Chapter 9
Chapter 9
“Nina, what’s wrong?” Yvonne rushed in right after Robert. She stumbled forward, her voice shaking. “Please, don’t scare Mom like this, okay?”
She was so panicked, she didn’t even know where to put her hands. But Lucy wasn’t done yet. She screamed and charged toward Nina, trying to grab her. “You little brat! Faking it just because your parents are here?”
She thought Nina was pretending to faint just to frame her. In her eyes, Nina was nothing but trouble.
Robert spun around and slammed the small fan on the floor. It shattered with a loud crash right in front of Lucy. His face was dark as a thunderstorm. “You better pray Nina’s okay,” he growled, “or I swear I’ll kill you.”
Lucy froze. She shivered as if a wild beast was staring her down. A chill ran straight up her spine.
But then anger took over. She couldn’t believe Robert, whom she always saw as weak, was threatening her-for Nina.
Robert didn’t look back. He picked Nina up in his arms and ran for the door. “We’re going to the hospital!”
Yvonne wiped her tears and grabbed the car keys.
“You’re not going anywhere! Do you hear me?” Lucy screamed, trying to block them.
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Yvonne pushed her aside. Her usually gentle eyes were full of rage. She screamed so loud her voice cracked, “Don’t touch my daughter!”
“You’re all crazy… you’ve all lost your minds!” Lucy stumbled back and fell to the ground. Shock and fury rushed to her head. Her vision went black, and she passed out.
Meanwhile, Robert drove their beat-up minivan out of the yard at full speed.
Desperate cries echoed through the hospital hallway.
“Doctor!” Robert ran, holding Nina tightly in his arms. Yvonne followed right behind him.
In his panic, Robert didn’t notice when he bumped into the shoulder of a young man.
That young man, Quinn Hill, was holding his swollen cheek from a bad toothache and looked ready to yell. But a calm voice stopped him. “Quinn, let it go.”
Quinn, clutching his pain meds, looked over with a pout at a young man lounging on a bench nearby, one leg crossed over the other. “But I’m a patient too, Timothy.”
“Don’t be too harsh on the unlucky,” Timothy replied lazily, barely lifting his eyes. He was strikingly handsome-sharp features, high nose bridge, sleeves rolled up on a black shirt that made him look cool and a bit noble.
Quinn blinked, confused. “Huh?”
“That man’s daughter,” Timothy nodded slightly toward the ER doors, “won’t live more than three years.”
Quinn gasped, forgetting all about his tooth. “Seriously? You can tell that just by looking?”
Even though he knew Timothy had once studied at Jasper Medical Institute, he also knew Timothy had dropped out in his second year after what happened four years ago-and vanished. He’d only come back two months ago.
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9:08 pm & σ
Chapter 9
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Quinn couldn’t help but wonder if Timothy had learned something else during that time.
Suddenly, Timothy’s face tightened. He stood up, eyes sharp and serious.
“What is it, Timothy?” Quinn asked, following his gaze. Then he saw Nina’s arm hanging limp behind Robert’s back, and the sapphire ring on her wrist, tied by a silver chain, glowing faintly in the dark.
“Wait, isn’t that…” Quinn’s face changed.
Timothy’s voice turned cold. “Go get me a doctor’s coat. Now.”
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