"Well, no, I am still with Argon. He is in the hospital, and I am waiting for him in the car. I don't know when I can go back yet." Her voice was small and unsure, concerned. "I think he will not want me around anymore. But it isn't my fault, okay? I just shook his hand, and it broke somehow," she said in her defence.
"Hmm— Well, I called to tell you that the Master has arranged a living space for you so that you don't have to go all the way back to the mansion every day."
"You mean so that people don't grow suspicious of me working for him, right?"
"Yes! Now I am sending you the location of the apartment and also the passkey. Go there after you are done with him, and let me tell you, there is nowhere to run." His tone grew darker and cold. Leo knew it.
"Yes, I know," she said sadly and then ended the call mimicking him and making ugly faces as retaliation.
"Well, isn't that good news? At least I'll have a little less surveillance over myself," Leo muttered, pouting as she grabbed the steering wheel. She looked up at the parking area in front of her. The silence inside the car grew oppressive, her thoughts spiraling into frustration.
"What a disgrace! I have to drive now? I used to have tens of servants at my disposal, and here I am, driving for a jerk because of a slightly bigger jerk who wants revenge on another jerk who has stolen something of his!" She vented out loud, her grip tightening on the wheel until her knuckles turned white.
She glanced back at the hospital entrance, watching the rain cascade down in sheets. Each drop felt like a tiny hammer, pounding away at her patience and her pride. The contrast between her current situation and her past life was stark and painful. Gone were the days of luxury and ease, replaced by this chaotic mess of alliances.
She sighed deeply, her breath fogging up the window slightly.
As her eyes skimmed through the articles published under her name, Leo—Viviana—was speechless. There was nothing. Not a single strand of her hair remained. The entire floor of the building where she was supposedly murdered had collapsed, everything burned to a crisp. The police had no leads, and some called it an unfortunate accident claiming the life of the heiress.
"How on earth do they think it was an accident?! Who are these people?!" she fumed, her hands shaking with rage. Her wide eyes stared at the screen, her anger palpable. Veins on her face popped out of her skin, and her breathing became heavy.
She pulled out the comment bar and typed furiously, "She was killed! Her boyfriend murdered her! He smashed her head with a vase and killed her, then disappeared with his new girlfriend. It is a murder case!!" She hit enter with a final, angry tap.
Tossing her phone aside, she grabbed onto the steering wheel, clenching it with her thin fingers as her teeth clenched together. Leo breathed heavily. The rain had become uncontrollable, pounding on the windshield. Through the blurry, watery screen, she saw an ambulance pull up in front of the hospital. A stretcher was being pulled from the back, carrying a girl's body. Her hand dangled lifelessly, a delicate bracelet catching the dim light. The girl had long brown hair, though the figure was blurry due to the rain. Leo's body crawled with cold, goosebumps rushing up her skin.
"My body!!" she exclaimed, her breath catching in her throat. She pushed the door open and ran into the rain, heading towards the ambulance. The body of the girl was being wheeled through the hospital doors. "Wait! Stop! Let me see!" she screamed, her breath heavy, rainwater dripping down her short hair. The nurses, hurriedly pushing the body, were stopped by Leo, who grabbed the girl's arm and looked at her face desperately, her breath shaky and weak.
"Do you know this woman?" the attendant asked, confused.
Leo's gaze was blank. "That is not—not me," she breathed out, gulping nervously. The attendants gave her serious looks and continued to push the stretcher away. Her knees started to feel weak, but with no will left to move, she kneeled on the floor right there, her hands falling into her lap as she watched them. 'It was not my body.' The disappointment ran through her soul, a lonely tear dangling on her eyelash, unable to fall.
At that moment, she could feel the blood flow flushing up her cheeks and her body becoming anxious. Her legs shook, and a deep sense of unease washed over her. It was as if there was something inside the hospital that made her soul want to rip apart from her body and rush towards it. Her chest heated up, and she started to see glimpses of light, as if a vision was about to show but not completely forming.
"What is this feeling?" Leo said, gulping down the warm sensation bubbling in her mouth. She lifted her head from her palms and was confused when, in a short glimpse, she saw a stretcher being pulled away, a white cloth covering the body completely, and then suddenly a hand fell out of the sheet, revealing a delicate gold bracelet.
"That is me!" She rose, looking in the direction where the stretcher was being pulled away by two attendants. Her heartbeat quickened, and she held out her hand, trying to stop them. "Stop!" she roared in the packed corridor of the hospital, running behind them when suddenly her shoulder struck against someone, causing her to spin and almost fall. Argon grabbed her arm, stopping her fall midway.
"Are you going to break my shoulder this time?" he said, irritation mixing with a hint of concern as she had hit her shoulder against his. She looked at him, her face pale and eyes wide. Argon was shocked by her expression and equally confused.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice softer than usual.