As Claire left the room, she let the lights flicker off and collapsed onto her bed. Cain's words reverberated in her mind, stirring a whirlwind of emotions. She lay there, staring up at the dark ceiling, trying to make sense of her feelings.
Does he truly love me? Or am I just being drawn into another trap?
The thoughts consumed her, each one pulling her deeper into her memories. She remembered the first time she had seen him, that moment when everything had started.
---
**Six Months Ago**
It had been the annual function at Beverly Medical College and Research Centre. Claire hadn't expected anything out of the ordinary; it was just another event where she'd be sitting in a crowd. But that all changed the moment he stepped onto the stage.
Cain Wilson, Asheville's most powerful and elusive businessman, was the guest of honor. As one of the top shareholders in universities and medical facilities, he had been invited to speak.
Claire felt her breath catch as he took the podium. Cain was the epitome of sophistication, each movement polished and deliberate. His intense blue eyes held a quiet dominance, and his golden-brown hair framed his face with an aristocratic charm. His emerald green blazer fit him flawlessly, outlining the toned, muscular build that added to his commanding presence. Every word he spoke was like a magnet, each syllable confident, firm, and unyielding. He captivated the room—but for Claire, he did much more. She was entranced.
For two months after that night, Claire tried every way she could think of to approach him. But Cain was as elusive as he was powerful, always just out of reach. Disheartened, she finally abandoned her attempts and threw herself into her thesis work.
Then, fate handed her an unexpected opportunity. As part of her internship, she was selected to work at Medwin Hospital and Charitable Trust, a place known for treating underprivileged patients. Her first day there, she was caught off guard when, in one quiet moment, she glimpsed him again—Cain Wilson. His powerful aura and the almost dangerous allure he carried made her heart pound. Still, she couldn't bring herself to approach him.
She contented herself with catching fleeting glimpses of him from afar, all while honing her skills in the hospital wards. Days passed and she improved greatly in her practice.
One evening, the hospital was celebrating its forty-fifth anniversary with a large crowd gathered for the occasion. The event's energy filled the hospital and donations poured in to support cancer patients and other minority-focused treatments.
Claire was ready to leave, exhausted from her shift but the crowd near the entrance was nearly impenetrable. She sighed, deciding to take the long, deserted route past the abandoned wing of the hospital.
As she walked through the shadowy corridors, a chill ran down her spine. The ward had been left untouched for years, and rumors swirled among the hospital staff about its haunted status. The unsettling silence weighed on her, and every step felt heavy as though the walls were watching her.
A sudden clang of metal clattering to the ground shattered the silence, making Claire jump. She stifled a scream, her hands covering her mouth, eyes wide with terror. Her feet refused to move. She remembered the chilling ghost stories whispered by her colleagues, and her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
But then, she heard voices—a man and a woman. They were close, their voices muffled but clear enough to understand. Every word she caught sent a shiver through her.
"You idiot. How could you be so careless?" the woman hissed angrily. "Do you realize what could happen if we're caught here?"
"I know, I know," the man replied, his voice filled with tension. "The procedure's done, but the cleanup's still pending. I didn't want to risk blood stains, so I'll finish it after I change."
Claire could hear their discussion, and it clearly didn't sound anything like ghosts. And as they continued their hushed conversation, the pieces came together—something was being covered up here, something that could ruin lives if exposed.
"Let's hurry," the woman whispered, her tone now urgent. "We need to blend in before anyone notices we're gone." Their footsteps faded into the distance, leaving Claire alone once again in the dark with the eerie silence of the abandoned wing.
Claire sighed in relief. "Dang it! I thought I almost died. What's even going on here so secretly?" she wondered, her curiosity piqued despite the knot of fear in her stomach. Determined, she continued forward, switching on the flashlight on her phone as the hallway grew darker.
An overpowering stench hit her, acrid and nauseating. She gagged, covering her nose and fighting the urge to turn back. Something was definitely wrong. As she inched forward, her foot suddenly struck something solid. She stumbled, the light flashing onto a large, nondescript box beside her feet. Biting her lip, she aimed her flashlight further ahead.
The sight that greeted her made her blood run cold. A lifeless body lay sprawled on the bed, its face barely visible under a thin sheet. Blood pooled around it, sticky and dark, reflecting the weak light. Claire's heart hammered wildly as she staggered backward, her hands trembling as she fought to hold onto her phone.
Her mind screamed at her to run, but her legs felt rooted to the spot. *This can't be happening…* she thought, every fiber of her consumed by dread. She felt trapped in a nightmare, her body betraying her, refusing to respond.
Claire steadied herself, forcing calm into her racing heart. She took a deep breath, then began moving carefully through the eerie silence, stepping over the cold, motionless bodies scattered across the room. Her instincts urged her to turn back—her mind whispered warnings, *"This isn't something you should get involved in, Claire."*
But then, she squared her shoulders, determined. *"C'mon, Claire, don't be a coward. Something's going on here, and you have a right to know what's happening in the place you work."*
She moved forward, crossing the dimly lit space until she reached the first bed on her right. Hands trembling, she lifted her phone, its small beam of light slicing through the darkness, casting eerie shadows around the body on the bed. Slowly, she pulled back the sheet.
Her stomach lurched. The corpse was shockingly fresh, barely a few hours old by her estimation. But as she lifted the cloth further, her eyes widened in horror. The body lay open, hollow—organs missing, blood still oozing slightly from the crude cuts. They hadn't even bothered to sew the body closed, leaving the jagged, gaping wound exposed.
A wave of nausea hit her, her insides churning at the grotesque scene before her. Disbelief and horror flooded her veins as the truth crashed down—an illegal organ racket was operating within the very walls of this reputable hospital.
Claire's breath came in shallow gasps as fear crawled up her spine, chilling her to the core. Her mind raced with the implications, but she forced herself to stay quiet, fighting the urge to run as the ghastly truth settled over her.