Page 180 of Rose
Her heart pounded as she stared at his name, hovering over their messages. His unread texts stacked one after another—asking if she was okay, telling her he loved her, saying he was worried.
Fresh tears burned her eyes. She had really believed this man loved her. Had built something with him in the middle of her grief. Had let him inside places no one had ever reached. And now… he was the cause of it all. The fire. The pain. The emptiness.
Her vision blurred as she typed the message, the words stabbing her as much as they were meant to push him away. She hit send and collapsed onto the sectional, sobs ripping out of her like she was breaking all over again.
Her phone lit up instantly. Savior was calling.
She declined.
Everything was moving too fast. The moment she thought she’d healed, she was right back where she started—shattered.
Chapter 18
Savior drove an hour out to the warehouse, the whole ride buzzing with unease. When he stepped into the conference room, he found Sincere, Olivia, and Saint already at the table. The air felt off. Too still. Too heavy.
He frowned seeing the looks on their faces. “Wassup?”
Sincere’s eyes flickered, nervous. Olivia looked the same. Even Saint’s expression was different—softer than Savior had ever seen in his life.
“Son… you need to sit.” Saint’s voice held a weight that twisted Savior’s gut.
Now he was worried. First Ahzii, now this.
“What’s going on?” He dropped into a chair, but nothing in him settled.
Sincere leaned forward. “I reached out to one of my contacts—a doctor at St. Joseph’s. He’s the one who operated on Jane Doe the day of the mission.”
Savior nodded for him to go on.
“What’s with the dramatic pause, nigga? Spit it out.” His patience was already thinning.
Sincere slid a file across the table. “Look for yourself. This is the original.”
Savior opened it, and everything in him crashed at once.
“The fuck is this?” His voice was low, dangerous.
“Jane Doe… is Ahzii Rose,” Olivia said.
Savior shook his head, but the pieces started falling into place whether he wanted them to or not. The burn marks. The gunshot wound. The pregnancy. Every injury in that file lined up perfectly with hers. He just hadn’t seen it before.
The only question was why someone would keep her hidden.
“This means what? Cain said William wasn’t seen with no woman.”
“And you said yourself you think he wasn’t telling the full truth,” Olivia countered. “What if Ahzii’s the one he was hiding? But why?”
“Ahzii don’t have shit to do with this.” His tone cut sharp through the room.
She might have been Jane Doe, but there was no way she was tangled up in Lazarus’ shit. Just thinking his family could’ve been responsible for her scars, her burns, her baby… it made him sick.
“I’m not saying she’s in it, Sav,” Olivia said carefully. “But she has the injuries. She was admitted the same night. And someone is keeping her a secret for a reason.”
His jaw locked. She was making sense, but he refused to hear it.
“Toss the fucking file. She don’t have shit to do with it, like I said. This shit is a fucking coincidence.”
He pushed up from the chair, ready to leave. He couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it.
