Chapter 5
Aurora didn't open the box.
She shoved Evelyn aside and bolted, clutching the box to her chest.
Evelyn, caught off guard, stumbled and fell to the ground, screaming, "Owen, she's running away."
Owen's expression darkened. He never thought she'd bolt.
Aurora hugged the battered old box to her chest, in her hospital gown, desperately making a break for it down the street.
But she'd come out of surgery. Her body was completely spent, no strength left at all.
She'd barely managed a few steps before her legs buckled beneath her, and she was gasping for breath.
Owen caught up to her in a few strides. He grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
He frowned, snapping, "If you didn't steal anything, then why are you running?"
Aurora didn't say a word. She clutched the box to her chest, holding on for dear life.
When Owen watched her act like this, his frustration was boiling over.
He tried to yank the box from her hands. "Give it to me."
"No." Aurora held on for dear life. "This is all that's left of my mom."
As they fought over the box, it was yanked free from Aurora's hands.
It flew through the air in a wild arc, sailing right over the roadside guardrail.
With a wet, sickening splash, it landed in the reeking gutter.
Owen was stunned.
He watched as the box briefly floated on the surface, then sank straight down.
He whipped his head around to Aurora.
But the instant Aurora saw the box going under, she rushed toward the gutter, leapt over the guardrail, and jumped right in.
A huge splash erupted.
Owen's eyes widened in shock.
"Wait, Aurora." He dashed to the guardrail, shouting her name.
He watched as the filthy water came up to Aurora's calves.
He saw her wading through the disgusting, reeking water, bending over and plunging her hands into the muck, frantically searching for the box.
His expression turned uglier.
He was about to yell at her to get out of there.
'It's a busted old box. Who cares if it's gone? Why's she freaking out like this?' Owen thought.
Just then, a sudden, sharp pain shot through Aurora's abdomen.
The wound that had been stitched up got soaked in the dirty water, and it split open.
Blood seeped through her hospital gown, blending into the muck and disappearing into the grime.
The pain hit so hard that she could barely stay upright, but Aurora refused to look away. She was determined to get that box back.
Her vision blurred, darkness threatening to swallow her, and she forced herself to keep blinking, fighting to stay conscious.
As Aurora was about to fish the box out of the mud, Owen suddenly jumped down without a word, grabbed her arm, and hauled her toward the edge.
Aurora struggled desperately, her splintered nails digging into Owen's hand and leaving bloody scratches, but he refused to let go.
Once they were out of the gutter, Owen clamped his hands around her waist, gasping for breath as he growled, "Are you insane? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Aurora lifted her gaze to Owen, trying to explain.
But before she could say anything, Owen scooped her up in his arms.
"Owen, what are you doing?" Aurora cried out.
He carried her straight to the military green SUV parked by the curb, pulled open the door, and put her in the back seat.
Owen ignored her desperate pleas, locked the door, strode around to the driver's side, got in, and fired up the engine.
The car suddenly sped off.
Aurora was tossed back into the seat, her head banging against the window, her ears buzzing from the impact.
The car pulled into a housing complex and stopped in front of a small gray building.
Owen threw open the back door and hauled Aurora out.
"Get inside," he ordered.
Aurora stumbled as he dragged her, then lifted her gaze to the gleaming building ahead.
The tiles outside were neatly arranged, and every window gleamed.
All those years she'd been exiled to the island, Aurora had to make do in a leaky mud hut.
In winter, the wind cut right through; in summer, rain soaked everything.
Every night, she curled up under damp blankets, trying to sleep.
But Owen and Evelyn got to live in a nice, modern house.
'What a joke,' Aurora scoffed to herself.
"I'm not going in," Aurora said calmly.
But Owen ignored her completely, grabbed her arm, and dragged her into the building, pulling her up to the third floor.