bChapter /bb219 /b

    The harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor pierced Ste’s eyes as she sat on the cold, hard waiting room bench. She stared down at her hands, feeling utterly drained.

    Jordan’s blood remained on her skin–the blood he’d shed to save her. It had dried into a dark red stain that stubbornly clung to her, resisting every attempt to wash it away.

    Three hours had crawled by, and the emergency room door stayed tightly shut. The red “Operation in Progress” sign was like a knife, cutting into her heart over and over.

    She didn’t dare close her eyes. Whenever she did, all she could see was Jordan passing out while getting his wounds stitched up at the hospital, his hand weakly clutching hers as he whispered, “Ste, don’t be afraid.”

    ‘How could I not be scared?‘ Ste thought. ‘In this world, aside from Eleanor, Jordan is the only one who ever truly cared about me. If I lose him too…‘

    “Ms. Ste Hayes!” Mary’s hurried voice snapped Ste out of her spiraling thoughts.

    “Mary,” Ste croaked, her voice barely above a whisper.

    “How’s Mr. Erwin?” Mary asked. Her heart twisted as she took in Ste’s ghostly pale face. “Oh, sweetheart, you have to take better care of yourself. Your hands are like ice.”

    “He’s still in surgery,” Ste replied in a t, mechanical tone, her eyes locked on the door. She was terrified that if she looked away, Jordan might nevere back.

    “He’ll be alright, definitely,” Mary murmured, sitting down beside Ste and gently rubbing her back. She didn’t really know what to say, but just having her there made Ste feel a little less alone.

    Before long, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence. Ste instinctively looked up and saw Jordan’s friends

    rushing over.

    At the front was Tom. He was usually calm andposed, but now his face was etched with worry. “Ste, how’s Jordan?”

    he asked.

    “He’s still in surgery,” Ste replied, forcing her voice to stay steady.

    Just then, the emergency room door swung open, and a tired–looking doctor stepped out.

    Ste rushed forward. “How’s Jordan?”

    “He’s out of danger,” the doctor said, pulling off his mask. “The wounds were deep, and he lost a lot of blood. But we’ve stabilized him. He’ll need to rest and recover. No strenuous activity for at least a week.”

    Ste let out a long, shaky breath, her tense nerves suddenly rxing. Her vision blurred, and before she could steady herself, she felt her body losing bnce and falling backward.

    “Ste!” Tom shouted, catching her just in time.

    Thub, /bT Aug

    Hurried footsteps echoed down the hall again–Kevin came running up, followed by a group of doctors in white coats.

    “Ste, I got the top specialists here,” Kevin said, rushing over to her. “How’s Jordan?”

    “He’s out of danger,” Tom answered for Ste.

    Just then, a group of men in ck came over, hauling a blood–soaked Hasan with them.

    “Ms. Hayes,” the leader, Alex, said respectfully. “We’ve caught Hasan.”

    When Hasan saw Ste, he didn’t look scared at all. Instead, he shed a creepy grin. “Ste, Jordan got hurt andnded in the hospital just to save you. You must be really touched, right?”

    “You have the nerve to talk?” Ste shot him a cold re. “If anything happens to Jordan, I won’t ever let you off.”

    “Let me off?” Hasan’s grin twisted even further, hisughter turning manic. “You think I’d risk everything ande to see you just for revenge?”

    Ste frowned. Hasan’s words made sense–given his situation, he should’ve beenying low, noting out in the open

    like this.

    “Do you remember when N got kidnapped?” Hasan asked suddenly,

    Ste’s heart skipped a beat. Of course she remembered. That incident had let her isee /ia different side of Jordan, making her realize he was even moreplex than she’d thought.

    “Do you remember how Jordan’s men tracked me down?” Hasan grinned, his eyes shing with malice. “So fast, so precise, almost like…”

    “Like what?” Ste couldn’t help but ask.

    “Like he already knew where I was,” Hasan replied, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper.

    After a brief pause, he continued, “Ste, have you ever thought about how Jordan tracked you and N down so fast when she was kidnapped? How did he always show up at the right time? How could a regr businessman have that kind of pull?”

    Ste seemed unfazed, but his words triggered a flood of memories from that day.

    She thought, ‘Jordan’s response was way too quick and professional–he found us almost immediately. Sure, I used chemical spray to take down Hasan and escape with N, but how did Jordan know we were in danger in the first ce?‘

    “And do you know what happened to my family before all this?” Hasan pressed on. “Lionel’s supermarket started having issues out of nowhere, my father’spany got mmed with random inspections, and our whole business tanked. You really think all that was just a coincidence?”

    “What are you trying to say?” Ste asked, her voice a little shaky.

    “Ste, maybe you were part of Jordan’s n from the very start,” Hasan grinned, his words slithering into Ste’s bmind /blike poison.

    11:16 Thu. 21 Aug 1

    679

    “Be honest with yourself, Ste,” he whispered. “Do you really know Jordan? His past, what he’s been through, how he made his first big money, why he’s got so much influence–Has he ever told you any of that?”

    That really struck a nerve. Ste couldn’t deny it–she didn’t know everything about Jordan’s past.

    They’d teamed up online before, and she knew he was sharp when it came to work. But every time she tried to get to know more about his past, he’d always smoothly steer the conversation away.

    She’d always thought he was just avoiding painful memories, but now it seemed like there was more to the story.

    “That’s enough,” Alex said, noticing Ste’s face growing pale. He stepped forward and chopped Hasan hard on the back of the neck.

    Hasan passed out, but even as he lost consciousness, he still wore that smug grin on his lips.

    Ste stood rooted to the spot, and Hasan’s words kept reying in her head.

    Kevin stepped up beside her, his voice careful. “Ste, are you okay?”

    Ste shook her head. “I’m fine, just thinking about some things.”

    Even though she knew Hasan couldn’t be trusted, some of the things he mentioned did make her start to notice details she’d always overlooked.

    Just then, the emergency room door swung open again.

    “The patient can be moved to a regr room now,” a nurse said, wheeling a hospital bed out.

    Ste let out a long breath of relief.

    biAD /i/b

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