Chapter 9
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Colette was in critical condition, too.
After Frederick’s brutal assault, she had been revived that same day. However, her body couldn’t withstand the radiation. It wasn’t long before she began bleeding spontaneously.
Her doctor merely shook his head. By then, her cells had stopped regenerating.
But unlike me, Colette remained conscious through it all.
One day, as Frederick walked past Colette’s hospital room, he heard a heated argument coming from inside. He recognized the other voice immediately. It was the family doctor he had hired at an outrageous pay.
“Colette, you told me the radiation was only up in the mountains!” the man yelled. “Then why the hell am I covered in black patches? How did I get exposed?”
Colette shot back, “I don’t know! You’re my cousin. Why would I ever want to hurt you?”
From outside the door, Frederick heard a glass shatter on the floor, followed by the doctor’s furious shout.
“If we weren’t related, I never would’ve covered for you five months ago! You begged me to lie to Frederick, to say you had a traumatic brain injury when it was just a scrape!
“I’ve been playing along with your act this whole time! You swore you’d become Mrs. Burke. And yet after all this, you haven’t even slept with him! You’re such a loser!”
Frederick’s blood boiled when he listened to those words.
Five months ago, Colette had been rushed to the emergency room. The family doctor had told him she was seriously injured, with a deep head wound and signs of brain trauma.
I had jumped to my feet in disbelief. I told them I had only pushed her lightly and never thought she’d fall out the window. I even explained that the ground below was cushioned with four inches of grass. At worst, she might’ve gotten a few scrapes.
Still, Frederick hadn’t believed me. He screamed at me and then locked me in the attic. And the next morning, he left me in the mountains.
I had always been proud, but being abandoned in that desolate place broke me. I burst into tears, begging him as he boarded the helicopter.
“Please don’t leave me here!” I wailed. “I’m sorry. I swear, I won’t get jealous anymore! You can be with whoever you want and do whatever you want. I won’t stand in your way!
“Even if you want a divorce, I won’t fight it. Just please, don’t leave me here!”
