Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 165

Hamilton picked up the call with unusual haste.

He sat on the couch, his face clouded with brooding shadows.

The housekeeper approached with a cotton swab soaked in antiseptic.

"Mr. Fowler, perhaps you should tend to that bite before it gets worse."

Blood still stained Hamilton's arm from where Natalia had sunk her teeth into him.

He glanced at the wound with detached indifference and muttered, "Leave it."

It was a mark from Natalia, a debt he intended to repay in kind.

Eveleen, on the other end of the line, overheard the housekeeper and felt a surge of hope.

Was Hamilton's injury the reason he hadn't shown up?

"Hamilton, are you hurt? Is that why you didn't come? I'll wait for you, we can postpone the surgery until you're better."

Hamilton took a drag from a freshly lit cigarette before replying, "No need to wait. The surgery's off."

Eveleen's heart skipped a beat, panic rising in her voice.

"Hamilton, you promised you wouldn't abandon me! You can't go back on your word!"

A scoff escaped Hamilton's lips.

"Eveleen, I did promise to help you with the surgery, and I said I wouldn't leave a scar. But if you're the artist behind your own scars, then it's a different story altogether." Eveleen choked up, her anxiety intensifying.

"What do you mean, Hamilton? How could I have done this to myself? I'm not crazy."

Silence was his only response, and in those moments of quiet, Eveleen's panic soared.

"Hamilton, I-"

Before she could finish, Hamilton cut in, "How many times have I warned you, Eveleen? Do you take my words for wind?"

"I didn't, Hamilton, I really didn't-"

it adorn your face forever.

Hamilton

face

Hamilton

to live with this

inflicted it

it because of

It must be Natalia.

scar was self-inflicted, then surely, he must

Natalia, he'd let her live with this disfigurement for

her

the scene. She

have ended Natalia when we had the chance! Instead, you insisted on letting her change her name. Look where that's gotten us-stuck with a ticking time bomb!" Patrick's face matched Lucinda's in its grimness. Never had he imagined Hamilton would actually fall for Natalia, the daughter he'd cast

connections within the medical community. Eveleen was the Schafer family's prized jewel; he wouldn't let her future

name, they recoiled as if warned off by a higher power. In mere hours, Eveleen had become persona non grata in the cosmetic surgery world. Patrick returned with a grim face,

pale with anger, and Eveleen

drive you

that wretch Natalia's doing. I hope she rots for

drop things off at Scarlett's

brief pause, she answered

the point. "Ms. Jenkins, I heard from Ronin

won't be able to

if you don't mind, perhaps we could

her word, and it was only right to explain

the Ron Group's Silkwood City branch, where Mason was overseeing the setup. Upon seeing Natalia, Mason nodded slightly. "Ms. Jenkins,

"Thank you, Mr. Joyner."

I

appreciate the opportunity, Mr. Joyner, but it seems I'm not meant

before him, a contemporary of his

Ronin that you're aiming for a spot

gave a nod of

the State Department at

the pleasantries for what they were

tone

you. Even if you're with the State Department, you just need to strategize for me a bit, and delegate the rest to Ronin. A little consulting on the

Natalia's brow furrowed slightly.