“Did you add enough of it?”
“More than enough! He won’t be waking anytime soon!”
“Perfect.”
The grip on Eric’s jaw grew harsher.
“Now, let’s get him ready.”
A plastic bottle jammed between his lips, and liquid rushed into his mouth. What was it?
Every fragment of his mind screamed for him not to swallow, yet his limp body betrayed him.
Most of it spilled down Eric’s chin, but a portion forced its way down his throat.
The man slapped his face again.
“Sleep well.”
That voice… it struck something deep inside him.
Pain ripped through Eric’s head as he fought to recognize it. But before he could, the drug dragged him into darkness.
Darkness slowly devoured his mind.
Hold on…
It was him!
Just before his awareness slipped away completely, the missing fragments of memory locked into place. He remembered everything.
Night draped itself over the city. A full day had slipped by.
Inside the hospital, the security office had been turned into a temporary command post for the police. Nine hours had passed since the incident, and still there was nothing.
Ellis and his team pressed on with their relentless search.
After ending a phone call, Ernest came back and walked toward Hadley.
Rigid and silent, Hadley sat on the sofa, her gaze glued to Ellis and his team.
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On the table, a lunchbox rested untouched—the meal delivered from Flynn Mansion earlier at noon.
Hadley had promised she would eat later, yet the lid stayed closed even now.
With a weary sigh, Ernest settled beside her.
“Hadley.”
Hadley’s head shifted toward him, her eyes vacant.
“It’s already late.”
He softened his voice.
“Let’s go home for now. Mr. Gomez is overseeing everything here. Quentin and Theodore will remain as well. They’ll call us the moment there’s progress.”
“No…” Her head shook stubbornly.
“I’m not leaving!”
“Hadley, hear me out.” Ernest knew her pain, but Eric’s disappearance weighed on her so heavily that he feared she would collapse.
“Grandma and Joy are waiting at home. They don’t know what’s happened. If we don’t return, they’ll start asking questions.”
Hadley fell silent at last.
The image of Nyla and Joy waiting at home tightened her chest.
.
.
.