When Emily woke up again, she found herself staring at a white ceiling, with a faint smell of disinfectant in the air. She struggled to move her eyes around and realized she was in a spacious and bright hospital room, with no one around except for the occasional chirping of birds outside.
She tried hard to recall what happened last night, but her memory was foggy. She vaguely remembered feeling feverish all over her body, like she was about to burst into flames. Then she felt a cool sensation on her lips and instinctively leaned into it, craving the comfort. The thought made Emily blush.
Just then, the door of the hospital room gently opened, and a nurse walked in. Seeing Emily awake, she smiled and said, "You're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
Emily forced a smile and asked, "Where am I? What happened to me?"
The nurse patiently explained, "You were brought in last night, and after an examination, we found traces of aphrodisiacs in your body. But now you're fine, just rest for a few days. And if you need to call the police, please contact me anytime!"
The nurse had seen too many girls who, in order to win back their boyfriends' hearts, would harm their own bodies to gain sympathy and a little warmth. However, a girl as charming, sexy, and beautiful as Emily shouldn't have to do that.
"Okay." Emily nodded awkwardly.
The nurse picked up a record sheet, made a brief note, and turned to leave.
Emily stopped the nurse who was about to leave. "Excuse me, do you know who brought me to the hospital yesterday?"
"I remember him vividly, a man with delicate features but a stern face." The nurse blushed slightly, feeling the palpitations of recalling yesterday.
"Although I didn't talk much with him, I could feel the dominance and confidence emanating from him."
Patrick's image immediately came to Emily's mind. She remembered seeing those deep eyes in the haze of yesterday.
"By the way, he said he accidentally found you in the Whispering Pines Inn, saw that you were in a bad state, and brought you here."
"What? Is that what he said?"
"Yes, he's a very compassionate man!"
Wasn't it Patrick? Emily's heart suddenly tightened, followed by a wave of inexplicable loss. Lying on the white hospital bed, she recalled the events of yesterday. She did feel a bit dizzy, originally thinking it was just due to exhaustion, but now it seemed that things were far from simple.
After a while, Emily remembered some details before she lost consciousness. She recalled returning to her desk, with Shirley sitting beside her. She didn't say much to her, and then it was Amy at the desk opposite hers, who poured her some water. Since she hadn't had a drink while she was out on business, she was a bit thirsty, so out of politeness, she took the glass and drank a sip.
It was after drinking the water that her body started to feel increasingly hot, her legs began to weaken, and her consciousness gradually blurred. She also remembered seeing Shirley's meaningful gaze in a daze. Could it be that Shirley and Amy drugged her?
Emily couldn't accept this fact. After all, she had just arrived here, had little to do with Amy, and on the first day, Amy was the most welcoming to her. As for Shirley, she never wanted to compete with her, even though she knew Shirley was always targeting her. She just took it as childish scheming, but she didn't expect this time Shirley would ruin her reputation.
Reality was often more cruel than imagination. Emily now knew deeply that in this seemingly glamorous society, people's hearts were unpredictable. Some were willing to do anything to achieve their goals., especially considering she had been intimate with Patrick.
Emily took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. The most important thing now was to find out what really happened. She had a suspect in mind, but finding evidence was crucial.
She stood up and faced the window, feeling a chill as a breeze blew by.
"Emily? Are you feeling better?"
Emily turned around to see Amy. "Much better."
Emily was puzzled. Why was Amy here before she could find her?
"Well, I'm here to apologize to you." Amy put down the fruits in her hand, looking uneasy.
"Apologize?" This was getting straight to the point. Emily felt a bit caught off guard.
Amy bowed sincerely to Emily, saying, "Yes, I'm sorry, Emily!"
Amy explained, "A few days ago, I felt a bit feverish, but to keep my perfect attendance, I didn't report it to the company in time."
Emily furrowed her brows, not understanding the connection.
"Yesterday, you suddenly had a fever, and I'm afraid I might have infected you. I felt I should apologize to you, I'm really sorry! But my whole family relies on my income. I had no choice. These few dollars might mean little to you, but it's our food for several days."
Emily looked at her sincere eyes, feeling helpless. Clearly, she had been drugged, so why did Amy think she had been infected with a virus? Emily found it both funny and frustrating.
"What about your husband?"
"He passed away because of an accident before our baby was born."
"Haven't you tried to find someone else?"
Amy blushed suddenly.
Thinking of her own father passing away when she was young, and Lisa working hard to raise her and Gordon alone, Emily remembered the days when they had to save every dollar, not just a few.
After seeing Amy off, Emily's thoughts became clearer. Since it wasn't Amy who drugged her, it must be Shirley. But Shirley was too powerful behind the scenes, and she had to be careful.
To avoid alerting the suspect, Emily didn't rush to call the police. Instead, she took a long leave from the company under the pretext of recuperating in the following days.
Strangely, this time Patrick didn't inquire in detail, but simply signed the leave approval form happily.
Although Emily was puzzled, she didn't dwell on it too much. She deeply understood that at this critical moment, she had to make the most of every second, keeping a clear mind and sharp insight to gather more crucial evidence, while also guarding against Shirley destroying evidence.
Emily decided to take the most direct approach. First, she requested the surveillance footage of the location of the Canyon Ridge project team under the pretext of losing something. In the intermittent surveillance footage, Emily saw Shirley helping her, who was already unconscious, into a car.
Suddenly, Emily noticed that Shirley was holding her bag and phone. When she tried to zoom in for a clearer view, the image became blurry due to the pixels.
As the footage continued, Shirley stopped the car, did something with Emily's phone, and then put it back in the bag.
Emily thought to herself, 'It was indeed Shirley, but what did she do with my phone?'
Emily couldn't help but suspect. Did Shirley use her phone to contact Patrick, just to let him see her in such a miserable state?
As Emily thought about her speculation, she shook her head involuntarily. Saving these video clips, Emily hurried to Whispering Pines Inn. Perhaps the footage in front of Whispering Pines Inn could reveal the truth.