The System Offered Death As My Only Exit Chapter 04

The System Offered Death As My Only Exit Chapter 04

When Audrey Winters was brought in, she was clutching two plane tickets in her hand.

She was even thinner than she had looked in the photo. Her face was so pale it was almost translucent, and after only a few steps, she had to brace herself against the wall.

But when she saw me, she still smiled.

“Evelyn, I bought the tickets. Let’s go.”

“I won’t go to school anymore, and I won’t get treatment anymore either. I’ll take you home.”

My throat felt as if something had lodged inside it.

For the first time in days, I wanted to sit up from the hospital bed.

But just as my hand pressed against the edge of the mattress, the door was pushed open. Vivian sat in a wheelchair, with Annie pushing her in.

A blanket covered Vivian’s knees. Her face looked pale, but her gaze went straight to Audrey.

“So this is your sister? You two really do look alike.”

Instinctively, I pulled Audrey behind me and watched Vivian warily.

Vivian lightly touched her own face, then suddenly said in a soft voice, “Adrian, I’ve been feeling dizzy lately. Do you think I still haven’t recovered all the blood I lost after the accident?”

Adrian immediately bent down. “What feels wrong?”

Vivian lifted her eyes toward Audrey and smiled with undisguised satisfaction.

“Audrey has the same rare blood type too, doesn’t she? Why don’t we have the doctors draw a little from her too? Maybe then I won’t feel so awful anymore.”

My entire body went rigid, and I refused at once.

“No.”

Adrian frowned.

“Evie, we’re only drawing a little blood from Audrey for testing. Nothing will happen.”

I gripped Audrey’s hand tightly.

“She has a congenital heart condition. She can’t have blood drawn.”

Vivian’s eyes filled with tears at once.

“Forget it. Don’t make things hard for her. My life was never worth much anyway.”

Annie stood behind Vivian and looked at me as if I had wronged them both.

“Mommy, Miss Vivian isn’t asking for that much. Stop being mean to her.”

I looked at my own daughter.

She was still holding the plane tickets Audrey had just handed me, completely unaware that they were my last way out.

A doctor was soon called in. After reading Audrey’s medical record, his expression changed.

“Mr. Whitmore, Miss Winters has a heart condition. She is not suitable for blood donation.”

Adrian said in a low voice, “It’s only a small amount. Vivi is the priority. Take her for the draw.”

When the bodyguards moved to drag Audrey out from behind me, I struggled with everything I had, but it was useless. In the end, I dropped to my knees.

My knees hit the floor hard enough to send black spots across my vision.

“Please, Adrian. Take mine instead. Take as much as you want. Don’t touch my sister. She won’t survive it.”

Vivian lowered her gaze from the wheelchair and looked at me, the corner of her mouth curving slightly.

“Evelyn, how could you use your health to threaten Adrian like this? You know he cares about you more than anyone.”

As she spoke, she suddenly pressed a hand to her chest and leaned into Adrian’s arms.

“Adrian, I feel so sick.”

Adrian’s expression changed.

The trace of hesitation my begging had stirred in him vanished, replaced by a frightening coldness. Adrian said in a low voice, “It’s only a small amount. Vivi is the priority. Take her for the draw.”

Her fingertips trembled with fear, but she still shook her head at me.

“Evelyn, it’s okay. It’s only a little.”

The first tube of blood was drawn.

I lunged forward like a madwoman, but the bodyguards held me back.

By the second tube, Audrey’s lips had begun to turn purple.

When the third tube was drawn, the heart monitor suddenly began to beep rapidly.

The doctor shouted in panic, “We can’t draw any more. She’ll die.”

But Vivian only reached out and lightly caught Adrian’s sleeve.

“Adrian, I’m still dizzy. Is it because there still isn’t enough blood?”

I broke free from the bodyguards and stumbled to the front of her wheelchair, half crawling by the time I reached her. I knocked my forehead against the cold tile again and again.

“Vivian, I’m begging you. If you want revenge, take it out on me.”

“Audrey’s heart is weak. She really will die.”

Vivian bent down and spoke in a voice only I could hear.

“Begging won’t help you. I want everything you care about to disappear.”

The moment she finished speaking, the monitor behind me turned into one long, piercing tone.

Audrey’s hand slipped from the phlebotomy chair and fell limp at her side.

The two plane tickets drifted to the floor, where someone stepped on them and left a dirty mark.

My eyes burned with rage and despair.

“No!”

Half an hour later, the light outside the operating room went out.

The doctor removed his mask and didn’t dare look at me.

“I’m sorry.”

I stood there, unable to hear anything at all.

By the time Adrian returned after making sure Vivian was settled, I was still sitting outside the operating room.

After a moment of silence, he said quietly, “Audrey was already in poor health. Vivi didn’t expect this to happen either. I’ll compensate you.”

I slowly lifted my head and looked at him.

“Adrian, what do you think my sister and I are?”

His brows drew together, as if his patience had finally run out.

“Evelyn, don’t spiral over this again.”

I looked at the dirty plane ticket on the floor and let out a weak laugh.

“I understand.”