Chapter 25

The shattered glass had sliced across Kannika’s face, leaving a painful cut near her left eye. Gritting her teeth, she rolled across the seat, retrieved her weapon, and pushed open the passenger door. A brutal fight ensued. Thanks to her rigorous training, she quickly gained the upper hand, pinning her assailant to the ground before calling for backup.

When her team leader arrived, taking in her bleeding face and the shattered car, he immediately demanded a full report. Her pulse still hammered in her temples as she recalled the phone call she should never have answered moments before the attack. She hesitated, then chose her words carefully, providing a slightly distorted version of the incident.

If they had discovered her professional negligence, she would have been removed from the case. Kannika wasn’t a regular civilian but a disguised undercover police officer. Her current mission was the long-term tracking of a computer scientist suspected of hacking a state confidential database and selling the information to a criminal network. Tonight, she’d had a colossal stroke of luck: the individual who attacked her was merely a desperate car thief. Had the target of their surveillance realized he was on the police radar, their entire operation would have been destroyed.

After submitting her adjusted report, she was rushed to the hospital to treat the damage left by the glass. Despite her protests, her superior mandated a week of compulsory rest.

At the hospital, the nurses moved quickly, disinfecting her wounds and bandaging her eye. As she lay back on the bed, the TV on the wall caught her attention.

Journalist (on screen): “In the news tonight, the city is holding its breath. Will the heir of the famous tycoon survive? While some public opinion advises immediate evacuation abroad, others trust in the skill of our medical system. Although we are talking about Niran Kai, there is still a long way to go before it achieves full international recognition.”

Dr. Williams then appeared on screen, fielding questions with confident composure from her office table. “It’s only by taking risks that we push our doctors to excel,” she stated, her gaze steady. “I remain confident that once again, Doctor Niran Williams will bring good news.”

Kannika heard the nurses whispering—some with open admiration, others with clear resentment for the excessive attention Williams had monopolized since taking control over Niran-Kai. She couldn’t help but connect this polarizing charisma to Evelyn. Surely it was Williams’ formidable spell that Evelyn had fallen under?

The injections administered for her pain finally began to work, pulling Kannika toward the rest she desperately needed.

While she drifted into heavy sleep, in another corner of the city, a man sat hunched in the shadows of a dark, smoke-filled bar. He groaned audibly upon hearing the doctor’s speech on the flickering television.

“Yes, yes… Niran Williams, the miracle doctor,” he spat, swirling the liquid in his glass. “Niran Williams only has good news, wahoo.”

The bartender, wiping down the counter, glanced up. “Don’t you like her?”

“Behind that angelic smile hides a Machiavellian mind, you know.”

“Where do you know her from, Oswald?”

Oswald scoffed. “She ruined my life. I lost my job because of her. And I promise you, at the slightest mistake she makes, I won’t miss it. It’s only a matter of time before she crushes the wrong person.”

“Come on, Oswald. You lost your job because you couldn’t stop fighting everyone,” the bartender countered flatly.

“Hmph, your brain has been washed,” Oswald sneered. “At the sight of a pair of breasts, you lose your balance.”

The bartender’s jaw clenched. He detected in his regular customer a deep, caustic contempt for the female gender, a man who could easily reduce a respected professional to her biological form.

Meanwhile, far from the bar’s stagnant air and bitterness, another kind of pressure settled in quiet hospital corridors.

At Dr. Williams’ office, a long sigh escaped her lips as she stood in her office. “Today, Williams, you will go home early,” she said to herself.

She gathered her files and slung her bag over her shoulder. In the hallway, as she walked, she ran into her colleague, Leonardo.

“Are you fleeing work, Williams?” he called out, a loud, jovial challenge.

“Mr. Leonardo, to what do I owe your visit?” she responded, her tone formal.

“Everyone is talking about your case. I thought I’d come see the genius in person.” He smiled, oily and overconfident. “You didn’t tell me. After all, we’re partners, aren’t we?” he added, emphasizing their professional link with a pretentious smirk.

“You’ll have to excuse me,” she replied. “My schedule’s been chaotic. My secretary is absent.”

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “You’ve got my number, Williams. Next time, call me.”

Her forced smile didn’t reach her eyes. Before she could respond, a voice cut through the tension.

“Madam.” Romaric appeared in the doorway.

“You’ll have to excuse me.” Williams moved swiftly past Leonardo. The good old Romaric had the art of saving her every time he saw a flicker of discomfort on her face.

As she walked away, Leonardo called out one final, suggestive question. “Is there a time when you allow yourself pleasures?”

“I just offered myself one today,” she replied coolly, a direct allusion to the successful surgery she was performing.

Now in the car, Williams pulled out her phone and checked Evelyn’s profile. “She should be at the orphanage now,” she mused. Under her thumb was Evelyn’s schedule. Then she remembered Mr. Polo’s final, sharp advice: “Settle this at all costs.”

Williams sent him the address. “Romaric,” she ordered, “Take me here.”

“Okay, Madam.”

The city lights thinned as the car traveled toward the outskirts, trading polished glass for worn cement.

After a few minutes of silent driving, the sleek luxury vehicle pulled up beside a brightly painted, slightly faded fence. Romaric got out and opened the door for Williams. She stepped onto the cracked pavement, taking a slow breath of air thick with the scent of cheap disinfectant and blooming jasmine—a stark contrast to the antiseptic sterility of her hospital.

She strolled toward the gate. Through the bars, she saw Evelyn, radiant and unguarded, all smiles, utterly absorbed in playing a chaotic game with the children. A handful of small, grubby hands clutched at Evelyn’s faded dress; she was laughing, a sound that seemed foreign and entirely genuine. Evelyn was so focused on the joy before her that she hadn’t noticed the arrival of the expensive car or its formidable occupant.

Williams stood motionless, one hand on the metal bars, watching the spectacle of pure, uncalculated happiness. Seeing Evelyn so completely immersed and playful stirred a deeply buried, unidentifiable feeling within her. Her professional facade momentarily softened, the sharp edges blurring.

Finally, their gaze met.

Everything fell still. The sudden connection was a silent explosion. The playful noise of the children seemed to vanish; the world contracted to the space between them.

Williams couldn’t say why she stopped watching. Maybe it was the calm in the woman’s movements, or the way her voice rose softly above the hum of the afternoon. Her chest tightened. The moment felt ephemeral, charged.

Evelyn hadn’t expected to see the doctor.

She froze, her breath caught mid-chest.

She hadn’t seen those eyes in years, not like this. Sharper now, colder, yet still carrying the same strange light she once knew. A thousand memories pressed at the edge of her mind, begging to surface, but she swallowed them down.

Not now. Not here.

Williams blinked, confused. The woman’s face pulled at her memory — like something from an old dream that used to mean everything but no longer had a name. She tried to look away, but couldn’t.

They walked toward each other, the tension thick enough to carve.

Evelyn’s lips parted. “Dr. Williams?” she said softly, pretending it was the first time. “You’re finally free?” she added.

The sound of her own name broke the spell. Williams inhaled sharply, stepping closer. Her gaze lingered on Evelyn’s mouth, her voice, her stillness — as though trying to decipher what her body already knew.

“Free?” she echoed, her tone lower than she meant it to be.

Evelyn smiled faintly. “From the hospital, I mean.”

Williams hadn’t immediately grasped the reference. “Please, can we talk?”

“Now?” Evelyn countered.

“Why do you think I’m here?” Williams retorted with a sarcastic edge, the tone meant to make Evelyn feel thoughtless.

Evelyn, however, was not going to be pushed around. “Then you’ll have to wait.”

“I just need you to grant me a few minutes. I’m not going to stay here forever,” Williams insisted, glancing impatiently at her surroundings.

“That’s up to you,” Evelyn shot back, looking directly at Romaric. “If you’re in a hurry, go home. Your driver won’t have any trouble getting you there.”

Williams, deeply offended by the blatant disrespect, stopped herself from reminding Evelyn precisely who she was. Romaric, for his part, maintained a perfect facade of non-hearing. She looked at her again, longer this time, fighting against the need to resist or to yield.

Finally, “Alright, I’ll wait,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Then follow me.”

Evelyn turned and walked inside. Williams followed, her heels clicking softly against the concrete — each step echoing the tension neither of them wanted to break.

And somewhere in the distance, unseen eyes watched the scene unfold.

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