CHAPTER 336
Arianna quickly revved up her engine and started to follow their car from a safe distance.
She made sure to keep a good gap between them, switching lanes carefully to avoid attracting any attention. With the roads nearly empty at this late hour, it was important to stay under the radar.
Luckily, the people in the car didn’t seem to notice her behind them. As the drive continued, Arianna realized they were heading toward Willow Creek.
This destination surprised her, but it also made her think that Brian and Sarah might be meeting a woman connected to past events.
Determined to find out what was going on, Arianna kept her focus, maintaining a steady distance behind them.
After more than two hours, their car reached the outskirts of Willow Creek and finally came to a stop in a deserted area.
Frowning, Arianna looked around, feeling lost. Even though she was confused, she parked her car behind a big tree and quietly got out, following the pair on foot.
Brian and Sarah, along with a hefty driver who looked like a bodyguard, walked confidently down a narrow path. Their ease with the route indicated that this wasn’t their first visit.
Arianna avoided using any lights, relying on the dim moonlight to help her silently follow the trio through the dark, lonely landscape.
After about ten minutes of following them, Arianna saw the trio finally reach a large building and enter through its doors.
She approached cautiously about half a minute later, her eyes lifting to the sign above the entrance. It read: Haven Medical Center.
A medical facility?
Arianna’s mind raced. If Brian and Sarah had come here to meet the woman she was investigating, and she was in a place like this, could it mean she was unwell?
Could her disappearance all those years ago have been tied to ongoing medical treatment?
Was Selby stepping forward to take the blame for everything because he knew she was ill and wanted to protect her peace?
Arianna’s thoughts swirled with possibilities, but she knew she wouldn’t get the answers by speculating. The truth was within reach.
Taking a calming breath, and walked inside.
The medical centre was eerily quiet at such a late hour, with only one nurse stationed at the front desk. From her hiding spot, Arianna saw Brian and Sarah approach the receptionist, who seemed to recognize them immediately.
The nurse handed over a key without hesitation, and the pair quickly disappeared down a hallway.
Arianna realized she needed to act carefully. If even one person noticed her, the entire situation could unravel, and her presence would be exposed.
As she deliberated on her next move, fortune seemed to favour her. The nurse, seeing no other activity in the lobby, got up from her desk and moved to a nearby rest area, leaving the front desk unattended.
Arianna exhaled softly. It was her chance to slip through unnoticed.
Arianna quickly entered the building and followed the direction Brian and Sarah had taken.
The hallway was quiet, and the sound of their footsteps echoed softly through the stillness of the night. Arianna used this to her advantage, keeping her distance but never losing track of them. She shadowed them until they reached the entrance of a secluded section marked as the VIP ward area.
Stopping in front of one of the rooms, Brian pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He, Sarah, and the bodyguard stepped inside.
Arianna moved cautiously, her movements deliberate and silent as she approached the ward. She pressed herself against the wall just outside the door, her heart pounding, and carefully peeked in.
Inside, the three figures stood near a hospital bed. Their attention was focused entirely on the person lying there.
Arianna’s breath caught. The figure on the bed was a woman, but she wasn’t resting peacefully. Heavy straps secured her to the bed, binding her arms and legs tightly in place.
From where Arianna stood, she could only catch a glimpse of one side of the woman’s face. Even in the dim light of the room, her pallor was stark, almost ghostly. The sight made Arianna’s chest tighten.
Who was this woman, and why was she being restrained? The questions burned in Arianna’s mind as she watched, desperate for answers.
Brian’s voice was firm and sharp as he demanded,
“Was it you who sent that text?”
Arianna’s heart skipped a beat.
Bingo!
Her instincts had been right all along.
The woman lying on the bed was undoubtedly the same girl tied to Selby’s scandal years ago. But as Arianna took in the scene, she realized the situation was far worse than she could have anticipated.
The heavy restraints securing the girl to the bed were the kind used for patients deemed mentally unstable.
The thought sent a shiver racing down Arianna’s spine. Was the girl truly suffering from mental illness, or had Brian and Sarah fabricated the claim to justify keeping her imprisoned in such a condition?
The chilling possibilities unsettled her, but before Arianna could ponder further, the girl’s eerie laughter broke the tense silence. It was a hollow, unsettling sound that echoed through the room.
“Who are you?” she asked, her voice teetering between confusion and madness.
Brian and Sarah exchanged wary glances, their unease evident in their stiff posture.
The girl didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she repeated herself, her voice growing louder and more erratic.
“Who are you? Who? Who are you? Who? Are? You?”
Each word was punctuated with a deranged emphasis, her pale face contorting with a twisted smile.
Sarah, Selby’s mother, moved closer to the bedside table and flipped through a record book left there. Her gaze lingered on the girl’s hollow eyes and unnervingly pale complexion. After a moment, she turned to Brian and said with certainty,
“In her condition, there’s no way she could’ve sent that text.”
Brian regarded his wife’s assessment seriously—Sarah was a doctor, after all—but his face darkened instead of softening. His voice dropped, laced with icy anger.
“Then we’ve walked straight into a trap.”
His eyes hardened, scanning the room as though seeking the unseen threat, his mind already calculating their next move. Arianna, watching from her hidden vantage point, felt her stomach tighten. This was even more dangerous than she had imagined.
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