Chapter 180.

Christian quietly walked out of the hospital room. He didn’t say anything at all.

He simply pushed away from the wall, gave Kylie one last look, and walked through the door.

Adrian watched him go. For a few seconds, he remained where he was.

Emilia was still beside Kylie.

Mrs. Hayes was speaking softly to her daughter.

Adrian glanced toward Christian’s empty corner. The way Christian had left bothered him.

Adrian turned to Emilia.

She was still holding Kylie’s hand.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair. "I’m going to check on him."

Emilia looked up. "Christian?"

Adrian nodded.

She glanced toward the door. "Okay."

He squeezed her shoulder. "I’ll be back." She nodded.

Adrian walked out.

The hospital hallway was quieter than the room. He looked left, and then right. He didn’t see Christian, so he walked farther.

The elevator doors opened at the end of the hall.

A nurse stepped out.

Two visitors walked past him.

Adrian kept going. Then he noticed a set of double doors leading toward a quieter section of the hospital.

There was a small waiting area beyond it.

Christian was sitting there alone.

His elbows rested on his knees, with his hands clasped loosely, and head lowered.

Adrian stopped.

Christian didn’t look up.

Adrian walked toward him. He sat beside him, and the two men remained silent.

The room was almost empty.

There were three chairs along one wall, and a vending machine hummed quietly in the corner.

Rain tapped against the tall windows. Somewhere beyond the doors, a cart rolled across the floor.

Christian stared at the ground while Adrian stared ahead.

One minute passed, and then another passed on. Christian shifted slightly.

Adrian didn’t move.

Eventually, six minutes passed

.

Christian rubbed his palms together.

Adrian glanced at him once.

Christian’s eyes remained fixed on the floor.

Seven minutes passed.

Finally, Christian spoke. "Give me one of your phones."

Adrian turned his head. "Why?"

He reached into his pocket anyway.

Christian looked at him. "I need to check something."

Adrian pulled out his phone and handed it to him.

Christian took it. His fingers wrapped around the device. He stared at the screen for a second, then he looked at Adrian.

"I need to get into Kylie’s phone."

Adrian’s expression changed slightly. "Why?"

"I need to know who came and left her apartment." Christian looked down at the phone. "Whoever did this might have been there before she was attacked."

Adrian remained silent.

Christian continued. "Her phone might tell us something. He turned the phone over in his hand. "I can’t use mine. She blocked me."

Adrian nodded.

Christian couldn’t reach Kylie directly. He couldn’t access the information he needed through his own device.

And he couldn’t simply ask her.

She was unconscious, so he needed another way to look at what had happened.

Adrian leaned back. "Can you do it?"

Christian looked at him. "You know me."

Adrian’s mouth twitched faintly. "Unfortunately."

Christian almost smiled. Then the expression disappeared. He unlocked the phone. "I’m not trying to break into anything that isn’t already connected to her accounts. I just need the body aura that was at least nine steps away from her device."

Adrian raised a brow.

Christian looked back at the screen.

Adrian remained beside him.

The rain continued tapping against the windows. For several minutes, the only sound was Christian’s fingers moving across the screen.

He worked quietly with concentration.

After several minutes, Christian leaned back. "Her location history isn’t giving me enough."

Adrian said nothing.

Christian continued. "There are gaps."

"Could that be normal?"

"Yes." Christian’s eyes narrowed. "But the timing is strange."

He looked at the screen again. "The apartment building’s system recorded activity around the time she was attacked."

Adrian turned toward him. "What kind of activity?"

"Entry and exit records."

"Can you access them?"

"Not directly." Christian’s thumb moved across the screen. "But I can see enough to know there was movement around her apartment."

Adrian’s expression hardened. "How many people?"

"I’m still checking."

Christian’s eyes moved quickly.

He stopped, and then continued. Another minute passed, and then another.

Adrian didn’t interrupt.

Christian was good at this. Technology had always been easier for him than people. Machines didn’t lie because they were afraid.

Systems didn’t pretend to care. Data didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear. It simply existed. And Christian trusted that.

He leaned closer to the screen. "That’s weird." His eyes remained fixed on the screen.

He tapped once, and then again. His brows pulled together. "I’ve got an access record."

"For Kylie?"

"Yes."

"From today?"

Christian shook his head. "No." He looked at the date. "Several days ago."

The minutes stretched.

Eventually, Adrian stood. "Do you want coffee?"

Christian didn’t look up.

"No."

"You should eat."

"I’m not hungry."

"You haven’t eaten since Brazil."

Christian finally looked at him. "Adrian."

"What?"

"I’m trying to figure out who attacked the woman I—"

He stopped. His jaw tightened. "The woman I care about." He managed to complete the statement.

Adrian held his gaze.

"Let me work."

Adrian nodded, and he sat back again. Another twenty minutes passed, and then thirty.

The hospital became quieter.

The afternoon slowly moved toward evening.

Christian barely noticed.

He checked one thing, and then another.

Eventually, he found something. His fingers stopped, and his eyes narrowed.

"No."

Adrian looked over.

Christian opened another record. His expression slowly changed.

Adrian noticed. "What did you find?"

Christian stared at the screen. "My mother."

Adrian’s brow furrowed. "What about her?"

Christian turned the screen slightly. There was a record of Kylie’s address.

Christian stared at it. His lips parted slightly. "My mum went to Kylie."

Adrian frowned. "When?"

Christian scrolled. "A few days ago."

"Why?"

"I don’t know."

Adrian studied his face. "What did she do?"

Christian shook his head. "I don’t know."

He kept staring.

His mother would never like Kylie. That much he knew.

She very much would have insulted her, and belittled her. She had gone to her apartment? Alone? Without telling him?

Christian’s brows pulled together. "Why would she go there?"

Adrian’s voice was quiet. "Could she have known about you and Kylie?"

Christian swallowed. "No." His stomach tightened. He looked back at the screen.

Adrian spoke carefully. "Did she know where Kylie lived?"

Christian nodded. "Apparently."

He stared at the record.

The silence stretched.

"Did your mother hurt her?" Adrian broke the silence.

Christian’s head snapped toward him. "What?"

Adrian’s expression remained serious. "Did she try to drown Kylie?"

Christian stared at him for a second, then shook his head. "No." He looked back at the screen. "Not that."

Adrian frowned.

Christian’s thumb moved across the display. "She’s leaving."

"What?"

"My mother." Christian zoomed in on the information. "She’s leaving."

Adrian leaned closer.

Christian’s eyes narrowed. "And it was days ago." He sat back. "Why did she go to Kylie?"

Christian stared at the screen.

His mother had gone to Kylie’s apartment.

Then, days later, Kylie was attacked. It could have been a coincidence. It could have been nothing. However, Christian didn’t believe in coincidences anymore.

Adrian’s voice broke through his thoughts. "Your mother needs to be stopped."

Christian slowly looked at him. "She’s not the person who attacked Kylie."

Adrian held his gaze.

Christian looked away. "She can be cruel." His jaw tightened. "But she wouldn’t do this."

Adrian didn’t argue.

Christian stared at the phone. "There is someone else."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

Christian’s brow furrowed. "We just caught our guy."

He stood.

Adrian watched him.

Christain looked toward the hospital corridor, then back at the screen.

Adrian suddenly turned and reached for the phone. "Noah?"

Christain frowned. "You know him?"

"Emilia’s ex." Adrian’s expression hardened.

Christian looked at him. "That’s him?"

"Yes."

Christian’s face changed. He slowly lowered the phone. "I thought you locked him up."

Adrian’s gaze sharpened. "He was abusive toward Emilia."

Christian remained silent.

"He accused her of sleeping with me right after they broke up."

Adrian handed the phone back to Christain. Christian stared at the screen.

"He blamed everyone around her."

Christian swallowed. He looked toward the hallway. "And apparently..." His voice dropped. "...he broke out."

Adrian nodded once. "That’s what it looks like."

Christian’s eyes closed.

For a moment, he simply stood there, and then he opened them. His face was different.

The fear was still there. But something colder had settled over it.

"So Noah is free. And he knew where Kylie lived."

"Noah has a history of blaming Kylie."

Christian shook his head.

Adrian’s expression remained unreadable.

Christian looked back at the phone. He scrolled again. "I need to know what my mother said to Kylie."

"We can find out."

"I need to know why she went." Christian looked at him. "And I need to know how Noah got out."

Adrian nodded. "We’ll find that out too."

Christian took a breath.

For the first time since leaving Kylie’s room, his expression broke. He looked exhausted.

"I need to stay away after this."

Adrian’s eyes softened slightly.

Christian stared at the hospital floor.

Adrian didn’t speak.

"I thought if I gave her what she wanted, she’d be okay. And now she’s lying in there because some psychopath found her."

"Christian."

"I wasn’t there."

Adrian remained quiet.

Christian’s eyes became glassy. "I wasn’t there." He looked toward the hospital room. "I should’ve been."

Adrian shook his head. "No."

Christian looked at him.

"You couldn’t have known."

"But I could’ve."

"You can’t protect someone from something you don’t know is coming."

Christian stared at him.

Adrian’s voice remained calm. "And you can’t punish yourself for respecting her boundaries."

Christian’s jaw tightened. "I don’t know how to do this."

"Do what?"

"Stand there." His voice was barely audible. "Watch her lie in that bed and do nothing."

Adrian looked at him. "Then don’t do nothing."

Christian frowned.

"Find out who did it."

Christian stared at him.

Adrian continued. "Find out how Noah escaped."

Christian’s eyes hardened.

"Find out why your mother went to Kylie." He paused briefly, then added. "And when Kylie wakes up, let her decide what she wants from you."

Christian swallowed.

For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he nodded. "Okay."

Adrian stood.

Christian remained seated for another second. Then he stood too.

Christian held Adrian’s phone out, and Adrian took it.

Christian kept his own phone in his hand. "We need to talk to Emilia."

Adrian nodded. "But not yet."

Christian frowned. "Why?"

"Kylie is still waking up."

Christian looked toward the hospital room.

Adrian continued. "Let’s give Emilia a few minutes with her."