Chapter 185

[Evelyn’s POV]

I had to admit, I was very glad that I had given the idea of training a second chance. It offered me a feeling I never thought I could experience. Control. Balance. A deeper sense of self-confidence.

After Alexander had made that unexpected appearance at the training tent, and after he and I had collected our scattered clothes off the ground, he’d told me about the results that had just come in from the forensics team.

It hadn’t come as any great surprise but rather pure relief. Even if Isabella tried to talk her way out of taking the blame for orchestrating my torture, there was no chance that she would be able to fight against the valid proof of her possession of Hemlock.

The idea came to mind when Alexander and I were making our way back to the house. I was desperate for a shower but I needed to ensure that we were going to be covered on all bases before beheading to the court.

Right as we made it to the bedroom, I made a B-line for the nightstand where I’d left my phone.

“Aren’t you coming?” he asked.

“Yes, I just need to make a quick call,” I told him.

“To who?”

My stomach flipped for the possible reaction I was going to get. Alexander had made it abundantly clear that he was no fan of Edward’s physician. But the way I saw it, it was mainly because of him that we were able to even identify the exact poison that nearly took my brother’s life.

He was as much involved in this case as everyone else. But that didn’t necessarily mean that Alexander was going to want his involvement to go any further than it already had.

I took in a deep breath and reached for my phone.

“I’m calling Dr. Cawfield,” I answered.

I didn’t need to turn my head to know that Alexander was glaring at me. I heard him take in a deep, tempered breath.

“Evelyn—”

“Stop,” I said abruptly. “This is purely for the case. I’m going to ask if he’s willing to testify in our defense against Isabella. We need him, Alexander.”

His pinched expression released after a long moment of contemplative silence. He slowly nodded his head.

“I understand,” he rasped.

With my phone in my hand, I moved over to him and glanced up to meet his gaze.

“I refuse to think that there could be even a possible chance that Isabella will somehow find a way to weasel herself out of a guilty verdict,” I explained. “Should it come to the point where the jury is not a hundred percent convinced even after we’ve shown them all the evidence that had been collected, we need that extra push.”

“Alright,” he conceded. “I may not be the guy’s biggest fan for reasons I don’t care to explain right now, it doesn’t hurt to have extra backup on something vital like this. Call him.”

A blossom of warmth spread around my chest as I lifted myself onto my toes to place a swift kiss on his lips. Alexander headed into the bathroom while I pulled up Henry’s number.

By the third ring, I heard his voice come through the speaker.

“Hello, Evelyn?”

“Hi, Henry, I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”

“No, not at all. I was just going over a few of my other patients’ files. What can I do for you?”

“Alexander and I found the Hemlock that was being used to poison Edward,” I said. “Not only that, but we managed to even stumble upon the lab set-up that you had mentioned before.”

His voice swelled with concern. “Oh my God. I mean, that’s good, isn’t it? Were you able to pick up the fingerprints?”

“Yes. The result had literally just come in earlier today. Henry, my main reason for calling was to ask if you’d be willing to testify when all of this is brought to court. Now, there’s no guarantee whether or not your testimony will even be necessary; however, I know that there would be a greater chance for us to win this case if you’d be willing to stand trial and explain to everyone what you told me.”

“Yes,” Henry said.

My brows lifted. “Really?”

His low chuckle caused my cheeks to flush. “Yes, Evelyn, I would happily testify.”

“Thank you,” I said graciously. “The requests for the warrants are currently being written up as we speak. I’ll keep you posted about the court date when the time arrives.”

“I appreciate that. Oh, before I forget, have you tried out that serum you were working on?”

“I have. I started with the Aloe base as I’d mentioned and then decided to add in Rosehip seed oil to help reduce the visibility of the damaged skin tissue,” I told him.

“That sounds incredible,” he said. His voice was filled with honest enthusiasm that it was almost enough to make me forget about the stress I felt earlier. “How long do you think it will be before you start seeing the results?”

“I’m honestly not quite sure,” I confessed. “Considering this is the first time I have ever created something like this, I’m not totally sure how effective it’s going to be. I’m afraid only time will tell.”

“I have every faith that this serum is going to work,” he said. “In any case, I’ll be in touch.”

When the call ended, I gave myself a moment to recount our conversation. Was it unethical to think that there was a slight chance that I had made a friend out of my brother’s physician?

Probably.

I wasn’t about to jump into anything given my previous track record for trying to make friends. Although I was fairly certain that Henry wasn’t anything like Michael, there was still a strong part of me that wasn’t willing to leave anything to chance.

...

That night, Alexander and I had decided to head to bed early. Between training and finishing up the last pieces of the case files for the upcoming court case, the two of us were easily exhausted.

I happily reveled in the glorious feeling of Alexander’s arms being wrapped around me. It made me feel both loved and safe from any possible outside threat.

However, something was bothering my inner senses...I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something didn’t feel right. There was a pressure pressing in the center of my chest and the more I tried to ignore it, the worse it got.

I peered my eyes open to find the bedroom still fully engulfed in darkness. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I noticed that it was only a little after two in the morning.

Thud.....Thud....Thud....

I narrowed my eyes in question. “What the hell?” I whispered.

Alexander was still fast asleep beside me. Something was clearly going on out in the hallway. My anxiety started to rise but I couldn’t very well ignore it. Half-hazardly, I slid out of bed and tip-toed my way over to the door.

I stepped into the hallway and was quick to find no one there. That should have been reassuring enough had it not been for the faint glow of light that came from the far end of the hall.

I dug up my courage and quietly followed the source of the light. I hid in the doorway and silently peeked into the room to find a slim figure vigorously searching every nook and cranny. When they turned to the side, my heart leaped into my throat as their identity was revealed.

Fiona.