Chapter 898

Lydia had seen through Spencer from the start. There was something off about him, and she was sure the chaos at the border had his fingerprints all over it. He’d kept everyone in the dark, probably hoping people would drop their guard. By the time anyone caught on, the virus would be everywhere.
“We should just hold onto him for a couple more days,” Lydia said. “Locking down the city so suddenly must have thrown a wrench in their plans. He’s got to be freaking out right now.”
Connor nodded. “Yeah, there’s no way they’ll just give up. We can use him to draw out whoever’s really behind this.”
That was exactly what Lydia was thinking. There was no way Spencer could have pulled something this big off on his own.
“First, I want to know what he’s been up to at the hospital lately.”
The abrupt citywide lockdown didn’t just send the locals into a panic. It made headlines across the country. Most people were confused, struggling to understand what kind of virus could be dangerous enough to shut down an entire city. It seemed extreme, even a little ridiculous.
People who had urgent business at the border were especially frustrated. They couldn’t get in or out, stuck in their hotel rooms with nothing to do but complain online.
[PerkyLatteNoSugar]: Who even decided we needed a lockdown? Did anyone think about regular people? We can’t go anywhere, can’t work, can’t make a living. How are we supposed to survive?
[MilkFoamKitty]: What is this virus, anyway? Is it really that serious? With modern medicine, shouldn’t this be easy to handle? Why did they lock down a whole city? Isn’t that just making people panic?
[Esports_Live]: Seriously. I’ve got a whole shipment of goods stuck at the border, and now I can’t move anything. Who’s going to cover it if everything goes bad?
[StarryEyedDreamer]: You guys need to chill. If they actually locked down the city, it’s probably worse than we think. I heard a lot of people died at the central hospital. This virus is the real deal.
[Just_Living]: Everyone’s got it tough right now. They say this virus is deadly and there’s no cure yet. If you catch it, it’s basically a death sentence. That’s why they had to lock down the city so fast. Let’s just try to get through this together, okay?
***
In the capital, Friday after school, Lucinda’s phone buzzed with a call from Caspian. He wanted to pick her up and drive her home. That was the last thing she wanted, so she told him Garrett was already on the way and he could just head home by himself Caspian didn’t want to argue, so he just agreed.
As soon as she hung up, Lucinda called Garrett. No answer. She tried again. Still nothing.
Lucinda couldn’t believe it. Garrett was getting more and more impossible. He wouldn’t even answer her calls now. The rıghtful source is
She refused to give up and dialed again. Finally, he picked up. She let her irritation show, her voice soft and accusing.
“Garrett, what are you doing? I called so many times and you ignored me.”
Garrett had just gotten to the border and met up with Lydia. He’d barely said two words to her when his phone rang. He picked up, sounding distracted.
“Lucinda, I’m busy with work right now. Can we talk later?”
Lucinda just assumed he was at Capital Med School. She tried to sound sweet. “Garrett, how late will you be working? When you’re done, can you come to Capital College and pick me up so we can go home together?”
She could already imagine her classmates watching him show up for her. They’d all
be jealous.
Garrett pinched the bridge of his
nose, clearly running out of patience. “Lucinda, I’m out of town for work. I’m not in the capital. Just call a taxi er ask the family driver to pick you up really need to go.”
‰
He hung up in a hurry, and Lucinda caught a woman’s voice in the background. It sounded like Lydia.
She was stunned. What was going on? Garrett was obviously with Lydia, but he just
told her he was out of town for work? Couldn’t he have come up with a better excuse?