The Man Who Faked My Medical Reports

Chapter 6 Have Never Met You

Aurora lay there dazed, facedown in the dirt. She dragged herself forward with everything she had left.

Every inch felt like knives scraping against bone.

Behind her, Zayne rushed out with Anya, who was still crying.

He looked down at Aurora crawling on the ground. For a second, something like pity flickered in his eyes.

But when he spoke, his voice still had that edge of blame. "Aurora, I was just trying to scare you. And you tried to kill yourself just to threaten me? You don't trust me at all, do you?"

He crouched down and reached for her hand. "Come on. Let's go back. Anya said she won't hold it against you."

Aurora pulled away. She bit her pale lip and kept crawling toward the street.

She couldn't look at them anymore—not for one more second.

Aurora made it to the middle of the road. Then the headlights flooded the darkness.

The light was blinding. Aurora heard tires screech.

Then the car hit her. She flew through the air and slammed onto the pavement. Everything went black.

When she opened her eyes again, she was tied back-to-back with Anya against a pillar in some old factory.

Cold bombs were strapped to them. Timers were ticking down.

A man with a knife paced in front of them.

He waved the blade back and forth, near Anya's face, then Aurora's. "So, which one of you is Mr. Palmer's real sweetheart? His company cost me a fortune. Stock tanked. Today, I want him to hurt. Tell me. Who does he care about more?"

Anya was already a mess. Her face was pale with terror. She was crying, barely making sense. "Her! It's her! I have nothing to do with Zayne. Aurora is his girlfriend. Kill her if you have to kill someone. Just let me go, please."

Aurora turned her head, shocked.

She stared at Anya next to her, all tears and fake innocence.

Disgust filled her heart. 'This is the woman Zayne loves so much? The one he always protects? If he could see her now—so scared she'd throw anyone under the bus—would he still rush to her rescue?'

Just then, the rusty metal door burst open.

Zayne stormed in, sweating, carrying a bag of cash.

He threw it at the man's feet. His voice was tight. "The money's here. Let them go."

The guy glanced at it, then sneered. "This? This won't even cover my losses."

He paused, then smiled, creepy. "But hey, at least you showed up."

Then he hit a button on a remote.

The timers on Anya and Aurora started beeping, fast.

"Pick one." The guy laughed. "Go on, Mr. Palmer. Who's leaving with you?"

He smashed the remote on the ground, stomped on it, and walked out with the cash.

The bomb disposal expert, Xander Butler, coming along with Zayne, muttered, panic in his voice, "Mr. Palmer, we don't have time. The wiring is too complex. I can only save one. You have to decide. Now."

Zayne's face went pale. His jaw clenched.

He looked at Aurora, then at Anya, back and forth. His fists were shaking. "No. Both. I'm saving both."

Xander said, "I can't, Mr. Palmer. We're out of time. Pick one."

Finally, like a cornered beast, Zayne let out a heart-wrenching roar. "Anya. I pick Anya."

Right then, Aurora knew that in his heart, she meant nothing anymore.

A tear slid down her cheek.

The timer kept going. Zayne rushed forward without a second thought.

He tore the ropes binding Anya loose and pulled her tightly into his arms.

Zayne didn't even glance back at Aurora, only hurling a hurried warning over his shoulder. "Aurora, hang on... Xander is highly skilled. I believe he can save you."

Then, he scooped Anya up and sprinted out of the factory without looking back.

The heavy door slammed shut. The last bit of light disappeared.

Only Aurora and Xander remained, his face grim.

The timer entered its final thirty seconds.

Xander fiddled with the device for a few seconds, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

Then he took two steps back and gave Aurora a long, deep look.

In his eyes were apology, resignation, and the fear of utter helplessness.

Then, he turned and sprinted toward the back door, vanishing into the gloom.

Aurora was alone, tied to that cold pillar.

The numbers blinked: ten... nine... eight...

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down.

Pictures flashed in her mind—Zayne smiling when they first met, trying to throw her a birthday party, holding an umbrella for her in the rain, then his cold eyes at her when he stood in front of Anya.

It was all crumbling to dust.

Aurora let out a faint laugh, filled with endless self-mockery and icy detachment.

She slowly closed her eyes, her heart now utterly still. "Zayne... if I could do it all over, I'd rather have never met you."

A deafening explosion engulfed everything.

Flames shot skyward as the entire abandoned factory shook.

In an instant, it was reduced to a searing ruin.