Chapter 53 You’ll Obey
Zane stood not far away, giving Tess a polite nod.
“You need to apologize to Ms. Nadine,” he said in a low, formal voice.
His words hit Tess hard, plunging her into icy water.
<i>Why </i>is Zane here?
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<i>Why </i><i>is </i><i>he </i><i>telling </i>me <i>to </i><i>apologize </i><i>to </i><i>Nadine </i><i>when </i><i>Charles </i><i>is </i><i>lying </i><i>in </i><i>a </i><i>hospital </i><i>bed </i>with <i>a </i><i>stomach </i>hemorrhage <i>from </i><i>the </i><i>force</i><i>–</i><i>fed </i><i>alcohol</i><i>? </i>
The pieces clicked together in Tess’s mind, and her face turned ghostly pale.
“You did this?”
Her voice rose to a sharp, almost broken pitch, trembling with horror and disbelief.
Zane’s lips pressed into a thin line. Like a wind–up machine, he repeated mechanically, “Mrs. Lock, please apologize to Ms. Nadine.”
Tess stumbled back a few steps, staring at Zane as if he were some kind of monster.
Then suddenly, as if she’d just woken from a nightmare, she whipped around and began searching the area in panic. “He’s here, isn’t he? You’re here, so he must be nearby! Why won’t hee out and face me?”
Her eyes were bloodshot, her gaze frantic. When no one appeared, she turned back and red <i>at </i>Zane with fire in her eyes.
“She thought Charles had only gotten hurt because of some business pressure–some awful but mundane cost of corporate dinner parties. But now she knew-
“I’ll make
you behave.”
Those cold, menacing words rang in her ears. Tess clutched her chest as if someone were squeezing her heart.
<i>It’s </i><i>him</i><i>. </i>
Finn.
She screamed inside her mind, her hands trembling with rage.
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Chapter 53 You’ll Obey
Of <i>course</i>. <i>Of </i><i>course </i>….
He had used Charles’s life to teach her a lesson.
And now, all Tess could feel was bitter, gut–wrenching irony.
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She gave a soft, humorlessugh–quiet butced with despair. Tears slipped down her cheeks.
To make her apologize to Nadine, he had resorted to this–such a vile, twisted tactic.
“This matter doesn’t need Mr. Lock’s personal attention,” Zane said tly.
The implication stung: neither Charles nor Tess was worth Finn’s time.
Her
eyes were rimmed red, and even her fingers were shaking.
“If anything happens to Charles, that’s a life lost,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Finn has power, sure–but does that give him the right to trample over someone else’s life just to get what he wants?”
She raised her voice suddenly, using, “Do you realize this is attempted murder?!”
Zane said nothing, head lowered like a lifeless puppet.
Tess’s strength left her in an instant; an overwhelming exhaustion washed over her.
“Get out. I’m not going. I won’t do it.”
She
spat the words out, every syble costing her thest of her strength.
With those final words, Tess turned and walked toward Charles’s hospital room, holding the admission slip in her hand. Her silhouette looked frail, painfully lonely under the fluorescent lights.
Zane stared at her for a long time before turning away.
Just as he stepped out of the hospital building, he saw a tall man standing near the entrance, his back to the door.
The cold wind of the night bit into his skin, but what sent a true chill down his spine was the low pressure radiated by that man.
As soon as he approached, a cold chill crept over him, leaving him shuddering.
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Chapter 53 You’ll Obey
“Mr. Lock,” he greeted with a respectful nod.
Finn slowly turned, his eyes dark and unreadable, fixed on the corridor where Tess had disappeared.
“Do you realize this is attempted murder?!”
Tess’s voice still echoed in the air.
Finn’s chest heaved. That sharp, stifling rage returned, so fierce it felt like it could tear the world apart.
“Tell her this,” he said atst, his voice low and deadly. “She either does what she’s told and apologizes to Nadine, or Charles’s life will be in danger.”
He looked up then, his gaze resting on the towering letters spelling out ‘Lock Group‘ above the hospital. “I run this facility, after all.”
Emotions twisted in his eyes, chaotic and unreadable.
Zane noticed. Sweat dotted his brow despite the freezing cold.
On a night this cold, he was actually sweating.
“Mr. Lock,” he hesitated, “if you push Mrs. Lock too far, won’t it backfire?
“Did you do this to get her to apologize to Ms. Nadine? Or is it about driving her away from Mr. Jackman–once and for all?”
Zane dared to ask, though his voice was careful, uncertain. The image of Tess’s broken, grief- stricken face lingered in his mind.
Finn shot him a re, cold and sharp. “Whose side are you on?”
The sheer force behind it made Zane’s heart thud. He quickly bowed his head lower. “N–No, Mr. Lock. I’ll go right away.”
Tess wandered the dim hallway in a daze, like a ghost drifting through shadows. It wasn’t until she stepped into the inpatient wing that the sterile white lights gave way to a softer, golden glow.
Only then did her chilled body begin to feel the faintest trace of warmth.”
When she reached the front desk, the nurse nced up–and nearly gasped. “Ma’am, are you alright?”
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Tess pressed her dry lips together and gave a stiff nod. “This is the admission form. Which room is Charles in?”
The nurse took the slip and quickly pointed down the corridor.
Tess murmured a quiet thank–you and walked away. The nurse, still watching her go, let out a breath and ced a hand over her chest.
<i>Jesus</i><i>! </i><i>Her </i><i>face </i><i>is </i>so <i>pale</i>. <i>She </i><i>looks </i><i>like </i><i>something </i><i>straight </i><i>out </i><i>of </i><i>a </i><i>horror </i><i>movie</i>.
Just as the nurse was about to sit down and take a break, someone tapped on the counter.
She looked<ol><li>up. “Yes? Oh–Mr. ck?“/</li></ol>
Without a word, Zane handed her a small, folded note. “Give this to the woman from earlier.”
The nurse blinked in confusion but nodded and epted it with both hands.
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