Chapter 4

The sharp click of heels echoed down the hallway, drawing closer.

Chloe had returned.

Without Julian around, her innocent little-girl act dropped instantly.

I ignored her.

The fever had drained every ounce of strength from my body.

Chloe walked up to the bed.

She flicked my IV tube with a neon-pink manicured nail.

"Tsk, tsk... how pathetic."

She leaned in close, dropping her voice to a whisper.

"Did you know?

Even out in the hallway,

Jules was just complaining about how dramatic and manipulative you are.

He said compared to me, you're basically nothing."

I forced my eyes open and gave her a dead stare.

"Are you done? Then get out."

Instead of being angry, her smile only grew wider.

"Aww, don't be so mad, Eleanor.

Enjoy acting tough while you can. It won't be for much longer anyway."

She pulled out a tablet from her Birkin bag.

Her fingers flew across the screen, a stream of glowing blue code flashing past.

"Jules thinks you're faking, but honestly? You look half-dead.

How about I do you a favor...

and make your vitals look a little more realistic?"

The second the words left her mouth,

the vital sign monitor beside my bed suddenly erupted in a piercing alarm.

"Beep—! Beep—! Beep—!"

Red warning lights flashed wildly.

The heart rate on the screen spiked to 180 as my blood pressure completely tanked.

The deafening alarm instantly blared through the entire floor.

The sound of chaotic footsteps rushed down the hallway.

Julian was the first one to burst through the door, his face livid.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Right before he crossed the threshold, Chloe had slipped the tablet back into her bag.

Instantly, she clamped her hands over her ears, screaming in terror.

"Jules! I don't know! The machine just went crazy! It's so scary!"