- 7.
I made sure my mind was clear, and then
strolled back to the hospital.
The doctor looked surprised to see me.
“You’re back again?”
く
I said nothing.
He sensed something was off. He stepped
closer, pulled back my eyelids, and carefully
checked for anything unusual.
I gently shook my head.
The doctor paused, thinking. “You’re saying
you’re not having any problems?”
I nodded slightly.
“You don’t want them to know what you’re
thinking, what you’re doing?”
I nodded again.
“So you’re back to the hospital to do what?
Get us to take the thing out?”
<
I nodded again.
“But if they find out you’re getting surgery to
remove it, won’t they kill you?”
I shook my head.
I guessed my cousin was too busy trying to
deal with bankruptcy and trying to get me
back on his side.
As long as the money wasn’t recovered, I was
safe.
The doctor was very interested in the thing in
my head. He was excited when he heard I
agreed to surgery.
He had the nurses call in a bunch of doctors
Itation helping me figure out the
く
for a consultation, helping me figure out the surgical plan, and finally confirmed that I
could have the surgery the next morning.
Before I left, I told the doctor, “Doctor, I want
to sleep. Can you prescribe me some sleeping
pills?”
The doctor seemed surprised, then
understood. “Are you having trouble sleeping
lately?”
“Yes, I am. I need a good night’s sleep.”
My phone was buzzing like crazy. It was my
cousin. He’d figured out I was buying sleeping
pills.
He thought I was going to overdose.
く
I hung up and followed the nurse to my room.
I swallowed the pills as soon as I got some
water.
My phone buzzed again. This time, it was Brian. I answered, because I really wanted to
hear him beg.
“Emily, where are you? Please help Jessica!
Your cousin wants her to pay back double the
losses, that’s 100 billion!”
“How can I help? Call the police? Sorry, I’m a
little busy right now…”
I hung up and drifted off to sleep.
I’d sleep well tonight. But my cousin wouldn’t
have time to sleep. He’d be tearing Thailand
apart, looking for me.
L
The deeper I slept, the blanker my mind, the longer they’d think I was dead.
The doctors would wheel me into surgery in
the morning. Hopefully, everything would go
smoothly.
When I woke up, the doctor congratulated
- me. The surgery was a success. The thing
was out.
Bored, I started scrolling through the trending
topics. The news of my supposed death in
Phuket was number one.
There was a video of my cousin, eyes red,
telling the media that I’d come to Thailand
alone and hadn’t contacted my family in over
48 hours. He asked anyone who saw me to
contact him.
<
He attributed my trip to being dumped by a
bad boyfriend and feeling suicidal.
He said he’d beaten Brian to a pulp and
hoped I’d come home soon.
The media sympathized with him, calling him
a loving brother. They painted me as a love-
struck fool. Brian’s whole family was getting
dragged online.
Everyone was calling him a gold digger. My
cousin had broken his leg and made him
mute, probably afraid he’d say something he
shouldn’t.
My cousin even hired search teams to look
for me in the Andaman Sea. He was really
putting on a show, spending money he didn’t
have.
<
I touched my face. I should have gotten
plastic surgery when they took that thing out
of my head.
I checked Jessica’s page. It was filled with
hate.
“A dancer should stick to dancing, not
pretend to be a cybersecurity genius!”
“She’s got a messy personal life. She’s got a
sugar daddy and she’s been flirting with my
boyfriend. She’s a total slut!”
Someone posted a picture of my cousin
picking her up from school in his Maybach.
The picture of the hotel room, with my
cousin’s reflection, was also getting passed
around. People were connecting the dots and
<
blaming my cousin for everything that had
happened.
I wondered how angry my dad was seeing all
this. The thought made me feel better, and I
felt myself healing faster.
