Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 162

Or maybe it was some other post-op complication.

All she had to do was swap the medicated saline drip for a regular one. Simple as that.

And the hospital’s medical waste—at the very latest—was stored at the temporary holding site for no more than forty-eight hours. After that, it was gone.

So even if someone did discover that Xander’s problem was due to the wrong dose of anticoagulant, by then all the evidence would have been destroyed.

At most, the blame would fall on Zinnia for prescribing the wrong medication.

No one would ever suspect that someone had switched the drugs.

And who would go to the trouble of tracking it all the way back to the pharmacy?

Besides, Veridian City had dozens of pharmacies. How could anyone possibly trace it to the exact store?

That’s why Noelle couldn’t wrap her head around how, in less than twenty-four hours, they’d managed to trace it back to Jeremy’s son.

“This Quade guy—he didn’t have any beef with my brother. Why would he want to hurt him?” Noelle sneered, fixing her gaze on Zinnia.

“And how did you guys even find Quade? How did you know to check that particular pharmacy? What are you, psychic?” she demanded.

Noelle didn’t bother to hide her suspicions. “Or maybe Quade was working for you all along. You just needed a scapegoat to clear your own name, so you threw him under the bus?”

“Noelle’s got a point,” Rosalie chimed in, her tone sharp. “If you weren’t colluding with Quade, how’d you pin it on him so easily?”

She looked Zinnia up and down with open contempt, then went on, “Maybe you were just jealous that Landon favored Noelle so much, and you couldn’t do anything about it. So you took it out on Xander instead. My poor boy—just happened to land in your hands. Nearly cost him his life.”

Rosalie pursed her lips, her glare full of malice.

He lounged there, one hand draped lazily over the armrest—his right hand, just inches from Zinnia’s.

The room was crowded; the chairs pressed close together.

As Landon’s hand rested on the armrest, his palm grazed Zinnia’s left hand—whether by accident or design, it was hard to tell.

Zinnia stiffened almost imperceptibly, withdrawing her hand in silence.

Landon seemed to notice. He glanced sideways at her, his expression unreadable.

Meanwhile, the color that had only just returned to Noelle’s face drained away entirely when she realized Landon had uncovered everything—and had brought Jeremy and Quade with him, still in the grip of his bodyguards.

“Landon…” she whispered, her voice trembling.