Chapter 10(Adrian P.O.V)

I stepped into Dr. Kingston’s office. He was laughing loudly on a call, but the moment he saw my face, his expression dropped.

“I’ll call you back,” he said quickly and ended the call.

“What’s wrong, Adrian?” His brows knitted with worry.

“I found Judith in Room 16,” I said, swallowing hard. “She’s lifeless. She’s dead.”

“What?” Dr. Kingston exploded, already rising from his seat. “How did that happen?”

“I… I don’t know,” I replied, following as he rushed out.

We entered Room 16 together. He walked straight to Judith’s body, kneeling beside her with a heavy exhale.

“This is crazy,” he muttered.

His gaze snapped to Tori, lying motionless on the bed. His frown deepened. “This doesn’t make sense.” He stepped closer and noticed the injury on her hand. “How did this happen?”

“I saw it when I came in,” I replied, forcing calm into my voice. “I treated her as fast as I could.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad I’ve got you here, son.”

Then he stood, analyzing aloud, “So Judith tried to kill Tori by puncturing her veins… realized what she’d done… panicked… and slit her own throat.” He shook his head. “There’s no way Tori could have done this. She’s unconscious. And the slit is clearly from a right-handed person-Tori’s left-handed; Judith is right-handed. That says everything.”

I nodded silently. He had drawn exactly the conclusion she wanted.

Dr. Kingston pulled out his phone. “We’ve got a body. Come dispose of it, ASAP.” He ended the call. “Zayn will be informed too. Judith tried killing Tori and ended her own life. How stupid.”

Two bodyguards came in, bagged Judith’s body, cleaned the shards of glass and blood, and left like they’d done it a thousand times.

“That was close,” I breathed out when the door finally shut.

I walked to Tori and quietly stopped the flow of the drip. Two minutes later, her body trembled, her fingers twitching. Her breathing turned sharp and fast, and then her eyes opened- cold, calculating, and too awake for someone who had just committed murder.

Her gaze slid to the empty space where Judith’s body had been. She smirked.

“I see you took care of everything.”

“You happy now?” I asked coldly. “I almost became a suspect. You think this is some joke?”

“You know nothing about me, mister,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Stop fighting it.”

She shifted slightly. “So… we have a deal, right?”

“Yeah,” I said gruffly. “We do.”

She held out her hand.

“What?”

“Your phone,” she said. “I need it to send you the money.”

Relief spread through me, even though every instinct told me not to trust her. I handed the phone over. She stared at it too long.

“What are you doing?” I wondered.

“How do you use the phone?” she asked flatly. “It’s been long since I used one.”

I slid it open and unlocked it. Her cold eyes stayed fixed on me.

“When I ask a question, you answer,” she said quietly.

“Sure,” I replied.

She dialed a number, speaking rapid Spanish I couldn’t follow. Then she ended the call and handed the phone back.

“Check your email.”

I opened my inbox, there was a certificate of deposit. Proof the money existed.

“It’s just the certificate,” she said. “I haven’t sent you the money yet. I will the day you get me out of here. Fair enough?”

I stared at her- speechless. She’d cornered me perfectly.

My sister’s life was on the line.

I had no choice.

I needed to find a way to get Tori out of here.

CHAPTE