A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 457

Rowan's chest tightened at her words. He stared down at her.

"Are my words just going in one ear and out the other?"

He had made his position perfectly clear: he was willing to step up and be the father. Why did it seem like she hadn't heard a single word?

Just as Elissa was about to respond, the car slowed to a stop in front of Vistapeak Gardens.

Evan Murphy lowered the partition. "Sir, Miss, we've arrived."

Elissa glanced outside but made no move to get out. "I want to go see the professor and his wife first."

They were elderly, and this whole ordeal must have been terrifying for them. She wouldn't be able to rest until she saw them with her own eyes.

Rowan lifted his chin slightly. "They're in 2202."

After he'd hung up with Cliff, he had arranged for Ian to get Aaron Blaine and Jacqueline out of their besieged home and settle them temporarily in his apartment across the hall.

Elissa let out a sigh of relief. She nodded, then eagerly opened the car door to get out.

Rowan's arm remained firmly around her waist. "Not even a thank you this time?" he teased. He had, after all, given up his own home for them.

"..."

Elissa couldn't tell if he was serious or not, so she went on the offensive. "Why should I thank you? This whole mess started because of a Murphy Group drug, and my professor got caught in the crossfire."

In other words, it was his problem to solve.

Her defiant attitude made Rowan raise an eyebrow. The pressure on her waist suddenly eased. "Go on, then."

Elissa quickly got out of the car. Seeing him remain inside, she instinctively glanced back.

DK Pharmaceuticals might be able to act with impunity overseas, but this was Vistapeak City. Few things could escape the notice of the Murphy family.

"Understood," Rowan said.

"Should we release the evidence and clear the air?" Ian asked.

"Not yet." Rowan's eyes narrowed. "If we release it now, they could easily turn the tables on us."

Public anger towards the Murphy Group and Elissa was at its peak. Releasing such evidence now would only make it look like the Murphy Group was using its power to bully people, especially if DK Pharmaceuticals had another card up its sleeve.

However, one question had been nagging Rowan since the beginning.

His voice turned cold. "See if you can find any connection, any past grudge between DK Pharmaceuticals and Elissa."

Logically, there shouldn't be one. Elissa had grown up in Vistapeak City, while DK Pharmaceuticals had been based abroad for the last two decades. Their paths shouldn't have crossed. But this move by DK was clearly not just aimed at the Murphy Group. It was also aimed at Elissa. In fact, the malice directed at her seemed even greater.