Chapter 0338

I stared at Zoe, swallowing hard. Her eyes were wide and pleading, tears shimmering within them. I looked up at Noah, who remained silent, seemingly waiting for me to decide. My gaze flicked back to Zoe. Normally, I would have called her a liar. Perhaps I would have reveled in that thought a few months ago. But now, seeing her whimper, and knowing she and Noah had never…

After a long moment, I took a deep breath. “I believe you,” I said softly.

Zoe let out a shuddering breath and sagged to the floor, thanking me repeatedly as she clutched at my skirt. I threw a warning glance at Noah, indicating that I’d had enough of the blubbering. He stepped forward to help her back into her chair.

As Zoe composed herself, I turned to Noah. “If Zoe didn’t do this, then who? Did someone break into the house?”

Noah frowned, shaking his head. “Our security officers have checked the CCTV footage a thousand times. There’s no indication anyone entered at any point.”

Without a word, I picked up my skirt and stormed out of the living room. I found our bedroom in shambles, every linen and piece of furniture torn apart in a search for hidden cameras. Frowning, I walked to where the unicorn had been sitting on my shelf and ran my fingers over it. The dust pattern around it was undisturbed, as if it hadn’t been moved since I first placed it there.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind. My eyes widened as I whispered, “White Rabbit.”

“What?”

I jumped, not realizing that both Noah and Zoe had followed me and were now standing in the doorway. I shook my head, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing. Just… thinking out loud.”

“Tell me what you meant earlier.” Noah’s hand rested between my thighs, his green eyes burning into the side of my head. Our bedroom had been returned to its original state, the heavy drapes blocking out all light—all flicker of the outside world. I had insisted on keeping them shut tonight, as if the hills themselves had eyes.

“What?” Noah pushed his thumb against my clitoris, causing me to squirm. “Tell me about White Rabbit,” he said, his voice low and commanding. “Or I won’t let you finish.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A soft growl ripped from his throat, and one finger plunged into me. I whimpered, writhing my hips against his palm, silently begging him to pleasure me. But as quickly as he’d pushed it in, he yanked his finger out and dug his nails into my inner thigh.

“Tell me.”

“White Rabbit was an online vendor,” I choked out, heat blooming across my cheeks. “They… they sold me the diet pills I used to take.”

“And what does this ‘White Rabbit’ have to do with the unicorn?”

I hesitated, and his palm pressed against the hot mound between my thighs. I whimpered and said, “The diet pills were laced with contraceptives without my knowledge. I was looking into it when the vendor suddenly disappeared without a trace.”

Noah pulled away abruptly, sitting up on his knees. He was fully nude, his hair falling into his eyes as he stared down at me. “What?” he hissed.

I swallowed hard, unable to tear my gaze away from his.

“A couple of months ago, I asked Scott to look into it, but he never found anything. And I thought… I don’t know. I just made the connection. They might not be the same person who rigged the unicorn.”

For a moment, Noah was silent, seething, his fingers curling around the sheets. Then, surprisingly low and controlled: “Why didn’t you tell me about this? You could have died from taking those diet pills alone, and to add contraceptives on top of it…”

I paled, the words “I did die” on the tip of my tongue. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Instead, I just clutched the blanket tighter.

Noah abruptly rose and hopped off the bed, grabbing his clothes. “I have to handle this,” he said. “Don’t wait up for me.”

I was too stunned, too frozen, to speak. I watched as he dressed, his muscles shifting in the dim light. Finally, he strode to the door, but then stopped, his hand resting on the doorknob.

“Hannah, I…” He looked over his shoulder, those green eyes glimmering with something I couldn’t read. He seemed about to say more, but then shook his head and simply walked out without another word.