Chapter 181
Chapter 181
Emily drifted in endless darkness, her consciousness like a kite with a broken string—sometimes floating away, sometimes violently yanked back by the sharp pain and icy coldness of blood loss.
The bone-chilling conversation between Katya and Gilbert coiled like a venomous snake at the edges of her foggy awareness, denying her even a moment's peace in her unconscious state.
"I don't want her to die... I haven't seen anyone who looks more like Mom in forever..."
"Don't worry, she won't die. I will make her understand."
"Dad, you gotta save her! I like this mommy the most. Don't let her break like those other women who stopped being fun so quick."
Katya's childish voice with its disturbing tone of selection pierced through Emily's hazy consciousness like an ice pick!
The other women? Broke so quickly?
What bloody and cruel truth lay behind those casually spoken words?
She was just the most satisfactory one on his hunting list.
To satisfy Katya's craving for a mother, how many innocent women had Gilbert, that monster, already hurt?
An intense chill mixed with overwhelming fury nearly made her trembling body betray her.
But she bit down hard, forcing all emotions deep inside while keeping up the act of unconsciousness. She deliberately slowed and softened her breathing, not daring to make the slightest movement.
Footsteps retreated. The ward door closed with a soft click. Low voices outside seemed to be giving instructions, probably ordering someone to keep an eye on her.
After what felt like forever, once she was sure no one was around, Emily carefully cracked open her eyelids.
Instead of the hopeless concrete cell, she saw the distinctive white ceiling of a hospital, the air heavy with the smell of disinfectant.
She was in a private room with basic furnishings. Compared to that impenetrable secret room, this place offered way more possibilities and hope for escape.
Her gamble had paid off!
Emily took a deep breath.
This slim chance she'd risked her life for—she had to grab it with both hands.
She scanned her surroundings without moving a muscle.
Her left wrist was wrapped in thick bandages, throbbing with dull pain, but the steady beeping of the vital signs monitor told her she was no longer circling the drain.
An IV needle was stuck in the back of her right hand, cool medication slowly dripping into her system.
With time running out, Emily refused to waste even a second.
She was still scrambling for an escape plan when the door opened quietly.
A young nurse in a pink uniform, her face still showing traces of baby fat, entered carrying a medication tray to change her IV bag.
Emily's heart instantly jumped to her throat.
She watched the nurse's every move, trying to figure out if she was on Gilbert's payroll.
The nurse looked jittery, her movements hesitant.
When she leaned over to check Emily's IV line, Emily mustered all her strength to slightly wiggle her right fingers, brushing against the nurse's hand.
The nurse jumped, startled, and looked at Emily, meeting eyes that were weak but incredibly alert, filled with desperate pleading.
"Don't make a sound... please, help me..." Emily's voice was barely a whisper but carried desperate sincerity. "I've been kidnapped. Those people guarding me outside are dangerous. Could you just let me use a phone to make one call... please..."
The nurse was clearly blindsided by this bombshell, her face cycling through panic and hesitation.
Her eyes instinctively darted toward the door as she lowered her voice. "You... you shouldn't be saying stuff like that. Mr. Harvey who brought you in told us you were emotionally unstable and hurt yourself..."
"He's lying to you," Emily urgently cut in. Tears welled up instantly, not from fear but from finally grabbing a thread of hope. "He's keeping me prisoner and wants to pump me full of drugs that wipe out memories. He's trying to force me to be his daughter's mom. He's hurt tons of women before!
"Please, just call the cops or get hold of Michael from the Wilson Group! He's my boyfriend and he'll drop everything to come get me!
"I swear you won't get in any trouble. He'll track this place down fast, and you'll be hailed as my rescuer!" Emily spoke rapidly but clearly, her desperate pleading eyes making her damn near impossible to disbelieve.
Yet any normal person would think she was out of her mind rather than buy such a wild story.
Emily had no choice but to beg with everything she had.
The nurse looked at her pale, haggard face, the thick bandages on her wrist, and took in her horrifying claims.
Indecision grew stronger on her face, clearly wrestling with one hell of an internal struggle.
She was just a regular nurse who didn't want to get mixed up in anything crazy, but the scene before her and Emily's situation made it impossible to just look the other way.
Just as the nurse bit her lip, her hand trembling slightly as she seemed ready to secretly pull a phone from her pocket.
"Mommy! You're awake!" A crisp, sweet childish voice rang out from the doorway.
Emily and the nurse froze like deer in headlights!
Katya stood at the ward door, wearing an adorable doll dress, clutching her old cloth doll, her face bearing an innocent smile.
She skipped into the room and bounced to the bedside, looking at Emily with wide, concerned eyes.
"Nurse, how's my mommy doing? When will she get better?" Katya tilted her head, asking in a voice so pure it was downright chilling.
The nurse's face turned ghost-white, her fingers gripping the medication tray until her knuckles turned pale.
She nervously glanced at Emily, then at Katya, stammering: "She... she needs rest..."
Emily's heart plummeted, but she quickly forced a weak, strained smile, gently stroking Katya's hair as she spoke in a hoarse voice, trying to cover their previous conversation. "Hey, Katya... I'm okay, just a little tired."
Katya's smile remained unchanged, but a coldness far beyond her years flashed in the depths of her eyes.
She grabbed Emily's fingers and spoke in a voice not loud but clear enough for everyone in the ward to hear, "Mommy, what were you whispering about with the nurse? Are you hurting somewhere? Tell me, and I will have Daddy find the very best doctors to make Mommy all better."
Though Katya's words seemed caring, they carried an unmistakable warning and surveillance.
The nurse was so freaked out that she could barely hold the tray steady as she hurriedly lowered her head and fumbled to change the IV bag.