By the time the convoy arrived at St. Gabriel Medical Center, Edwin had completely given up on his remaining dignity.
The moment he stepped out of the vehicle, several people in the parking lot turned to look at him. Not because he looked suspicious, and not because he looked strange—but because he looked terrifyingly convincing.
Which somehow made everything ten times worse.
"I hate all of you," Edwin muttered for what was probably the hundredth time that day.
Miso immediately pulled out her phone. "Say that again."
"No."
"I want a recording."
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
Arora adjusted her dark glasses, her boots clicking against the pavement as she headed toward the main entrance. "Focus."
"Leader, my dignity is dying on the asphalt."
"You'll survive."
"I genuinely don't think I will."
Nick walked past him without breaking stride. "You look better than expected."
Edwin stopped dead in his tracks. "What does that mean?"
Nick kept walking. "It means exactly what I said."
"I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult."
"It can be both."
Jack, walking right beside Arora under her watchful eye, looked entirely too proud of himself. "See? True art is always appreciated."
Edwin pointed accusingly. "You are the sole architect of my misery."
"I prefer the term artist."
"You're a criminal."
"We're literally in a gang, Edwin."
"...Good point."
Inside the hospital, the atmosphere felt completely different from Black Rose Headquarters. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant, floor wax, and stale coffee. Doctors moved through the corridors carrying patient files, nurses hurried between departments, and machines beeped quietly somewhere in the distance.
Everything felt clean, orderly, and predictable.
Arora disliked it immediately. In her experience, places that looked peaceful usually hid the ugliest secrets.
As they walked, she kept a quiet side-eye on Jack. He moved alongside her with effortless composure, taking in the hospital layout without a trace of nerves. What are you really looking for, Jack? she thought.
Several floors above them, Kelvin was having the absolute best day of his month. Possibly his year.
For nearly ten minutes, he had been standing in front of a hallway mirror, adjusting his hair. Then adjusting it again. Then deciding the first adjustment had been better, only to ruin it a third time.
A passing nurse finally let out a long sigh. "Doctor Kelvin."
"What?"
"You've checked your reflection fifteen times."
"Only fifteen?"
The nurse stared. Kelvin flashed a brilliant, completely unbothered grin. "Today is important."
"We know."
The entire department knew. Kelvin had spent the last week talking about exactly one person to anyone who would stand still long enough to listen: Jennie.
Jennie said this. Jennie laughed. Jennie smiled. The staff had suffered enough.
Down near the administrative wing, Jennie stood behind a reception desk organizing files. Everything about her appeared normal, professional, and calm. Yet every few minutes, her eyes flicked toward the main glass doors.
Waiting. Watching. Expecting something.
The behavior was subtle—almost invisible to anyone else. But Arora caught it immediately.
Interesting. It felt deliberate. Like someone playing a role they had rehearsed a hundred times.
"Doctor Kelvin?" A nurse pointed down the corridor.
Kelvin followed her gaze, then immediately regretted having eyes.
Walking straight toward him was his sister, flanked by her usual collection of chaos: Nick, Miso, Jack... and someone else.
Kelvin squinted. Then blinked. Then squinted again.
"Why is there a woman standing with Edwin's exact physical posture?"
Silence fell over the hallway. The entire group froze.
Jack immediately started laughing, covering his face. Miso bit her lip to hide a snort, Nick stared at the ceiling, and Arora remained impossibly composed.
"Good afternoon, Kelvin."
Kelvin pointed a finger. "What happened to him?"
"Nothing."
"That is clearly Edwin."
"You have no proof."
"Leader!" Edwin looked ready to cry on the linoleum.
For the next ten minutes, utter chaos ruled the floor.
Jack somehow convinced two floor nurses that Edwin was an international fashion model doing research for a role. Miso secretly took photos for future blackmail material. Nick pretended he was a complete stranger who just happened to be walking in the same direction.
And Kelvin slowly developed a massive headache.
Only Arora remained calm—at least outwardly. On the inside, she never stopped observing Jennie... and Jack, who was taking in the hospital staff's movements with sharp, calculated precision beneath his playful smile.
Eventually, a thoroughly exhausted Kelvin managed to herd everyone into a private consultation room, slamming the door shut.
He crossed his arms, glaring at them. "Now. Explain."
Arora sat comfortably in one of the armchairs. "Explain what?"
"Why you're currently invading my workplace."
"We came to visit."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Kelvin groaned, rubbing his temples.
Jack raised his hand politely. "I came because Baby invited me."
The room went dead quiet. Kelvin slowly turned, his eyes narrowing. "...Baby?"
Arora wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. "Ignore him."
"I don't think I can mentally recover from that."
Before the argument could escalate any further, a soft voice interrupted from the doorway.
"Doctor Kelvin?"
Everyone turned. Jennie stood in the entrance holding a stack of patient files. A gentle, small smile appeared the second her eyes landed on Kelvin.
Kelvin's face lit up instantly—an embarrassing sight for everyone involved.
Jennie looked slightly amused by the audience, but as her eyes swept over Arora's group, that tiny smile stayed a fraction too long. Arora caught it instantly.
Rehearsed. It didn't reach her eyes.
Then—
BANG!
The consultation room door slammed open so hard the hinges rattled.
A woman stood in the doorway, chest heaving, hair disheveled, face pale, and eyes rimmed with raw red tears. She looked like she had just sprinted through a downpour—or spent hours crying.
The room went dead silent.
The woman didn't look at Arora. She didn't look at Jennie. Her wild, desperate gaze locked straight onto Kelvin.
Something about her raw intensity stripped the air right out of the room.
Kelvin frowned, taking a cautious step forward. "Can I... help you?"
The woman let out a broken, jagged laugh that echoed off the walls.
"Help me?" Her voice trembled violently. "After everything you've done?"
Silence suffocated the room. Kelvin looked completely lost. Outside in the corridor, passing nurses stopped in their tracks. Even Jack's playful grin vanished.
Slowly, the woman took a shaky step into the room, tears spilling over her lashes. "You really don't remember me?"
Kelvin stared at her face, searching his memory. "No."
The answer came completely honest. Immediate. Without hesitation.
Which somehow made the woman's expression shatter even further.
Across the room, every single one of Arora's instincts screamed at once. Something was terribly wrong.
And for the first time that day, she forgot about Edwin's disguise, the undercover mission, and Jack entirely. Because whatever was unfolding right now... was about to pull all of them into a nightmare.
To Be Continued...