Chapter 122 The Switch
The sleek black Maserati once again pulled up in front of the psychiatric hospital.
Adeline bolted out of the car and sprinted toward the sanctuary of the hospital like a woman possessed!
She always had this nagging feeling of dread.
The elevator was stuck on the top floor.
Furrowing her brow, Adeline took to the stairs next to it.
Molly's room was on the eighth floor.
Gasping for air, she raced up, supporting herself against the wall, searching for someone in charge.
She hadn't gone far when the elevator doors opened, and a tall, dashing man stepped out gracefully.
He glanced at her briefly. "You're going the wrong way."
With that, he turned and strode off in the opposite direction.
Adeline was panting heavily.
Rolling her eyes, she hurried to catch up with him.
Jasper led Adeline to the office of the doctor overseeing Molly's situation.
Upon seeing Jasper and Adeline, the doctor furrowed his brows. "Why are you two back?"
"Was there a cute girl who came to visit Molly?"
The doctor nodded, "Yes."
"She said she was from Mr. Foster's company. She brought a photo with you and claimed to be your good friend. She mentioned you had forgotten to ask Molly something, so she was sent to inquire."
After explaining, the doctor scratched his head in confusion. "She's already done, though. Why have you come back? Is there anything else you want here?"
Adeline tapped her head in frustration.
It was all due to her oversight.
From the information Blake provided, she knew Mia Turner disliked Molly just as she did.
But she had let her guard down. She never imagined Mia Turner would play her!
Taking a deep breath, she took out her phone to call Mia Turner.
No matter how many times she tried, the message she got was, "The number you have dialed is switched off."
What the heck?
Compared to Adeline's agitation, Jasper remained composed.
The man gave the doctor a measured look. "How long has it been since she left? How long did she spend with Molly?"
The doctor winced, "I can't quite remember... Follow me."
He got up and took Jasper and Adeline up to the top floor's security room.
In the security room, he pulled up the hallway footage and said, "She was in there... for eighteen minutes."
Jasper frowned, eyeing the woman on the monitor.
Her long hair cascaded down, and she wore oversized black-framed glasses; her face was barely discernible in the footage.
Watching the video, Jasper's gaze intensified.
"Pull up the footage of her entering and leaving."
The staff didn't dare to delay and hastily retrieved all the surveillance footage from the hallways, including the footage from the main entrance.
"The way she walks is different before and after," noted Jasper, his eyes closed as he let out a heavy sigh. "There's been a switch."
Adeline felt as if lightning had struck her. "A switch?!"
"Are you saying Mia Turner swapped places with Molly!?" she gasped.
"Yep." The man nodded affirmatively, then turned to grab his phone. "Ryan, lock down the airport and bus stations. Monitor the traffic.
"I want to see where she thinks she can go after this."
Adeline felt her entire mind explode!
The image of Mia Turner's determined face surfaced in her mind: "I hate Molly."
Biting her lip, Adeline took a deep breath and glanced at the doctor. "Give me the key to Molly's hospital room."
She needed to see for herself if it was Molly or Mia Turner in that room.
Two minutes later, Adeline stood at the door to the hospital room.
Taking another deep breath, she used the key to open the door.
The room was silent.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the slits of the high windows, casting columns of light across the room.
A woman in a hospital gown, with disheveled hair, sat quietly in the corner, her presence as quiet as if she wasn't even there.
Adeline closed her eyes in despair.
This wasn't Molly.
She would never be so docile and silent.
After a moment, Adeline exhaled deeply and spoke without looking, "Mia Turner."
The woman sitting in the corner hesitated, then slowly lifted her head.
Below the mess of hair was Mia Turner's clean face.
Adeline was seeing Mia without her trademark significant, black-rimmed glasses for the first time, but she hadn't expected it to be under these circumstances.
"So it's really you."
Mia Turner looked back at Adeline with a bitter, resigned smile. "I thought I could at least keep the ruse up for the day."
But her deception had been unveiled in less than an hour.
Seeing her composed manner, Adeline's heart felt as though it had been forcefully wrenched, filled with discomfort and pain.
She had never doubted Mia Turner.
Ever since Mia had started at the company, she had always seemed like a simple, naive girl—endearingly stubborn in her presence.
Adeline had a soft spot for young, opinionated girls like her.
But she had never expected to be outwitted by the young woman she had taken a fancy to.
Taking another deep breath, Adeline sat down on a chair, her gaze ice-cold as she swept it over Mia. "Didn't you say you hated Molly?
"What's this? A classic case of hate turning into love, and you're ready to do anything for her?"
"No."
Mia Turner lifted her head to gaze at Adeline's face, and a tender smile surfaced. "I still hate her. There's a reason for what I'm doing."
"And what possible reason could you have to start doing things for a woman you've always hated?"
"No need to be so sharp, Adeline."
Mia chuckled softly, tugged at the handcuffs and leg irons attached to her, and took a seat slowly opposite Adeline.
"I had a brother, not by blood, though. He was a truck driver."
With a slight smile on her face, she looked at Adeline. "Since we were little, my brother and I only had each other. He gave up his education to work odd jobs driving trucks so I could attend school.
"He spent every penny he earned on me.
"We weren't related by blood, so I promised myself that when I grew up, I would marry him.
"But then…"
The woman looked up, her gaze fixed on Adeline, and continued, "He disappeared."
"His last job was for Molly. On a day the rain poured in buckets, he was driving a truck across the bridge to make a delivery."
The downpour.
The truck.
The bridge.
These words sent a shock through Adeline, shaking her to her core!
Suddenly, the face of the driver who had kicked her off the bridge flashed in her mind.
She could never forget that driver's face, not for as long as she lived!
She closed her eyes, recalling the menacing face of the driver in that torrential rain.
"Your brother... Did he have a mole on the left side of his face?"
"Near the nose."
Mia Turner's eyes widened in disbelief. "Did you know my brother!?"
Adeline felt her heart plummet.
She closed her eyes, and after a long silence, she opened them again and glanced at Mia Turner. "How did Molly convince you to stay and take her place?"
Mia bit her lip.
"She promised she would help me find my brother."
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