Chapter 18
Elias stared at him in complete disbelief.
For a second, he looked genuinely stunned.
Then his expression darkened violently.
“Have you lost your fucking mind too?” Elias snapped, fury flashing across his face. “You’re really going to pull this bullshit on me because of that bastard?”
He stepped closer aggressively.
“I swear to God, I’ll kill both of you.”
But Cassian’s expression never changed.
Instead, he calmly pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Then he turned the screen toward Elias.
“Look at this,” he said quietly.
His voice remained serious.
“I found the files and information myself,” Cassian said quietly. “I was actually on my way to meet you today to show you everything…”
His eyes flicked briefly toward Zoe’s room before returning to Elias.
“But then all this chaos happened, and things ended up like this instead.”
Elias stared at Cassian in disbelief before snatching the phone from his hand.
His brows furrowed deeply as he looked through the files, shock slowly spreading across his face.
He read the medical description, the surgery details, the dates, and every line written in the documents. Then his eyes suddenly stopped at the signature near the bottom of the page.
A confused, disbelieving laugh escaped him.
“Look at this,” he said immediately, pointing at the screen with trembling fingers. “These papers are signed as Amara Hawk, not Amara Creed.”
He looked up at Cassian as if he had just found proof that the entire thing was fake.
“She would never do that,” Elias said firmly.
His voice sounded strained as he looked back at the signature again.
“Amara would never let anyone call her Amara Hawk.”
Another humorless scoff escaped him.
“Have you even met that woman?” he snapped. “Ever since we got married, she practically fought anyone who used her old surname.”
His grip tightened around the phone, shaking it slightly as he pointed at the signature again.
“She would never let the doctors admit her under that name, and she would never sign this,” Elias insisted sharply. “This is fake.”
Cassian was starting to lose patience.
He dragged a frustrated hand over his face before taking a slow breath.
“It’s not fake,” he said seriously.
Elias looked at him sharply.
“It was Amara herself who asked the doctors to change the papers.”
Elias froze slightly.
Cassian continued calmly despite the tension.
“She requested to be admitted as Amara Hawk instead of Amara Creed,” he explained. “She told them she didn’t want your surname anywhere on her medical documents.”
Elias’s expression slowly changed.
“Look through the files properly,” Cassian said quietly. “The proof is in there. The hospital canceled the original records and created new documents under the name Amara Hawk.”
Elias immediately lowered his gaze back to the phone.
His fingers quickly moved across the screen as he flipped through the files again.
And then he saw it.
There were indeed two sets of documents.
The first set had been created under the name Amara Creed, but those papers were incomplete and unsigned.
The second set—
Amara Hawk.
Cassian watched his expression carefully before speaking again.
He lowered his voice. “She personally asked them to change it. She said she didn’t want to be treated as a Creed anymore.”
The color slowly drained from Elias’s face.
His grip on the phone weakened.
Then suddenly—
The phone slipped from his hand and clattered loudly onto the hospital floor.
The sound echoed sharply through the quiet hallway.
Elias looked like he could barely process what he was hearing.
He abruptly grabbed Cassian by the shoulders, his fingers tightening hard against him.
“What the hell was going on?” Elias demanded hoarsely. “Why would she do that?”
His breathing had already become uneven.
Cassian stared at him. “Didn’t she contact you when you were in Australia?”
Before Cassian could answer, Felix—who had been silently standing nearby the entire time—finally stepped forward quickly.
“Mr. Creed…” Felix spoke hesitantly.
Elias immediately turned toward him.
Felix lowered his gaze slightly before continuing.
“At that time, you were occupied with transferring Miss Bishop to Manhattan for her treatment,” he explained quietly. “You were dealing with the paperwork and wrapping up the business there so you could return as quickly as possible.”
Elias remained completely still.
Felix swallowed before continuing in a quieter voice.
“Mrs. Creed called your phone many times during that period…”
His voice became even softer.
“But you told me you were busy and didn’t answer her calls.”
Elias’s expression completely froze.
For a moment, he looked like he had stopped breathing altogether.
Slowly, he lifted his head and looked back at Cassian.
His lips parted slightly, but it took him several seconds before any sound came out.
“I…” he started weakly.
His voice cracked.
“I was busy trying to get everything in order so I could come back quickly,” he explained shakily. “And…”
He swallowed hard.
“I was afraid she would ask me for a divorce again.”
His breathing became rougher.
“I didn’t want to divorce her,” he admitted quietly. “That’s why I ignored her calls.”
His eyes slowly lost focus as realization began crashing into him.
“I thought if I answered…” he said hoarsely, “she would start talking about divorce again.”
He looked like he could barely remain standing anymore.
His chest rose unevenly as confusion, disbelief, and horror filled his face all at once.
Then he looked at Cassian again.
This time, his voice sounded completely broken.
“She was in the fucking hospital…” he whispered.
His eyes reddened instantly.
“Having surgery…”
A painful breath left him.
“And I ignored her calls.”
Cassian grabbed Elias by the shoulders, trying to steady him as his body swayed. Elias immediately jerked away, shoving his hands off his chest in one sharp, irritated motion—like even the slightest contact was unbearable.
“Leave me alone,” he rasped. His voice broke halfway, rough and strained.
His chest rose and fell unevenly. For a brief second, he just stood there, frozen in place, as if his body couldn’t decide whether to collapse inward or lash out.
Then suddenly, he turned and stormed out of the hospital.
His steps were fast but unstable, each one hitting the floor with too much force, like he was trying to outrun whatever was crashing inside him. His hands were clenched at his sides so tightly his knuckles had turned white, his jaw locked hard enough to ache.
Felix reacted instantly and followed him out.
Elias didn’t slow down. He pushed through the hospital exit doors and headed straight for the car, movements sharp and almost reckless, like control had completely slipped out of his grip. Felix caught up quickly and reached the driver’s side first.
“Mr. Creed,” Felix said urgently, his voice tight with concern as he opened the door. “You don’t look good. Please, let me drive.. I’ll get you there faster. Just sit in the back.”
Elias didn’t respond. His gaze was distant, unfocused—like he was looking through everything instead of at it.
Felix didn’t wait for permission this time. He opened the back door.
Elias got in without a word, sinking heavily into the seat. His shoulders were stiff, his posture rigid, as if even sitting down felt like effort. Felix shut the door quickly, moved to the driver’s seat, started the engine, and pulled away from the hospital.
From the backseat, Elias finally spoke.
“Take me to Amara’s home.”
His voice was low, rough, controlled only by sheer force.
Felix nodded once. “Yes, sir.”
The drive was suffocatingly quiet.
Elias leaned back against the seat, but he didn’t relax—not even a little. His head tilted toward the window, eyes fixed outside, yet clearly seeing nothing. His jaw stayed clenched the entire time, a muscle ticking under his skin.
Something inside him was unraveling, piece by piece, and he couldn’t stop it.
When the car finally slowed and stopped in front of Amara’s building, Felix spoke carefully.
“We’re here, Mr. Creed.”
For a moment, Elias didn’t move at all.
Then his fingers shifted slightly. His shoulders tightened further, like his body was resisting the idea of what came next. His brow furrowed deeply, anger and fear mixing in a way that made his expression hard and fractured.
He pulled out his phone.
His thumb hovered over Amara’s name.
He stared at it for a second too long.
Then, abruptly, he locked the screen and tossed the phone onto the seat beside him as if it burned him. Without dialing, he lowered the phone and tossed it aside on the seat.
The next second, he shoved the door open and stepped out.
And then he stormed inside.
His emotions were spiraling out of control—anger, fear, frustration, and something deeper he didn’t want to name. It all collided inside him until it became unbearable.
The moment he reached Amara’s apartment, he strode straight to the door and slammed his fist against it, the loud bang echoing through the hallway.
His breathing was uneven, chest heaving as he knocked again—harder this time.
His jaw was clenched so tightly a muscle ticked beneath his skin, and his other hand curled into a fist at his side as he waited for the door to open.
After a moment, the door finally opened.
Amara barely had time to look at him before her expression changed instantly. The moment her eyes landed on his face—tense, furious, unstable—her brows pulled together.
“What are you doing here—” she started, already pushing the door inward to close it.
Elias reacted immediately.
His hand slammed against the door with force, stopping it mid-shut. The impact echoed sharply through the apartment entrance. Without hesitation, he shoved the door open fully and stepped inside, brushing past her before she could stop him.
Amara turned toward him sharply, shock flashing across her face. “What are you doing? You can’t just—”
But Elias wasn’t listening.