Yates Donovan hadn’t slept all night.
After taking Mia Grant back to school, he returned to his car and sat there alone, stunned, for over two hours.
He was only startled awake when a campus security guard, thinking something was wrong, came over and knocked on his window. Then, he drove away.
On the balcony, the man smoked one cigarette after another.
The pack was quickly emptied.
The half-smoked cigarette he’d used to suppress his emotions during dinner with Mia Grant, it turned out, hadn’t worked at all.
In the distance, the sky was already turning the pale white of dawn.
He crushed out his cigarette, grabbed his phone, and sent a message to Dr. Quinlan.
Something came up. Can’t make it today.
It wasn’t until a little after eight in the morning that Dr. Quinlan saw the message from Yates Donovan, and his brow furrowed.
He had no idea what had gotten into his nephew this time.
He was supposed to have come to his office yesterday, right after returning from abroad.
But who would have thought he’d rush off to Jynsia U as soon as his plane landed.
It was obvious who he was going to see.
’Whatever.’ He had simply reminded Yates to be sure to come today instead.
He felt his nephew had serious problems, so he had even cleared his entire schedule for the day.
’And now he’s telling me he’s standing me up?’
He called him. Yates answered almost immediately.
"What’s going on? Why aren’t you coming in today? Is it something urgent? Can’t you push it back?"
"I haven’t slept all night. I’m in a hurry to catch up on it. You tell me, is that urgent?"
On the other end of the line, the man’s voice sounded languid, careless, and a little flippant.
A hint of exhaustion was indeed audible.
Dr. Quinlan assumed their reunion after a short separation had been passionate, and that they had been "reconnecting" all night.
He fell into a rare silence. Just as Yates was about to hang up, Dr. Quinlan finally spoke, choosing his words carefully and adopting an elder’s tone. "Take care of your health."
"You’re not a kid anymore. Don’t act like you’re still seventeen or eighteen."
"..." Yates was indeed exhausted. His brain had been working overtime all night and was now struggling to function.
It took him a moment to understand what his uncle was implying.
"You’re reading too much into it."
He was exasperated. "We just had dinner yesterday."
Dr. Quinlan didn’t feel the least bit awkward. His tone grew more serious. "You’re back and you’ve seen her, yet your insomnia is still this severe?"
’How could he have another sleepless night?’
"Is the new medication your assistant got for you not working either?"
"Didn’t take it," Yates replied languidly. "I was busy last night."
"Okay, is that all?"
Of course, Dr. Quinlan wasn’t going to let him off that easily.
"Did things not go well with Mia Grant?"
"It was wonderful. Of course, it was wonderful."
Yates let out an enigmatic laugh. "Now I know everything—the things I should know, and the things I shouldn’t."
"Is that so? You don’t sound very happy about it."
Dr. Quinlan knew him too well.
If Yates had truly solved a puzzle that had plagued him for so long, this wouldn’t be his reaction.
At the very least, he wouldn’t have waited for his call.
His calm voice was laced with deep exhaustion, as if his worries had only grown heavier.
"Because I’m so, so, so tired right now..." Yates sighed. "Whatever it is, we can talk after I’ve slept. I’m going to bed."
Without waiting to see if Dr. Quinlan had hung up, he tossed his phone under the bed, hugged the covers, and rolled over to sleep.
Perhaps what one broods over by night, one dreams of by day.
Unsurprisingly, Yates Donovan had another dream.
But this dream wasn’t the same one he’d had every night while he was abroad...
In the dream, he didn’t know where he was, but his surroundings were bustling, like a dinner party.
He stood in a corner, staring blankly at the guests not far away.
Soon, a familiar face hurried toward him.
It was his assistant.
Mr. Payne leaned in close, his voice breathless. "Sir, we found Miss Grant on the security footage!"
"What?" He froze.
’Miss Grant? Mia Grant?’
Mr. Payne didn’t notice his expression and continued, "The footage shows her leaving with Dr. Hughes twenty minutes ago."
"We pulled the surveillance footage for the estate. They didn’t go far. They’re in the building behind the main house, on the second floor."
"Should we head over now?"
Mr. Payne asked.
Soon, he heard his own voice say, "Alright."
The two left the corner and quickly reached the building Mr. Payne had mentioned.
There were many rooms on the second floor. The candlelight overhead flickered, casting dancing shadows on the walls that looked like vengeful ghosts baring their fangs.
A sense of unease grew with every step he took.
The bodyguard leading the way suddenly stopped.
Mr. Payne asked if he’d found the room.
The bodyguard paused, then turned to face them after a moment, his expression odd. "Sir, I think I smell... blood."
"A strong smell of blood."
His heart plummeted.
He violently shoved aside the people in his way and ran forward, stumbling.
The rooms on the second floor were all locked. He pounded on them one by one, calling Mia Grant’s name over and over.
Mr. Payne snapped out of it and slapped the bodyguard on the back. "Go find out which room it is! Hurry!"
The bodyguard, being familiar with the scent of blood, quickly located the source and stopped before a door.
As expected, it was locked.
"Break it down!"
He heard his own voice tremble.
The moment the door flew open, the stench of blood billowed out as if fighting to escape.
It was so thick that everyone in the hallway smelled it.
A bodyguard drew his gun, intending to go in first to clear the way.
"Get out of the way!"
"All of you, get out of the way!"
His steps were unsteady. By the bed on the far side of the room, he saw the girl lying in a pool of blood.
And the man lying beside her.
Hearing the commotion, the man slowly opened his eyes.
Yates ignored him, scrambling to the girl’s side, completely at a loss as to how to stop the bleeding.
"Hu-Hayes Hughes!"
A thought struck him. He grabbed the man’s collar and dragged him closer. "Quick! Save her! Save her!"
Mr. Payne and the bodyguards who entered were also stunned by the scene.
As Mr. Payne’s trembling hands reached for his phone to call for an ambulance, he heard a hoarse voice say, "Don’t bother."
"She’s already gone."
"..."
Mr. Payne looked up in astonishment, only then seeming to recognize the man whose hands were covered in the girl’s blood as the famously righteous Dr. Hughes...
Hayes Hughes ignored their stares. He staggered over to Mia Grant’s side and pulled the scalpel from her body.
The scalpel.
Finally, Yates understood.
But before he could speak, the air was pierced once more, and the smell of blood spread.
DRIP, DRIP—
Scarlet liquid dripped onto the carpet, spreading quickly. Then slowly, so slowly, it merged with the blossoming flower of blood beneath the girl.
His eyes widened as he stared at Hayes Hughes.
The man had already collapsed back down beside the girl.
He was gasping for breath, as if he had so much he wanted to say.
His hand rose and fell, trembling, fumbling... trying to grasp the girl’s hand.
"Get away!"
Yates roared, slapping Hayes Hughes’s filthy hand away.
"Don’t you touch her!"
Hayes Hughes froze, then lowered his gaze and gave a faint smile. He pulled his hand back and, finally, gripped the scalpel in front of him tightly.
As a doctor, Hayes Hughes knew exactly where the vital points were.
And he showed himself no mercy.
And so, in this dream, it wasn’t just Mia Grant who departed.
It was Hayes Hughes, too.