Chapter 60

Natalie was practically bouncing with glee, already picturing Megan's downfall like it was a done deal.

But the second she turned around, a sharp pain hit the back of her neck-and she collapsed.

Megan calmly hauled her off the floor and tossed her onto the bed, stuffing a small black pill into her mouth.

Smacking her cheek firmly, Megan sneered,"Greenhead, I did give you a way out. You were the one who blew it. Don't blame me now. Congrats,you're tonight's viral star. Camera's rolling in 3,2, 1!"Without wasting another second, Megan darted out of the room.

Moments later, three burly men strode in.

Megan let out a slight sigh. Compared to Rachel, this green-haired drama queen seemed to hate her more.

She rang up Rachel. "Hey, all handled. I'm stepping out for a bit of air. If Tristan asks, just say I went to the restroom and I'll be right back. You know how he worries."

She hung up and slipped out of the Imperial Hotel.

Hailing a cab roadside, she headed straight for Capital Hospital. According to the plan Wyatt and Molly set, the assassin would make a move during the night shift's laundry window.

Megan still had about twenty minutes to spare.

Ten minutes later, she arrived at the hospital,headed quickly inside, and took the elevator straight to the 11th floor, ward 3 in section 2.

Inside, only the sleeping Bernard remained. The male nurse was off washing sheets.

Megan fished out a mini syringe from her purse and injected a mild sedative into the IV line before slipping behind the bed, waiting quietly for the assassin to show.

Meanwhile, Tristan, freshly showered and dressed,made his way into the banquet hall.

Spotting no sign of Megan near Rachel, he frowned."Rachel, where's Megan?"

Rachel remembered Megan's words and replied, "She went to the restroom. She should be back soon."

Tristan didn't press further, giving a light nod.

A short distance away, Wyatt was sprawled out in his wheelchair,smirking like he just hit the jackpot.

The thought of that woman's hot "performance"about to go live-with Tristan's face plastered in humiliation-was giving him a wicked dopamine rush.

Lifting his wvine glass, he gave Tristan a mocking toast.

Tristan's eyes turned frosty as he ganced away. Just then,his phone rang.

An old, grim voice warned, "By Bluewater Creek.or your woman won't even leave a body behind."

Click. The call ended.

Tristan instantly redialed Megan-but no answer.

His brow tightened. He checked her location.

Red dot. Capital Hospital.

Restroom,my foot!

Little liar.

He called Cameron and then bolted straight out of the banquet hall.

The taillights of his sleek black Maybach flared as it vanished into the night.

Back inside, Rachel picked up on the tension.Something was off.

She tried calling Megan, but no response.

A wave of unease crept up her spine-had something bad happened to her sister-in-law?At that moment,Kai Lee wasn't around. She caught sight of Kevin and rushed over. "Kevin, I think something's wrong with Megan. Tristan just ran out."

Without a second thought, Kevin sprinted toward the exit, with Rachel and Chloe right on his heels.

The three of them jumped into a car, Kevin dialed Tristan, and as soon as he heard "Capital Hospital," he floored it. Footsteps echoed steadily along the hallway,growing louder as someone approached. The soft hospital glow stretched into the room when the door swung open.

A pair of white sneakers stepped over to the bed. The man held a syringe filled with an unknown liquid,and without pause,reached for the IV tube.

Suddenly, Megan jumped to her feet. Bracing herself on the bed, she kicked straight at the man's stomach.

He stumbled hard, almost crashing to the floor.

Regaining his balance, he raised the needle and lunged toward her.

Still half-sitting on the bedside, Megan calmly slipped her hand into her bag and quickly flung out Nova Tech.

Nova's eyes lit up with a flicker of blue. "There's no tough job, only brave dogs!"

A thin blue laser shot straight for the man's hand.

With a sharp sizzle, the smell of scorched skin filled the room.

The laser seared the skin on his hand,making him drop the syringe instantly.

Before he could recover, Nova was already on the floor, recalibrated, and then-ZAP-aimed for somewhere particularly vulnerable.

Another zap, and the man's scream echoed painfully through the ward. Megan raised an eyebrow slightly, watching the guy fall to his knees, cupping himself in agony.

In her past life, Bernard had died from an air injection leading to a fatal embolism.

This time, they switched it up-the syringe had some kind of liquid in it.

"Who sent you? What's in that syringe?" she asked coldly.

Sweat poured from the man's forehead, and he grit his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Megan tilted her head. "NNova, he says he doesn't understand. Guess he won't need ears then,huh?"

The man's eyes widened in panic at the glowing robot dog. "Wait! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

"I don't know exactly who hired me. They used a voice changer-could've been a man or a woman. But I recorded it. Maybe someone can crack it. I was paid a million to come to Room 1123 at Capital Hospital and kill a Bernard. The plan was to inject him with venom from an Indian taipan. It's way stronger than your average chemical poison."

The Inland Taipan is the deadliest snake on Earth,its venom loaded with neurotoxins-50% post-synaptic,32% pre-synaptic-and clotting agents. It leads to massive hemorrhaging and paralysis; once bit, the venom cuts off nerve communication,paralyzing the body and eventually inducing death. Even a small amount could turn the blood into jelly in under ten minutes.

Megan's hands slowly clenched into fists. Molly and Wyatt-dangerous doesn't even begin to describe them.

Just then, the door suddenly swung open.

The man spun around and froze at the sight of a tall,all-too-familiar figure stepping in.

Megan's pupils shrank slightly. Tristan.

He followed her?!

With his expression unreadable, Tristan calmly reached over and flipped the light switch. The room flooded with bright, cold light.Right then, Megan finally got a clear look at the guy's face-and it was the exact same as Tristan's.

Tristan's face was dark as night, his sharp phoenix eyes practically glowing red, every step he took was like a warning shot. His voice? Cold as ice. "And what the hell was that supposed to be?"

Megan swallowed hard. "Laser crotch blast."

Tristan let out a low laugh. "Ha! You really didn't hesitate, huh? Even with this face?"

He had a point.

That fake skin mask on the guy's face was creepy-real.

Megan nudged the little robot dog beside her. "She did it." Nova Tech turned her head, looking betrayed. "Blip blip! Nova was scared to bits! Nova was only doing what the fairy lady wanted!"

Megan narrowed her pretty fox eyes, itching to punt the blabbermouth bot across the room.

Sensing danger, Nova dove under the hospital bed,shaking like a leaf.

Tristan didn't waste time and kicked the kneeling man hard in the back. Blood spat out of the guy's mouth as he crashed down.

Tristan stepped over him and strode right to Megan,scooping her up into his arms. "Weren't you just going to the restroom? Hm?"

His low voice had that dangerous, sexy lilt to it. Megan gave a sheepish nod. then shook her head. "This guy...was sent to kill my grandpa."

Before she could finish, Tristan pressed his lips to hers,silencing her with a fierce kiss-clearly not in the mood for more explanations right now.

The man on the floor gritted his teeth through the pain, and tried his best to crawl quietly toward the door.

Only to be stopped by a pair of shiny black dress shoes.

With despair, he looked up-straight into the face of someone wearing a grin that screamed "bad news."

Then came the click-clack of heels. Rachel looked from the intense lip-lock to the scene on the floor and twvitched. "Are you guys serious? Did I just walk in on a rom-com?"

Then she blurted, "What the hell?! That guy looks just like my brother!"

Chloe practically jumped. "What in the world is going on here?"

Kevin squinted at the edge of the guy's mask starting to peel near his ear, then just yanked the whole thing off in one go.

He gave the man a pointed look. "You walking out on your own,or what?"

The guy clenched his jaw, then suddenly screamed,"Help! Mur-"

Before he could finish, Kevin knocked him out cold with one punch.

Then, casually flicking his hair back, he looked at Chloe. "Do I look macho or what?"

Chloe nodded hard. "Goofball Bro,you're a legend!"

All their chatter finally broke the tender moment between Megan and Tristan. They pulled apart.

Tristan shot a side glance at the peanut gallery. "Kevin,you deal with this guy. He tried to kill Bernard."

Without another word, he grabbed Megan's hand and led her right out.

The guy on the floor was out cold, and the rest of them instinctively stood against the wall like they'd been called to order.

Megan's final words echoed behind her, "I'm fine.Cops are on the way. There's a hidden cam above the curtains-it caught everything."