Chapter 481 The Orchid in the Greenhouse
Anne's neck veins pulsed with her breath, and tears clung to her eyelashes, ready to fall. She suddenly tilted her head back, a stiff smile tugging at her lips, her voice as broken as torn paper, "I will."
The rose thorns dug deep into Anne's palm, blood trickling down the stem and staining the white sheets with dark red.
Edward took a sharp step forward, the blood seeping through his bandages spreading, his voice filled with suppressed urgency. "Anne, don't be rash! These people are ruthless. Testifying in court is too dangerous!"
Edward struggled to get closer, but I blocked him with my arm, feeling the heat of his heaving chest through my sleeve.
Anne suddenly straightened her back, her neck forming a fragile arc. She looked down at the blood flowing from her palm, letting the rose thorns sink deeper into her flesh, the blood-stained petals brushing her lips. After a long pause, she slowly lifted her head, her eyes empty yet wild, and said, word by word, "I want to see him go to prison with my own eyes."
I stared at the blurred reflection in the window, realizing that the whole situation had spiraled out of control. Fiona's scheme was like a spider's web, trapping everyone within, with unseen claws ready to tighten the noose at any moment.
Edward froze, looking down at Anne's paper-white face, his Adam's apple bobbing but no sound coming out.
Daryl took off his police cap, revealing gray hair at his temples. He gently placed the witness protection agreement on the small table by the hospital bed, the plastic IV stand swaying with the movement, the clear liquid in the glass bottle rippling: "Anne, this agreement can give you a new life. We've arranged for a border escort."
The smell of disinfectant mixed with the scent of roses. Lucas leaned against the doorway, the hem of his black trench coat brushing the metal door frame. He unscrewed his thermos, a gentle smile emerging through the steam. "Daryl's plan is good, but last time there was an interstate transport, the communication equipment failed for a full ten minutes."
Anne clutched her dress, the blood from her palm soaking into the fabric, adding a new pattern. She repeatedly rubbed the clause about "identity cancellation" on the agreement.
"Nicholas said..."
Anne suddenly coughed violently, "He would keep me in a greenhouse, like an orchid, away from the light,"
She paused, then added, "He said a betraying orchid must be uprooted."
I stood by the window, Nicholas's sinister face flashing in my mind.
Edward suddenly stood up, the IV line tracing a chaotic arc in the air. "Anne, don't trust them! Last time you were kidnapped, the police couldn't even find the hideout!"
I rushed over to hold Edward's thin shoulders, the smell of hospital disinfectant clinging to his neck. As he struggled, his hospital gown slipped off his shoulder, revealing a gruesome scar.
"Don't be impulsive! We trust the police, okay?"
My voice trembled without me realizing it, but when I met Edward's angry gaze, I lowered my eyes as if burned.
"Come with me!"
Edward's voice was choked with tears. When he looked back at me, his pupils reflected my twisted face. Only then did I realize I was gripping his hand tightly, and Anne was watching our clasped hands, her eyelashes trembling again.
Lucas leaned against the beige storage cabinet, the reflection from his gold cufflinks falling on the bed rail Edward was gripping.
Anne's neck veins pulsed with each breath, tears clinging to her eyelashes, ready to fall. She suddenly tilted her head back, a stiff smile tugging at her lips, her voice as broken as torn paper, "I will."
The rose thorns dug deep into Anne's palm, blood trickling down the stem and staining the white sheets with dark red.
Edward took a sharp step forward, the blood seeping through his bandages spreading, his voice filled with suppressed urgency, "Anne, don't be rash! These people are ruthless. Testifying in court is too dangerous!"
Edward struggled to get closer, but I blocked him with my arm, feeling the heat of his heaving chest through my sleeve.
Anne suddenly straightened her back, her neck forming a fragile arc. She looked down at the blood flowing from her palm, letting the rose thorns sink deeper into her flesh, the blood-stained petals brushing her lips. After a long pause, she slowly lifted her head, her eyes empty yet wild, and said, word by word, "I want to see him go to prison with my own eyes."
I stared at the blurred reflection in the window, realizing that the whole situation had spiraled out of control. Fiona's scheme was like a spider's web, trapping everyone within, with unseen claws ready to tighten the noose at any moment.
Edward froze, looking down at Anne's paper-white face, his Adam's apple bobbing but no sound coming out.
Daryl took off his police cap, revealing gray hair at his temples. He gently placed the witness protection agreement on the small table by the hospital bed, the plastic IV stand swaying with the movement, the clear liquid in the glass bottle rippling: "Anne, this agreement can give you a new life. We've arranged for a border escort."
The smell of disinfectant mixed with the scent of roses. Lucas leaned against the doorway, the hem of his black trench coat brushing the metal door frame. He unscrewed his thermos, a gentle smile emerging through the steam. "Daryl's plan is good, but last time there was an interstate transport, the communication equipment failed for a full ten minutes."
Anne clutched her dress, the blood from her palm soaking into the fabric, adding a new pattern. She repeatedly rubbed the clause about "identity cancellation" on the agreement.
"Nicholas said..."
Anne suddenly coughed violently, "He would keep me in a greenhouse, like an orchid, away from the light,"
She paused, then added, "He said a betraying orchid must be uprooted."
I stood by the window, Nicholas's sinister face flashing in my mind.
Edward suddenly stood up, the IV line tracing a chaotic arc in the air. "Anne, don't trust them! Last time you were kidnapped, the police couldn't even find the hideout!"
I rushed over to hold Edward's thin shoulders, the smell of hospital disinfectant clinging to his neck. As he struggled, his hospital gown slipped off his shoulder, revealing a gruesome scar.
"Don't be impulsive! We trust the police, okay?"
My voice trembled without me realizing it, but when I met Edward's angry gaze, I lowered my eyes as if burned.
"Come with me!"
Edward's voice was choked with tears. When he looked back at me, his pupils reflected my twisted face. Only then did I realize I was gripping his hand tightly, and Anne was watching our clasped hands, her eyelashes trembling again.
Lucas leaned against the beige storage cabinet, the reflection from his gold cufflinks falling on the bed rail Edward was gripping. "Mr. Howard, you can barely protect yourself right now. Don't play the hero."
Lucas tapped the bulletin board covered with medical charts.
"The key evidence from the warehouse explosion is still missing. If someone brings it up in court, what do you think the jury will think?"
Daryl took two steps closer to Anne, clearly displeased.
"Mr. Jackson, I must remind you that any attempt to obstruct justice will be met with legal consequences."
"Consequences?"
Lucas picked a grape from the fruit basket, flicking it with his fingers. The dark purple fruit rolled onto the bedside table.
"There are rumors in the precinct about someone colluding with the underworld."
Lucas slowly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his fingers, his gaze sweeping over the dark circles under Daryl's eyes.
"Don't let those all-nighters go to waste."
"I'll sign." Anne's broken nails, embedded with dried petals, trembled in the air. She grabbed the pen from the bedside table, pausing for half a second before scrawling her name on the blank space of the agreement.
Her tears fell on the still-wet ink, blurring the words.
Anne tossed the pen into the pile of fruit knives and half-peeled oranges, the blood from the old rose thorn wound dripping onto the "voluntary signature" clause.
Daryl sighed in relief, carefully tucking the agreement into a file bag, the sound of the zipper closing echoing in the silent room.
"From now on, there will be officers on duty 24/7. You should return to your private ward."
Daryl's gaze swept over the rose on Edward's bed, his tone carrying a hint of fatigue.
Edward threw off the thin blanket, his muscles tensing under his hospital pants. As he stood, I instinctively grabbed his sleeve. He shook off my hand, shouting hoarsely:
"Why don't you believe me?" Edward kicked the thermos at his feet, the hot ginseng soup spreading across the tiles.
"I can protect you, protect my family!"
Anne's head snapped up, the IV tape casting a shadow on her cheek. Her reddened eyes filled with shock and joy, like a candle suddenly lit. Her trembling fingers hovered in the air before finally landing on the hem of Edward's hospital gown.
"Family?" Anne's hoarse voice carried cautious hope. She lowered her head, her hair covering her reddened eyes.
"Family" hit me like a sledgehammer. I looked at the new fuzz on Edward's neck, my throat feeling like it was stuffed with ice-cold cotton, both cold and rough. So, in his heart, he always had a place for Anne as "family." Then what about me and Skylar?
I turned away from Edward, trying to hide the bitterness spreading in my heart by pretending not to care.
"Calm down! Mr. Howard!"
Daryl noticed my displeasure and shouted, his voice carrying undeniable authority, the veins in his neck bulging slightly from the effort.
Lucas leaned casually on the wheelchair armrest, letting out a contemptuous laugh.
"A bunch of naive fools."
Lucas kicked away the grape on the floor, the sound of his shoe hitting the tile echoing in the room.
"Just wait and see, this farce is only the beginning."
Lucas laughed maniacally as he turned, the sound of his shoes on the tiles growing fainter yet seeming omnipresent. As he reached the elevator, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number with practiced ease.
"Everything is going according to plan," Lucas's voice was cold and low.
"That fool signed the agreement, and Edward is losing his mind. Next, we just wait to close the net."
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