Chapter 1
“Yes. I agree to let it go,” I calmly told the officer.
The officer replied, “You might want to think this through. Your left hand was corroded so badly that the bone has been exposed, and the hospital has confirmed it’s a permanent disability.
“We’ve already confirmed that Elaine snuck into your lab and switched the materials in your container, directly causing your hand injury. With such solid evidence, even if Elaine hired the best lawyers, she couldn’t escape prison time for aggravated assault.”
“I don’t need to think about it anymore. Thank you for everything during this time, but I’m dropping the charges, and this matter ends here.”
After a long pause, the officer sighed and simply said, “If she ever does something like this to you again, remember to come to the police station. No one here will let anyone bully you.”
I nodded and left the police station. That was when I received a phone call.
“Are you not at the hospital?” It was my fiance, Andreas Fitzgerald, on the phone. Just hearing his voice made my chest ache.
I paused for a moment to catch my breath before replying, “I’ve been discharged.”
While I spent the past two weeks recovering in the hospital, Andreas had gone with Elaine to Oureiba to watch a tennis tournament. He had completely forgotten about me in the hospital.
“Where are you?” he asked.
I hid the fact that I was standing outside the police station and answered, “At the campus.”
Dropping the charges against Elaine was Andreas’ idea. After the acid had corroded through my flesh, I had immediately called the police. All the evidence pointed to Elaine, and the police had arrested her.
But as soon as I was wheeled out of the operating room, Andreas called me for the first time in six months and commanded, “Drop the charges against Elaine. This has nothing to do with her.”
My wound throbbed with excruciating pain, but the tearing sensation in my heart was even more unbearable. At night, I lay in bed, clutching the blanket and pressing my hand to my chest, coughing violently.
