Chapter 3
988 Words
I chose to "wait to be caught" in my rental room.
Even though this was a world inside a book, it was still a society ruled by law.
Worst case, I would let Annie stab me.
Finally, the door was kicked open.
Luke stood at the doorway, his face as dark as the sea before a storm. In his hand, he held the sticky note I had left.
"Lucy," he said, his voice so soft it was unsettling, "Annie is in the hospital. She says you stabbed her."
I looked at him. "I didn't."
"She has a knife wound," he said, stepping closer. "Her blood stained the entire hospital bed. And you just disappeared from here, leaving a note saying you were leaving."
His eyes held pain, anger, disappointment—everything except doubt.
He really believed her.
I suddenly laughed. "Luke, did you come here to hear my explanation, or have you already convicted me?"
He was silent for a second.
That one second of silence gave me the answer.
"Take her away," he said.
I thought he would take me to the police station.
But I was wrong.
The car drove for two hours and stopped in front of a rusted iron gate.
The suburban mental hospital.
"Luke..." My voice began to tremble. "What are you doing?"
He looked at me, his eyes cold. "Annie said you've been mentally unstable lately, with violent tendencies. She doesn't want to press charges against you. She just hopes you'll get treatment."
"I didn't stab her!" I grabbed his sleeve. "Luke, believe me just this once—"
He pulled his hand back.
"Get well soon."
Then the car door closed.
A: [Holy s**t, A mental hospital!]
B: [This is worse than prison! A normal person would go crazy in there too!]
C: [Annie's move is so vicious. She got rid of the female lead and played the good guy at the same time]
D: [Luke, you are truly blind!!!]
Two orderlies grabbed me and dragged me through the rusted iron gate.
Behind me, the headlights of Luke's car disappeared into the night.
The hallway of the mental hospital was very long, so long it seemed endless.
Pale white lights, the stinging smell of disinfectant, and in the distance, sounds that could have been crying or laughing.
I was pushed into a single patient room. Iron bed, iron window, iron door.
The moment the lock clicked shut, I closed my eyes.
So I really couldn't escape the plot's torment?
Soon, I was taken to a small room.
In a chair, Doctor Kent flipped through a medical chart.
"Lucy Brown," he said, "according to the person who brought you here, you have violent tendencies and delusions."
"I'm not sick."
He smiled and raised his chin.
The orderlies pushed me into a chair. My wrists and ankles were strapped down with leather belts.
Electrodes were attached to my temples.
The moment the electric current hit, my whole world turned white.
Countless needles seemed to pierce my brain. My body convulsed uncontrollably.
I didn't know how long it lasted.
The current stopped.
I slumped in the chair, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.
"This is the first time," Doctor Kent's voice came from far away. "There are nine more to go."
I looked at him through tears.
"How much did Annie pay you?"
He paused, then smiled and leaned closer to me.
"Miss Green paid enough," he said, "to keep you here for the rest of your life."
A: [Animal!!!]
B: [This is true killing without shedding blood!!!]
C: [Can someone spoil it? Does the female lead ever escape? Is she really going to die here?]
I was dragged back to my room and thrown onto the bed.
My body was still trembling.
My temples burned with pain.
I curled into a ball, stared at the wall, and tears fell uncontrollably.
Not because I was scared.
Because I hated her.
Annie.
Just hearing her name made something sharp twist in my chest.
A few days later, Annie stood at the door, wearing a white dress.
Behind her followed Doctor Kent, nodding and bowing.
She walked in and looked down at me.
"How was the electroshock therapy these past few days?" she asked.
I stared at her and said nothing.
She smiled, bent down, and leaned close to me.
"Luke asked me to tell you," she said, "to get proper treatment. When you're better, he'll come take you out.
"But I'm never letting you out."
With that, she turned and walked toward the door.
When she reached the entrance, she stopped.
"Oh, right," she said, "I'll come again tomorrow.
"I heard one course of treatment isn't enough? I specifically asked Doctor Kent to add two more courses for you."
The door closed.
I stared at the door, and tears finally burst out.
'Luke… do you really trust her that much? You won't even come see me?'
Sure enough, relying on others is worse than relying on yourself.
Frequent electroshock began to make me delirious.
I couldn't remember which day this was. Every day felt like a year.
But I tried hard to keep myself clear-headed.
I had noticed over the past few days: maybe because they thought I couldn't escape, they just followed orders to torment me, but they didn't particularly tighten security on me.
Through observation, I gradually formed a plan.
This day, I was strapped to the electric chair again.
After the current stopped.
I slumped in the chair, drenched, as if pulled out of water.
Doctor Kent walked over and bent down to check on me.
He was very close.
Close enough for me to see the phone sticking out of his white coat pocket.
My fingers twitched.
I couldn't reach it.
But when he turned, the phone slid out a little.
I saw it.
The screen was lit.
It was a message.
Sender: Annie.
Annie: Finish her off. I'll pay double.
- Writer
