Chapter 294

"Snake! A venomous snake!"

Felix burst through the crowd, sprinting toward Evelyn. Harrison immediately blocked his path with a sharp command. "All trainees evacuate immediately! Assessment suspended!"

"Sir, how is she?" Felix demanded, panic lacing his voice.

"Pit viper bite. She needs emergency treatment now."

'A snake? In a military training camp?'

"Evelyn!" Chloe rushed forward as Harrison examined the swelling wound. "Her hand's already turning purple. We must extract the venom immediately." He met Evelyn's pain-glazed eyes. "This will hurt, Ms. Vanderbilt."

The blade flashed. Evelyn bit back a scream as Harrison widened the puncture wounds, methodically squeezing out dark venom. Sweat poured down her ashen face.

"Stretcher! Now!" Harrison barked. Chloe took off running toward the medical tent with the instructor.

Lillian sat frozen in the dirt, staring at the woman who'd shoved her away from the striking viper. Evelyn Vanderbilt had saved her life.

The medical tent doors slammed shut behind the stretcher. Though Harrison had removed most venom, the camp lacked proper antivenom. The doctor's hands shook slightly. "We don't have pit viper serum here. She needs a specialized hospital—"

Harrison grabbed his collar. "She'll be dead before we reach the city!"

Chloe and Felix stood paralyzed like lightning-struck trees. As Evelyn's eyelids fluttered shut, Felix clenched his fists. "My brother knows a venom specialist. I'm calling him now."

•••

Nathan had been losing chess matches to Theodore all afternoon, his mind elsewhere. An inexplicable dread coiled in his chest like a living thing.

Theodore huffed at his distracted grandson. "The assessment's surely over by now. We'll hear results soon—"

Nathan's phone shattered the moment. Chess pieces scattered as he snatched it up. Theodore scowled at the unprecedented breach of their game's sanctity.

The color drained from Nathan's face. "I'm leaving." The words came out razor-sharp.

"What's happened? Why—"

"You barred me from that camp." Nathan whirled on his grandfather, eyes blazing. "And now Zoe's dying. Happy?" He stormed out before Theodore could respond.

Tires screeched across Swallow County's winding roads as Nathan's sports car became a silver bullet. His Bluetooth crackled with a venomous order: "I want the snake-planter's head on a spike within the hour."

The speedometer needle trembled at 120mph. A 45-minute drive became 25 minutes of near-misses and horn blares. Nathan's knuckles stood white on the steering wheel, his mind replaying Evelyn's laughter from their last dinner—how her nose crinkled when she teased him about his terrible coffee.

The infirmary doors loomed ahead. Somewhere inside, the woman who'd rewired his heart was fighting for her life. And heaven help whoever had orchestrated this.