Chapter 1886

"Alright, thanks. We'll make sure she's taken care of."

Tyler nodded his thanks and stepped out of the operating room. He noticed the elevator was about to reach his floor, but for some reason a wave of unease hit him.

He didn't hesitate-he ducked into the stairwell next door. The door was barely open, easy to miss if you weren't looking for it.

A chime echoed from the elevator. Tyler peeked out just as the doors opened, and sure enough, Pearl's mother stepped out. What was she doing here?

His gut twisted. Pearl's accident might not be as simple as everyone thought.

None of them had ever hurt Pearl. Even her fall had only happened after someone stabbed her from behind with a sharp knife.

A few minutes later, Deanna came out of the operating room. Her face was pale, her whole body tense-she looked completely shaken. Tyler couldn't figure out why she was panicking. Was something wrong with Pearl's surgery?

But the doctor had just said the operation went fine, hadn't he?

Tyler's mind was spinning with questions. He watched as Deanna disappeared into the elevator, only heading downstairs himself once she was gone. Through the glass in the stairwell, he could see everything happening on the floor below.

When he reached the lobby, he quickly spotted Deanna near the entrance. She was looking around frantically, and a group of men-bodyguards, by the looks of them-quickly gathered by her side.

Tyler pulled out his phone and called Nash. "Don't let Pearl out of your sight," he said quietly. "Deanna's already got her guys searching the whole hospital."

As he ended the call, Tyler saw Fiona coming in through the main doors. He gave Nash a couple more instructions, then called Fiona and set up a meeting in one of the hospital rooms.

Fiona opened her bag and checked inside, making sure the knife was the same one she'd pulled from Jackson's body back in Southeast Asia.

Back then, Jackson had ended up in that mess because of Gerald. Gerald was now in police custody. On her way home, Fiona had even

double checked with

Jackson-Gerald was still boyel

bars.

Which only meant one thing: Jackson's kidnapping was neverĝust a coincidence. Both Jackson and Pearl had been attacked with the same knife. And now Deanna was desperately searching for Tyler.

No matter how she looked at it, Deanna's behavior didn't add up. She had to

know something about where the knife came from.

"We should go to Pearl's room," Fiona said.

She remembered just how sharp that knife was-back in Southeast Asia, she'd almost cut herself trying to pull it out. She'd tossed it into a trash can, only to watch the blade slice the bin in half.

"If someone doesn't want us to see this knife, then we'll make sure it's impossible to ignore."

With the room number Nash had given them, they quickly found the right place. Inside, only Pearl and Nash were there. Her parents were gone, and the policeman was nowhere in sight.

"Where is everyone?" Tyler asked.

"Her dad said he had an emergency at work. Her mom said she was going home to make chicken soup. The cop went to the bathroom," Nash replied, straightforward as always.

Tyler filled Nash in on everything he'd seen at the hospital. It was clear to all of them—no one here was completely innocent. Everyone had their own secrets.