Chapter 393

393 A Switch in the Shadows
Elsie hesitated at the doorway, torn between going and staying. She kept pestering the doctor, pleading for answers.
“Please, I promise I won’t tell anyone. I just… I don’t want Owen to worry, that’s all…”
Suddenly, she felt a tug at the back of her collar. Whipping around, she saw Yunice gripping her shirt, pulling her back before stepping forward and handing her phone to the doctor.
“I wasn’t lying,” Yunice said calmly. “My name is Yunice too.”
Though she’d lost her physical ID, Yunice had a scanned copy on her phone. She hadn’t shown it earlier–she’d been waiting to see how far Elsie would go, and what she could fish out of the situation.
Once it became clear that nothing useful could be gleaned, she stepped forward to verify her identity.
The most ironic part? While Yunice had changed her ID number, she hadn’t changed her name.
The doctor glanced between the two women, baffled all over again.
Then he stepped outside to contact someone via radio.
Meanwhile, Owen was deep in thought, analyzing everything.
Why did they need Yunice?
She was the first point of contact, yes–but she didn’t have a medical license, nor was she an official hospital employee. A specialized response team wouldn’t go out of their way to involve her in treatment.
And if the doctors were so tight–lipped about where they were taking her, then it had to be something secretive.
But what kind of situation required secrecy?
Something they didn’t want the public to know about.
Owen’s palm curled into a tight fist. His mind wandered to Wyatt, who’d been lingering outside the hospital this entire time.
Why was he just waiting there–not coming in, but not leaving either?
Could he really be planning to get Yunice out of this quarantine zone ?
What kind of sleight of hand would Wyatt use to pull that off?
Owen’s eyes flicked toward the unopened bag of protective gear…
Just then , the doctor returned and pointed directly at Yunice. “Put on the gear. You’re coming with us.”
Panic surged through Elsie. “I’m Yunice ! ”
The doctor ignored her .
Watching the exchange , Owen grew more convinced that something was going on behind the scenes.
Otherwise, how could these
people be so sure which one of them was the Yunice they wanted?
The fact that they still wouldn
say where she was going–it had to mean Yunice was leaving this sealed facility.
The fewer people who knew , the better. If word got out that someone had been allowed to leave while others remained imprisoned, the backlash would be immense .
And this was the primary infection zone. No one could even say how many people would survive by the end. Who would be left to report that someone had slipped through the cracks ?
This world was so unfair.
1/2
+8 P€
Owen was tense all over. His gaze lingered on the doctors who had moved on to the neighboring offices, busy verifying everyone’s identities and enforcing lockdown procedures.
They didn’t bother watching Yunice change. Once she was gone, Owen and Elsie would be sealed in the office too.
Pointing toward the break room, Owen said to Yunice, “There’s a lounge in there. You can change.”
Yunice picked up the gear, hesitant. She didn’t know what awaited her.
She suspected this was Wyatt’s doing–that he’d found a way to smuggle her out of Saunders Hospital.
Originally, she had planned to stay and fight alongside the others. But she decided not to act on her own. It was better to ti Wyatt’s plan.
If she wasn’t infected, great. If she was infected, she could at least serve as a live research subject for Wellinges Pharma–fa: better than dying here like a headless chicken.
She made her decision. She’d change into the gear and go with them.
As Yunice stepped into the lounge with the protective suit, Elsie watched with wide, despairing eyes.
JAS
It felt like someone had stolen her only chance at survival.
She looked pitifully at Owen, voice trembling. “Owen…”
Owen’s fists clenched and unclenched. He wanted to say he was sorry.
But seeing her pale, terrified face, something inside him cracked.
Elsie was his youngest sister. He couldn’t just stand there and watch her die.
She was so young, so obedient, so full of potential… She hadn’t even had a chance to shine. How could she die here for no reason?
Inside the lounge, Yunice locked the door and began changing.
That’s when she heard the unmistakable sound of a key turning in the lock.
She turned–and saw Owen step inside, eyes heavy with guilt.
The look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat.