Chapter 5
The system let out a helpless sigh and reminded me: [You've been saved again.
[Second attempt to leave failed.]
When I thought I was finally free, my hopes crashed down.
I said, "Let go of me."
Frank didn't budge.
"Didn't you hear me? Let go!" I yelled.
It was the first time I ever lost it in front of him. I was practically clawing at his hand, desperate to break free.
I shouted, "Don't you all think I'm vicious?
"Didn't you say all I ever do is threaten people by putting my life on the line?
"Then why did you go through all that trouble to fix every camera along the coast? Why are you so desperate to find me?"
Frank's face was ghostly pale under the searchlight.
But then his arms suddenly tightened, holding me firmly against his chest.
I could hear his heart beating frantically in his chest.
I said, "You've handed over my place, my innocence, and everything I ever gave you, to her.
"I don't want you to turn back, and I don't want you to admit you cared about me.
"I just want to leave.
"Is that too much to ask?"
Frank was silent for a long time.
Then he lowered his head, his forehead pressed against my damp hair, his voice hoarse, almost breaking. "Is this what you wanted to see?
"You wanted to see me fix all the cameras for you, call in all these people, and watch me terrified?
"Emilia, you got what you wanted.
"But I won't let you use this kind of method to make everyone obey you."
Like that, I stopped fighting him.
"Failed again," I murmured.
Frank thought I was talking about my plan to make him give in.
But deep down, I knew that I was talking about the second time my trip home had been ruined.
Back at the hospital, Frank personally signed the papers, making sure I was under strict watch.
My phone was confiscated, the windows were locked up tight, and someone was standing guard outside the bathroom.
Frank set the papers down in front of me.
He said, "From now on, you can't be alone, and you can't leave without permission.
"You're not allowed to make decisions for yourself anymore."
I looked at him. "I'm not crazy.
"All I want is to leave this world."
Frank's brows drew together. "It's the shock. You can't tell what's real and what's in your head right now.
"People who lose it always think they're the only sane ones."
Suddenly, I didn't feel like explaining anymore.
"Frank," I said, my voice steady. "You saved me twice."
His fingers paused for a moment.
"But you never once believed me," I said.
The room was silent for a long time.
Frank looked away and picked up the papers from the table.
The hospital could only keep me there for twenty-four hours.
The doctors thought I might still hurt myself, but they didn't have the authority to keep me locked up forever.
Once the twenty-four hours were up, I insisted on leaving. The hospital had no choice but to contact the family member listed in my file.
My brother in this world was William Finch.
For the first time, Frank tried to pull some strings to keep me in the hospital, but he was flat-out refused.
"Mr. Hayden, you're not her family, and you don't have the right to make decisions for her," the hospital staff said.
He'd risked his life to save me twice, but when it came to signing my discharge papers, he didn't have the right.
When William arrived, Frank was standing outside my room, handing him my medication list and the doctor's instructions, one page at a time.
His tone was so cold that it was as if he were transferring custody of someone under strict surveillance.
"She's had two high-risk incidents in a row. She can't be left alone, and all sharp objects and medications need to be locked away," Frank said.
William frowned at me. "Is this all because of Eric?"
Frank paused, but didn't bother to explain.
He flipped to the last page of the papers and handed them to William.
"The hospital needs a family member's signature before she can be discharged," Frank said.
The car door closed.
I leaned against the window, refusing to look at him again.
It wasn't until we hit the coastal highway that the familiar roar of a helicopter sounded overhead.
That black rescue chopper hovered above us the entire way.
The radio in the car crackled every ten minutes, with Frank's people checking if I was still alive.
Frank didn't have the right to keep me, but he made sure my entire journey home stayed under his radar.
He once told me that as long as I sent out a signal, he'd come for me, no matter what.
Later, I cut off every signal.
But he still managed to find me.
He found me twice.
But he never saw me, not even once.
Watching the helicopter sweep past the window, I began to calculate my next escape.
William despised me so much. Maybe being with him would make it easier for me to find my way out.
As the ambulance pulled into Finch Manor, the sound of the helicopter blades finally faded away.
William sat across from me, not sparing me a glance since we got in the car.
He kept his head down, flipping through the doctor's report, looking so calm and distant, like he was checking over some botched lab results.
He used to be the youngest rare disease specialist in the country.
He was in charge of the Finch family's medical corporation, and for many critically ill patients, he was their last hope.
People called him "Mr. White Tower" because he was always so calm, as if nothing could sway his judgment.