Chapter 84
Gilbert's eyes flickered slightly. He kept his expression neutral and casually tested the waters: "I just wonder if she's available right now."
"She should be."
Chloe nodded, a strange look crossing her face. "Last night a friend of mine at the hospital mentioned she wasn't doing well. I tried calling her, but she didn't pick up. I'm worried about her."
"If you could come along, you'd be there as a witness in case anything happens."
Gilbert understood immediately. It looked like today was going to be entertaining.
"Sure."
The car pulled up outside the hospital's inpatient building shortly after. Chloe led Gilbert to the ward door like she'd done it a hundred times before.
Standing outside, she couldn't hear any movement inside. She figured Charlotte was probably still unconscious, and her anticipation grew.
But the moment she pushed the door open, she put on an expression of urgent concern.
"Charlotte, what's wrong? I kept calling and you wouldn't pick up..."
She rushed in, calling out as she went. Behind her, Gilbert raised his camera, ready to capture something explosive.
But the scene he'd expected wasn't there. The room was clean and tidy. Sunlight filtered through the blinds, leaving patches of light scattered across the floor.
No messy bed. No disheveled figures. Nothing scandalous at all.
Everything was peaceful and perfectly ordinary.
Charlotte was sitting up against the headboard, flipping through a magazine, looking calm and healthy.
This... how could this be?
Chloe's expression froze, replaced instantly by shock, her eyes going wide.
"Chloe? It's you? What are you doing here?" The woman reading looked up at the sound, turning toward her with clear surprise.
Then her gaze shifted to Gilbert standing behind Chloe, looking equally confused, and her brow furrowed.
"And this is...?"
"I... I..." Chloe stumbled, completely at a loss for what to say.
"Hello, Ms. Johnson. I'm a reporter with the City Morning Post. Chloe reached out to me about doing an exclusive interview with you..."
"An interview?"
Charlotte looked down at the business card in her hand, then turned a puzzled look on Chloe. "Chloe, why don't I know anything about this?"
"Besides, I'm a patient. This doesn't really seem like the right time for an interview, does it?"
"I... I was worried about you..."
Chloe racked her brain and finally managed to squeeze out an explanation. "I couldn't get hold of you at all last night, and I was scared something had happened. So I... I asked Gilbert to come along, so that if something really was wrong, he could report on it and let people who care about you know how you're doing. That's all..."
Charlotte listened to Chloe's hollow words and laughed coldly inside, fixing her with a half-smile.
"Oh, really? I see."
"What a shame, though. You're going to be disappointed — I'm doing just fine."
"Of course not, I didn't mean—"
Chloe forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace. "I'm just glad you're okay..."
Watching Chloe squirm, Charlotte smiled. "Don't worry, Chloe. I'll be perfectly fine."
"You're the one who doesn't look so good. Didn't sleep well last night?"
Then she raised her voice.
"Lydia? Wake up."
Lydia, who had been "sleeping" face-down on the table, jolted awake from her daze and lifted her head groggily.
But when she saw the two extra people in the room, she snapped fully awake in an instant, startled out of her skin.
Her eyes went wide and she scrambled to her feet in a panic.
"...Ms. Johnson..."
"It's fine, don't worry. Everyone gets tired. There's nothing wrong with resting a little." Charlotte's tone was warm, as if she genuinely felt for her. "Besides, you were on the night shift. You didn't sleep at all. You must be exhausted."
At those words, Lydia's heart lurched. She clearly remembered that last night she had...
She caught herself and looked at Charlotte with barely concealed anxiety.
But Charlotte's face was completely calm. There was nothing to read there.
On top of that, Chloe and Gilbert were watching her, so Lydia had no choice but to grit her teeth and give a vague nod.
"Ah... I suppose... yes... a little..."
Charlotte's lips curved ever so slightly at that, then she turned to Gilbert.
"Gilbert, I'm sorry you made the trip for nothing."
"My body still hasn't fully recovered, so I need more time to rest. The interview will have to wait."
"But since you're already here, it would be a shame to send you away empty-handed. How about you report on something for me instead?"
"Of course. What did you have in mind?"
Gilbert straightened up, suddenly alert.
Charlotte smiled calmly and pointed at Chloe. "Report that my sister Chloe is deeply devoted to me — so worried about my condition that she couldn't sleep, and came first thing this morning with a reporter friend to check on me."
"Such a touching display of sisterly love."
Gilbert was sharp enough to catch the sarcasm loaded into the words "sisterly love" from the way Charlotte said them.
He glanced over at Chloe's forced smile and ashen face, and the picture became clear.
"Understood. Of course, Ms. Johnson. Leave it to me."
With that, Gilbert turned to leave.
But he'd barely stepped out of the ward when something clicked in his mind and his eyes lit up.
Wait — how had he not thought of this before?
If he remembered correctly, this Chloe was the same person Queen had publicly called out for plagiarism at the designer competition...
And she and Charlotte were sisters? Now that was interesting.
His excitement growing, Gilbert walked away with a quick step.
Back in the ward, Chloe knew Charlotte had seen through her plan from the start. Fury and bitter resentment churned inside her. She glared at the young woman sitting on the hospital bed, smiling serenely, and nearly ground her teeth to dust.
"Charlotte..."
Her voice was low, barely holding back her anger.
But Charlotte didn't even look at her. "Leave now, or don't leave at all."
Then she turned her head slightly toward Lydia. She didn't say a word, but somehow Chloe understood everything.
"You just wait."
Chloe's expression darkened. She threw out the threat and spun around, storming out.
She was fuming the whole way down, already thinking about finding Mandy to come up with another plan.
But just as she was nearing the entrance of the inpatient building, a familiar figure caught the corner of her eye.
Benjamin!