Chapter 267
Blake’s brow furrowed. “What? What are you talking about?”
I took a deep breath and pulled out my spare phone. After turning it on, I called Felix.
“Put Dr. Clarke on, please.”
After a brief pause, the old man’s voice came through. “Audrey, where have you been? Felix has been looking everywhere for you. With your condition, you can’t just disappear like this.”
“Your illness – ”
“Dr. Clarke,” I cut him off. “Could you explain again why Rachel became a vegetative patient?”
A pause. “Put me on speaker.”
I hit the button and held the phone between us.
“Rachel’s condition isn’t actually a vegetative state,” His voice filled the car. “Her body doesn’t have the typical damage you’d expect.”
“The fall four years ago likely only broke her limbs. Her spinal cord and brain weren’t injured. After healing and rehabilitation, she should have been fine. There’s no medical reason for her vegetative symptoms.”
“What we’ve discovered is someone has been consistently injecting her with an inhibitor drug that blocks brain and nerve functions, making her appear comatose. She doesn’t need treatment to wake up. We simply need to wait for her body to clear the toxins from her system.”
“Anything else?” he asked.
“No, that’s all. Thank you.”
I hung up and met Blake’s shocked expression with a cold stare.
“Two years ago, Dr. Clarke’s team woke you from your vegetative state,” I reminded him. “You wouldn’t doubt his expertise, would you?”
Blake’s face had gone completely still. “Are you saying Rachel’s condition was deliberately induced?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “For four years, while under Rose family care, Rachel has been drugged daily. Still want to send her back?”
Blake’s POV
The car went dead silent.
I closed my eyes and leaned back, my fingers pressing against my throbbing temples.
Audrey might lie to me, but Dr. Clarke wouldn’t. And yet…
Images of the Rose family flashed through my mind.
I knew they weren’t great to Rachel, but they had kept her for four years after her accident. They must care about her somewhat. Maybe they just got tired of the constant caretaking.
1/2
Chapter 201
But I never imagined they’d been faking her condition.
Dr. Clarke said Rachel had been drugged daily for four years…
So the Rose family’s “care” meant keeping her sedated and helpless. Jesus.
But why keep her like this?
For four years, they told everyone Rachel was dead. They could have killed her any day without raising suspicion.
After all, as far as the public knew, Rachel died from that fall.
So why announce her death, then save her, only to drug her into this living hell for four years?
The only explanation was that the Roses were keeping secrets from each other. Some wanted Rachel vegetative, others wanted her healthy. Someone preferred drugging her instead of letting her come to actual harm.
That person had to be Scarlett, who’d been quietly looking after Rachel all this time.
But who in the family wanted to keep Rachel in that state?
Jonathan Rose?
Or… Laurel?
I opened my eyes and looked at Audrey. “How long until Rachel wakes up?”
“One to two weeks,” Audrey said, her mouth tightening. “That’s why I won’t let her go back to the Roses. If she wants to return after she’s awake, I’ll respect that.”
“But until then…” She paused. “I won’t tell anyone where she is.”
I frowned. “Two weeks isn’t that long.”
I started the engine. “Until Rachel wakes up, you need to stay hidden.”
Audrey looked down at Snow, stroking his fur without saying anything else.
Soon, I pulled the car to a stop. “We’re here.”
