Chapter 70 Pay With Lives
Compared to Zachary lying in the hospital bed, David looked utterly battered beyond recognition.
While his eyes weren't as swollen as Zachary's, they weren't much better. His once-proud handsome face now resembled a pig's head, and his rebellious lips were split and swollen like sausages. One arm was wrapped in gauze and hung in a sling around his neck, with a mesh bandage covering his head.
In this state, he looked like he'd just returned from a battlefield—part tragic, part absurd.
Quinley didn't recognize him at first glance, but Alicia's eyes were sharp.
"David, you and Zachary are classmates—why did you hit him so hard? Look what you've done to his eye!"
David didn't spare Zachary a single glance because he'd spotted Quinley. She stood beside Zachary's bed, cotton cloth in hand.
"Come with me."
He limped forward quickly and grabbed Quinley's arm. At that moment, Zachary seized her other arm.
"You're not going anywhere."
One wanted her to leave, the other demanded she stay.
"Zach, if you like Ms. Elikin's technique, I can learn from her. Since David can't bear to let his girlfriend go, let Ms. Elikin leave." Alicia had intended to stir up trouble but found herself ignored.
But Zachary refused to let go. If this standoff continued, it would spark another bloody conflict.
Quinley knew what she had to do. "How could you be so careless and hurt yourself this badly?" She looked at David with gentle reproach.
"Mr. Jennings, I'm sorry, but my boyfriend is seriously injured. I need to take him to see a doctor now."
She pulled her hand free from David's grip, pried open Zachary's fingers, then linked both her arms through David's. In front of everyone, she acknowledged David as her boyfriend.
David immediately became smug. "Quinny, let's go."
He glared viciously at Zachary like a victorious general. Zachary's deep eyes remained fixed on the doorway long after they left, and Alicia quickly closed the door behind them.
"Zach, let me clean that for you."
Now she didn't mind her fresh manicure. She wrung out the towel and approached, but Zachary snatched it away and threw it violently to the floor.
"Why did you do this?"
He roared in a low voice, his face frighteningly dark.
Alicia looked bewildered, feigning innocence. "Zach, what's wrong?"
"You deliberately brought Quinley here, didn't you? And you deliberately lured David here too?"
Zachary didn't beat around the bush—his accusation was direct.
"Zachary, I didn't! I really didn't!"
Alicia shook her head like a rattle drum.
"I just happened to run into Ms. Elikin when I came here. I only wanted her to keep me company. So many things have happened recently—Ms. Parker and you both had accidents. Zach, I'm really scared. I don't know why David was in the emergency room. Zach, you have to believe me."
Her silver tongue and acting skills were first-rate, but she didn't know that Zachary had already seen through everything.
"What are you afraid of? Afraid that your scheme to frame Quinley will be discovered? Or afraid that the real culprit who tried to kill my mother is someone else?"
Alicia's face instantly turned white as paper. She stared at Zachary in terror, her curled fingers beginning to tremble.
"Zachary, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Zachary's piercing gaze fell on Alicia's face like a blade, slowly cutting through her skin.
"Lucy is your person, isn't she? You set such an elaborate trap for Quinley's brother just to make her willingly become your hostage. Percy, David—they're all men you handpicked for her, aren't they? Alicia, your are truly vicious!"
Alicia's body swayed, her lips trembling. "I... I didn't. I really didn't do anything."
"The Jennings family has strict rules. You made Quinley fall into escort work because you knew the Jennings family wouldn't accept a woman with a tainted reputation. But you forgot—the Jennings family also doesn't accept women with poisonous hearts."
"Go back and tell Harold not to bother scheming against Apex Global Group. As long as I'm there, he'll never succeed. And if any of you dare harm a single hair on Quinley's head, I won't hesitate to make the Davis family pay with their lives."
He got up from the bed, yanked out the IV needle, and strode out of the temporary ward.
Alicia couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed to the floor. She frantically pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"He knows everything."
After a moment of silence on the other end, Harold's cold voice penetrated Alicia's ear.
"My dear sister, you're truly useless! So what if he knows? What can he do to me?"
Harold was dismissive, but Alicia was terrified, especially remembering Zachary's parting words about making the Davis family pay with their lives.
"But... but what if he comes after the Davis family?"
"Then let him try. I'd like to see who's more capable—Zachary or me."
Meanwhile, Quinley helped David out of the emergency room. David chattered nonstop along the way.
"Quinny, I knew you cared about me. Now that I'm injured and a patient, won't you say something nice to make me feel better?"
"Mind the attention—this is a hospital."
Quinley shot him a look. There were many people around, and even though David had taken off his white coat, he was still recognized by many.
Quinley was thin-skinned and didn't want to cause more misunderstandings.
"Then drive me home and we can talk there. Quinny, I want to hear you say you like me. Just say it once, okay? You can whisper if you want. Come on, say it, say it."
David shook Quinley's arm, pestering her relentlessly. Though Zachary had beaten him badly, he felt like the ultimate winner. He never took the subtle approach—if he'd won, he wanted to gloat openly.
Quinley remained unmoved like steel. She helped David to the parking area, opened his car door, and settled him in the back seat.
David thought Quinley was really going to drive him home, and his head filled with rosy fantasies.
"Quinny, let's have a candlelit dinner at home tonight, okay? Do you like your steak medium-rare or medium-well?"
David's mouth never stopped running. Quinley didn't respond but didn't interrupt him either. She sat in the driver's seat, her slender fingers dancing rapidly across her phone screen.
Soon, a man in a blue vest approached. "Hello, Driver Service 5386 at your service."
Quinley got out of the driver's seat and handed him the keys. "Please take this gentleman home."
David suddenly realized he'd been played. Quinley whispered something to the driver, who immediately locked the doors, closed the windows, and quickly drove out of the parking area.
"Liar! Quinley, you big liar!"
David pounded on the glass window, shouting at Quinley in rage.
She smiled brilliantly, standing in place and waving goodbye to him.
The next second, however, a large hand pulled her into another car.