Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1265

Taking in the blood splattered across Bella's face and hands, and noting the hollow, unfocused terror in her eyes, Lucas instantly realized something catastrophic had just happened.

His heart hammered against his ribs, but a split-second calculation told him this was the ultimate opportunity. He couldn't hide anyway. Stepping forward, he wrapped an arm firmly around Bella's shoulders, perfectly playing the part of a concerned ally.

"Miss Ward, what happened? Are you okay?"

Through the ringing in her ears and the chaotic screams echoing from inside the suite, Lucas's voice broke through the haze. Bella blinked, her eyes slowly focusing on his face.

"What... what are you doing here?"

A violent surge of paranoia hit her. She had just been caught covered in blood. This was a disaster.

Lucas didn't give her a second to panic. "My dear, you're covered in blood. Talk to me."

Bella looked down at her crimson-stained hands again, her breathing frantic. She didn't know where to hide them. But a fractured sliver of logic pierced through her shock—she couldn't walk into the hotel lobby looking like a slaughterhouse worker. It would be over for her.

"I... I..." she stammered, her brain short-circuiting under the crushing weight of terror and adrenaline.

"It's okay," Lucas whispered soothingly, his grip tightening reassuringly on her shoulder. "I'm right here. Whatever happened, I've got your back. Let me fix this."

As he spoke, Lucas subtly craned his neck, peering past her shoulder into the suite.

The blood-curdling screams were impossible to ignore. Even in a soundproofed presidential suite, an open door meant the entire corridor would hear it in seconds.

"Who's screaming like that?" Lucas asked urgently. "If hotel security hears, we're done for."

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