove Elissa to a nearby restaurant for a meal.

As they settled in, Elissa got a message from Tanya Foster. She glanced at Lorraine. “My good friend’s nearby and wants to join us for lunch. Would you mind if she comes over?”

“Not at all. Invite her along,” Lorraine said without hesitation.

Lorraine began rinsing the cutlery with hot water, and—out of habit—did the same for the other two sets as well.

It was just what people did in this part of Vistapeak City. No matter how clean things looked, you always gave everything a quick rinse before using it. It didn’t exactly kill any germs, but it made people feel better—almost like a little ritual.

Tanya Foster had just finished meeting a client in the area. Figuring Elissa probably hadn’t eaten yet, she decided to join her for lunch.

Only when she arrived did she realize there was another woman at the table.

Elissa pulled Tanya down to sit beside her and introduced her to Lorraine. “This is my best friend, Tanya Foster.”

“Tanya Foster, nice to meet you.”

Lorraine smiled warmly, her tone easygoing. “I’m Lorraine, just a regular friend of Elissa’s for now.”

Just for now. Regular friend.

Such loaded words, Tanya thought, amused by the subtlety.

She grinned and teased, “We’ve actually met before, Secretary Lynn.”

Lorraine blinked in surprise. “Oh?”

“At the Murphy Group’s project bidding a couple of years ago.”

Back then, Lorraine had stood right beside Rowan Murphy.

Since Tanya knew Elissa was close to Rowan, she tended to remember the people around him more clearly.

Tanya caught the look on Elissa’s face and followed up, “What do you mean?”

Lorraine hesitated, but decided to share what she’d heard. “My parents told me—during the fiercest round of infighting in the Murphy family, Rowan nearly died.”

Elissa’s eyes widened.

Tanya was surprised too. “Seriously?”

“He was pretty young then—twenty-three or twenty-four, I think.” Lorraine recalled. “He was always on the margins when he first joined the Murphy Group, so he decided to strike out on his own. Just as his company was making a name for itself, someone in the Murphy family set him up. He almost lost his life.”

Besides Rowan and Slate Murphy, there were several other cousins vying for the family fortune. Who wouldn’t want to come out on top?

“It was a car accident—and a gunshot wound.”

“They say the bullet missed his heart by a hair. He spent a day and a night in emergency surgery before they finally pulled him back from the brink.”