Chapter 152 Almost Lost My Life
"But I really do like you!" Zachary declared, completely unapologetic.
Quinley's mind was spinning. There was no point trying to reason with a stubborn kid like this, so she hurried away from the hospital. Only when she was outside did the tight feeling in her chest finally start to ease.
But when she looked up, Quinley spotted two familiar figures in the parking lot—Kevin and Adela. Kevin was practically groveling, saying something to Adela while looking completely pathetic. Adela stood with her arms crossed, face ice-cold, those usually composed eyes holding a ruthless determination Quinley had never seen before.
Something felt off. Without thinking, she immediately followed them.
"Why don't you just let it go?" Kevin was saying. "No matter how bitter you feel, it won't change anything. You're still young—dragging this out isn't doing you any favors."
"So what if I like dragging it out?"
"Adela, please just listen to me, okay? We could leave this place together, start fresh. Wouldn't that be better?"
"Ha, with you?" Adela's laugh was arctic. "I've told you a million times—I'm not going anywhere with you. Give up already. And for the record, I plan to waste away right here for the rest of my life. If I can't have what I want, then nobody else gets to either."
Their argument was getting heated, and Quinley caught every word. Kevin had feelings for Adela? That was genuinely shocking. She remembered how tight he was with Susan, plus all his drama with Lucy. How did such a player end up chasing after Adela?
But what really puzzled Quinley was Adela's obvious obsession with some guy. They'd worked together for years, and Adela had never mentioned having a boyfriend. At the company, she was always the perpetually single workaholic. Yet here she was, talking about some place where she planned to "waste away." Over whom?
She hid behind a car, neither Kevin nor Adela noticing her. What she didn't realize was that she'd picked Kevin's car to hide behind, and he'd rigged it with an alarm system. When her foot accidentally brushed the tire, the alarm shrieked to life.
Panic shot through her. She tried to bolt, but Kevin was faster. He grabbed her wrist, face turning menacing. "You were eavesdropping?"
"I wasn't." But her denial fell flat when Adela appeared, murder written all over her face.
"Kevin, take her."
Kevin slammed his hand over Quinley's mouth, yanked the car door open, and started forcing her inside. She fought like hell, but he was too strong, pinning her down while Adela pulled out some kind of spray bottle and hit her in the face with it. Her head went fuzzy, and everything went black.
She woke up in a storage room—no windows, barely any light, hands and feet tied, mouth taped shut. There was light coming from under the door, so she wiggled closer to listen.
"Who exactly is that woman?" Kevin's voice.
"Doesn't matter who she is. What matters is turning her into who she needs to be."
Their cryptic conversation made no sense, but one thing was crystal clear—they meant to hurt her. She pressed herself against the floor, staying dead still.
"She doesn't look like the type to break easily," Kevin said.
"Then we take our time. I don't believe she'd rather die than cooperate. As long as she wants to live, she'll do exactly what I tell her to."
Adela's words sent ice through Quinley's veins.
"Adela, just stop. He's not worth you taking these crazy risks over and over."
"Whether he's worth it is my call. If you don't want to help, there's the door—I'm not stopping you."
"You know I'll always help you. I just mean... could you try living for yourself for once? You're still young, you could still find love. I've been waiting—"
"Live for myself?" Adela's voice cracked like a whip. "You think I don't want that? I've never lived for myself, not for one single day since I was born. I'm hardwired to live for other people, and you want me to flip a switch? And this is the last time I'm saying it—stop waiting. I will never, ever be with you."
"Adela—"
"Shut up. One more word and don't blame me for what happens next."
Dead silence followed. Then: "I'll check if she's awake."
Footsteps approached. Quinley scrambled back to her original spot and played dead as Kevin kicked her in the ribs. "Still out?"
The pain was brutal, but she didn't flinch.
"Don't care if she's awake or not—just take her. I'm sick of looking at this pathetic woman. The fact that she actually managed to hook Zachary makes me want to puke."
Zachary again? How was he connected to any of this?
Before she could process it, Kevin hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her down a blindingly bright corridor to what looked like a makeshift operating room. Medical staff in scrubs were waiting, and a doctor asked, "Same procedure as last time?"
"Exactly the same," Kevin confirmed, dumping her on the operating table before leaving.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. The doctor prepped anesthesia while a nurse projected a photo onto a nearby screen. Nobody noticed when Quinley cracked her eyes open.
The photo made her blood turn to ice water. It was her face—but not quite. She had double eyelids; the photo showed single ones.
They were going to surgically alter her to look like Susan.
The second the nurse untied her restraints, Quinley launched herself off the table and bolted. The makeshift OR was built from connected storage units at some abandoned dock. She ran like her life depended on it—which it absolutely did.
"How the hell did you let her escape?" Adela's rage echoed behind her.
"Adela, please—" Kevin tried, but she cut him off.
"Coward!" She grabbed car keys and peeled out after Quinley.
The empty dock offered no help, no witnesses, nowhere to hide. Quinley pushed herself harder than she ever had, but no human could outrun a car. Adela caught up fast, engine roaring as she aimed straight for her.
Quinley hit the pavement hard. Through the glare of headlights, she saw Adela's face twisted with fury as she gunned the engine for another pass.
Just as the car bore down on her, a black motorcycle screamed out of nowhere. The rider swept her up in one fluid motion, engines wailing as a tremendous crash shattered the night air behind them.