The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 254

<Chapter 228 The Stalker 1

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Chapter 228: The Stalker-1

Caleb pov

The call came on Friday at 10pm. I didn’t even check the caller ID; I just grabbed the phone off the nightstand.

“Caleb, we have a catastrophic failure,” Lena’s voice was tight, stripped of all its usual corporate calm.

I sat up instantly, throwing the covers off my legs. I glanced over at Bella, who was still asleep beside me. “What happened? Is it Webb?”

“He’s out,” Lena said flatly. “The local police department botched the county jail transport an hour ago. Route 9 State Highway. Webb faked a seizure in the back of the cage. The transport van pulled over on the shoulder, and when the guard opened the door to check on him, Webb exploded.”

“He’s a middle-aged journalist, Lena!” I hissed, keeping my voice down as I stepped out into the hallway, pacing frantically. “How does he overpower an armed guard?”

“He didn’t need to be a mastermind, Caleb, he just needed to be frantic,” Lena replied, the sound of her keyboard clicking rapidly over the line. “He ripped a heavy tactical flashlight off the officer’s vest and struck him across the temple. The guard went down cold. Webb scrambled out of the van and fled into the tree line before the driver could unbuckle. It was pitch black and pouring rain. They lost him.”

A cold, paralyzing dread washed over me. “Where is he now?”

“He dropped his court-mandated tracking ankle monitor in the mud a mile from the crash site,” Lena said. “But my cyber team just intercepted a ping on a burner phone we suspect he bought at a highway truck stop. Caleb, the cell tower it hit places him ten minutes outside your estate gates. He’s coming back.”

My blood turned to pure ice. He wasn’t running away from the law. He was running back to his obsession.

“Double the perimeter guards,” I commanded, my voice shaking with raw fury. “I want plainclothes units hiding in the brush. Wake up the entire security detail. I’m going to tell Bella. We’re locking this house down.”

“I’m already on my way to the estate,” Lena said. “Do not let the children outside.”

I hung up, my hands trembling violently. I looked toward the bedroom door. The safety of my fortress had just vanished, and the nightmare was officially back on our doorstep.

The next day, on Saturday afternoon, I was standing by the large glass windows of the living room. I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in my chest.

Suddenly, a quiet, sharp chime cut through the silence of the house. The perimeter fence alarm had just gone off. My heart skipped a beat, and fear hit me straight in the stomach. Did he come back? Is Webb out there right now?

“Caleb, we have movement,” the head of our security team whispered urgently over my earpiece.

My grip tightened on the edge of the window frame. “Who is it? Is it Webb?”

“Yes, sir. It is Marcus Webb,” the guard confirmed, his voice tense. “He’s back in the treeline. He is standing

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<Chapter 228 The Stalker 1

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in the exact same spot.”

“Where are Bella and the kids right now?” I asked quickly, my voice tight.

“They are completely safe, Caleb,” the head of security replied. “They aren’t even at the main house. Bella took Tom and Grace out to the gated garden area by the indoor pool on the east side of the estate. They are indoors, and we have two guards stationed right outside the doors.”

“Keep them there,” I ordered, exhaling a sharp breath as the fear in my chest loosened just a bit. “Do not let them out until the police have this man in handcuffs.”

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