Allison went with the police to the station to give her statement.

By the time Carolyn woke up, it was almost eleven in the morning. Allison had already finished at the station and was back in the hospital room.

Carolyn opened her eyes, a wave of dizziness washing over her. She looked pale,

and there were still traces of exhaustion lingering on her face. Once her eyes

adjusted to the light, she noticed someone moving around the room.

"Allison?" Carolyn''s voice was rough and scratchy.

"You''re awake?" Allison turned, relief flickering in her eyes.

Carolyn frowned, confused. "Where am I... Is this a hospital?"

"Yeah," Allison said, handing her a ss of water. "Here, drink some."

Carolyn propped herself up, took the ss, and sipped gratefully. "Thanks."

Allison sat down beside her, her expression soft with concern. "How are you feeling? Any better?"

Carolyn hesitated. "My head''s spinning, and I feel so weak. What happened? Why am I here?"

Allison let out a gentle sigh. "Last night, I saw a few creepy guys dragging you outside the bar. I went over because something felt off, and realized they''d drugged you. I called the police, and Brooklyn showed up-she beat those guys up and got you out of there."

Carolyn''s eyes grew wide in shock. "They drugged me? With what?"

Allison looked ufortable. "It was... something to mess with your hormones. You know, the kind of thing scumbags use to take advantage of people."

Carolyn''s brows knit together. She fell silent, staring at the nket.

A few minutes passed before Allison spoke again, giving her time to process. "Ms. Witt, the person who drugged you is in custody. If you want, you can go see him at the station."

Carolyn looked over at Allison, her gazeplicated. "Allison, why did you help me? Aren''t we supposed to be rivals? Shouldn''t you have been happy to see me in trouble?"

Allison frowned, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Ms. Witt, do you really think I''m that petty? We''ve got no real beef. How could I just stand by and watch you get hurt? Besides, we''re both women-we should have each other''s backs."

Allison let out a shortugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "You seriously think I''d be d to see you assaulted just because we''re rivals''? That''s wild, Ms. Witt. I''m not hat twisted."

Carolyn looked embarrassed. "I''m sorry, Ms. Allison. That was out of line. Thank

you for saving mest night."

"It''s no big deal. Really."

Carolyn finished her water.

Allison asked, "Are you hungry? I can order something. What do you feel like eating?"

Carolyn smiled, not bothering to be shy. "Well, if you''re offering, I''d love the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and braised shark fin from Xiangyuan House."

Xiangyuan House was a legendary, high-end Chinese restaurant-just a te of greens cost a fortune. Their signature dishes, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and braised shark fin, went for over a grand each, and only members could get them delivered.

Carolyn really wasn''t holding back.

Allison justughed. "Alright, no problem."

As Carolyn rattled off her order, whatever weird tension there had been between

them just faded away.

Allison picked up her phone and ced the order.

While they waited for the food, Carolyn struck up a conversation.

"Ms. Allison, you said Brooklyn took down all those guys by herselfst night?"

Allison nodded. "Yeah. Brooklyn looks like my assistant, but she''s really a bodyguard my dad hired. She''s got some serious skills."