My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 114

For a split second, as Emily Blair met Andrew Lane’s gaze, it was as if she’d been plunged into a former life—her entire body went cold, her mind went blank, and she couldn’t think at all.

Andrew’s eyes glinted red at the corners, his voice dropping lower. “Emily Blair. Speak.”

Isabella Austin, sobbing, clung desperately to the fabric of her own blouse, shrinking into Andrew’s arms like a frightened child.

“Andrew, Andrew…”

Amelia Lane, face flushed with anger, jabbed a finger at Alice Anderson and shouted, “Emily, you called someone here to hurt Isabella, didn’t you?”

“You’ve gone too far this time. How dare you use such dirty tricks on Isabella?”

Only then did Emily notice the torn fabric on Isabella’s shoulder, as if someone had yanked it in a struggle.

She frowned slightly and looked over at Alice Anderson, who was sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain.

Not long ago, Alice had been perfectly put together; now he lay battered and bruised, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes swollen shut.

Emily didn’t need much imagination to piece together what had happened.

She drew a shaky breath and struggled to keep calm. “I didn’t—”

Suddenly, Alice’s eyes snapped open, wild and desperate as he stared at her.

In the next instant, he dragged himself across the floor and clung to her ankle, pleading, “Emily, help me—please, help me! You promised you’d protect me. You said if I did what you asked, you wouldn’t abandon me.”

A sharp, blinding pain slammed through Emily’s skull, as if someone had taken a hammer to her head.

In that instant, memories crashed over her: that night at the club, the way Alice had just happened to be waiting near her apartment, the oddity of the Lane family hiring a high schooler as a server, the way Alice had gone out of his way to strike up a conversation with her.

Amelia’s voice cut through her thoughts, shrill and accusing. “Emily, you still think Isabella set you up at the club, don’t you? All those horrible things people have said about Isabella online—that was you, wasn’t it? And now you’re using even lower tactics to attack her!”

“How could you be so heartless?!”

“I have nothing to hide. I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m not afraid of the truth.”

Kevin Lane’s expression was stone-cold. “You may not care about your reputation, but we do. This will be handled privately. Everyone here knows what they should and shouldn’t say.”

He fixed Emily with a steely glare. “As for you, Andrew will deal with you.”

Kevin Lane’s presence was as commanding as ever; at his word, the crowd fell silent.

Without another glance at Emily, Andrew swept Isabella up in his arms and strode past, his handsome face shadowed with something unreadable.

He left just one order behind: “Take Emily and Alice with you.”

Two estate staffers grabbed Emily by the shoulders and led her outside.

She and Alice were bundled into separate cars. Emily’s car followed closely behind the one carrying Andrew and Isabella, heading straight for the hospital.