The Man Who Faked My Medical Reports

Chapter 4 I Promise

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Aurora carried her box of things and walked out of the office building.

She walked for what felt like forever before finally making it back to the place she still called "home."

The second she stepped inside, it hit her. Her paintings—the ones she'd poured her heart into—were still in the studio. She hadn't packed them.

And those were the ones she had to take.

She ran to the studio and pushed open the door, only to find it completely empty—no easels, nothing at all.

Panic flooded through her. She tore through the villa like a crazy person, searching everywhere.

She grabbed a maid by the arm, her voice shaking. "Did you see my paintings? Where are they?"

Those paintings were everything she'd worked for over the years—her pride. Some of them had even won awards.

She couldn't just leave them behind.

The maid wouldn't meet her eyes. She looked uncomfortable, her voice low. "Ms. Shaw... I think Mr. Palmer sent people to take them. I don't know where they went."

A wave of rage washed over Aurora.

She pulled out her phone, fingers trembling as she dialed Zayne.

Once, twice... it took ten rings before the phone was finally answered.

But it was Anya's voice on the other end—cheerful and smug. "Oh, Aurora, Zayne's a little busy right now. He's with me. Maybe don't bother him for a bit, okay?"

Aurora bit down hard on her lip. The words came through gritted teeth. "Put Zayne on the phone."

She heard a scuffle and then Zayne's familiar voice. "Aurora? Hey, what's up? Sorry, I might be late tonight. Some stuff came up at work."

Aurora didn't care what he was doing. Her voice was urgent. "Where are my paintings? What did you do with them?"

Hearing how upset she was, Zayne immediately tried to calm her down. "Aurora, hey, relax. Remember, I promised to set up an exhibition for you? I moved all your paintings to a venue. I was going to surprise you. Actually, it was Anya's idea—she thought it might help with your stress."

A cold wave of dread washed over Aurora. 'Anya's idea? Since when did Anya do anything nice?'

Before she could say another word, Zayne mumbled something about work and hung up.

A second later, a text came through.

Zayne: Don't worry, babe. Here's the address. See you tomorrow.

Aurora barely slept that night.

The next day, she showed up at the address he'd sent. It was some art gallery she'd never been to.

Zayne was already there, waiting with that perfect smile.

"Aurora. You made it." He took her hand easily. "Come on. Let me show you the exhibition I put together for you."

He practically pulled her inside.

Then he got all mysterious, gently tying a silk scarf over her eyes. "It's a surprise."

They walked for a bit. Then he stopped.

When the scarf came off, bright lights hit Aurora, blinding her for a second.

Her eyes slowly adjusted. And then her heart stopped.

Her paintings—the ones she'd poured her soul into night after night—were splattered with ugly, garish paint and completely ruined.

Zayne grabbed a staff member by the arm, his voice furious. "What the hell is this? I specifically told you how to set this up. What happened?"

The staff member's hands flew up, panicked. "It wasn't me, Mr. Palmer! It was Ms. Hart. She gave explicit instructions to do it this way. We even checked with her twice—she said the destruction was part of the art, said the artist would love it..."

Aurora stood there, frozen. Her hands curled into fists at her sides, nails biting into her palms.

Something inside her snapped. Hatred and despair flooded through her, wiping out everything else. She spun around and grabbed Zayne's arm, her whole body shaking with rage.

She questioned, "Zayne, do you see this? This is what your precious girl did. You knew how much these paintings meant to me. Why would you let her anywhere near them?"

For a split second, something like guilt flickered in Zayne's eyes.

Then his expression shifted into that familiar soothing mode. He patted her hand. "Aurora, calm down. I'll handle this, okay? I promise."

He pulled his hand away, put on an angry face, and announced he was going to find Anya and "deal with her."

Aurora watched him walk away. The fury and grief inside her were too much to contain.

Without a second thought, she clenched her jaw and followed close behind.