Chapter 2
I was shaking with anger, about to dial Ethan's number again.
Suddenly, I spotted a small cage in the bottom right corner of the photo. Inside was a strikingly red snake.
My scalp prickled instantly.
Could that snake be connected to what happened to Emily? I didn't hesitate to call Ethan again, but all I got was a busy signal. He'd blocked me.
Emily had received a critical condition notice from the doctors. I panicked, out of my wits.
The car delivering the antivenom from the next city was stuck in a traffic jam. There was no telling whether it'd get here in time.
I paced frantically up and down the hospital, flipping through my contacts, desperate to find anyone who could reach Ethan.
Unexpectedly, Sophie posted another update on her feed.
Now she looked ghostly pale, lying in a hospital bed.
Sophie wrote: [Got bitten by a little snake by accident, but thank God for Ethan's miracle antivenom. You're my hero—love you forever.]
She was clutching two vials in her hand.
As soon as I saw the label, my eyes narrowed in shock.
Wasn't that exactly the antivenom Emily desperately needed?
Emily was suffering in the ICU all night, and he turned his back on her without a second thought.
Worse—he handed over two whole vials of that life-saving antivenom, both of them, to Sophie instead.
I dialed Sophie straight away, but after only two rings, her phone was off—just like I'd expected.
Before I could even let my anger boil over, the doctor came over with slow, heavy steps.
His expression was grave as he said, "I'm truly sorry. She didn't make it before the antivenom got here. My deepest condolences."
Through the glass, I saw Emily lying under a cold white sheet. A stab of grief pierced my chest, and I couldn't help but let my tears fall.
We weren't close, but seeing such a young girl's life snuffed out for nothing hit me harder than I expected.
Her own brother was the one who indirectly killed her.
At that moment, I completely snapped awake to the truth.
Why was I even with a guy like this?
If I ever faced an emergency, too, I'd get cast aside just like his sister. There'd be no happier ending for me.
I sat there in silence for a while before finally grabbing my phone and calling the police.
"Hello, I'm here to report a theft. Someone stole my emerald necklace worth over 300 grand," I said, keeping my tone cold and clear.
The school couldn't reach Ethan at all, so the principal ended up approaching me for help, looking desperate.
The principal was visibly shaken. "We host annual student stargazing events at the West Ridge Observatory, and there's never supposed to be any venomous snakes. Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is completely unprecedented."
Seeing how nervous he was, I shook my head. "The doctors said that snake isn't even from around here. They think someone let it loose on purpose. Honestly, I'm just glad the school caught it fast and got her to the hospital right away."
Once I'd finally cooled off, a thought popped into my head—I remembered Sophie's earlier post.
The brilliantly colored little snake by her feet looked suspiciously like the one that bit Emily. I couldn't shake the feeling they were the same breed.
Sophie was always helping out at Ethan's lab. That place was crawling with rare poisonous snakes people would barely ever see anywhere else.
After the principal left, exhaustion crashed over me as I started to deal with Emily's funeral arrangements.
Out of nowhere, my phone—quiet for so long—started buzzing.
Having dodged me all day, Ethan finally called me.
I was about to tell him that Emily hadn't made it, that his own sister was dead.
But before I could get a word in, Ethan's furious voice exploded on the line. "Julia, have you lost your damn mind? It was just a stupid necklace. Did you seriously have to call the cops on me?
"Are you trying to humiliate me or what? The police even showed up at my lab. For real, can you use your brain for once?"
Once Ethan finally finished screaming, I spoke up, my tone loaded with sarcasm, "A 'stupid necklace'? Something worth over 300 grand means nothing to you? And, so it really was you who took it. Funny, I thought we'd actually been robbed."