Chapter 138

The acrid smell of disinfectant mixed with the metallic tang of blood hung heavy in the air.

Susan curled into the corner of her hospital bed, watching the figures in blue-and-white striped gowns advance. Their eyes gleamed with animalistic hunger, lips twisted into grotesque smiles.

"That's her!" A skeletal woman shrieked, pointing at Susan. "She stole the boss's face!"

The crowd parted to reveal a middle-aged woman with scarred cheeks. Slowly, she raised a hand to touch her disfigured skin.

"My face..." she murmured before lunging at Susan with sudden fury. "Give it back!"

Susan instinctively shielded her face. She knew death approached, but she'd cling to this last shred of dignity.

Dozens of hands tore at her hair and clothes. Nails raked her skin, sending tremors through her body. Fabric ripped. Cold tiles pressed against her lacerated back.

"Freak!"

"Four-fingered monster!"

"Beat her to death!"

The insults came in waves. Susan's vision blurred as blood trickled from her lips. A rusted knife flashed before her eyes—

"Stop!"

The roar cracked like thunder.

Through the haze, Susan saw a familiar figure burst through the door. Moving like lightning, he subdued her attackers within seconds.

"Susan..."

Warm hands cradled her face. She struggled to open her eyes, meeting a gaze brimming with anguish.

"Ethan...?"

"It's me." Ethan Sullivan wrapped his coat around her battered body. "I'm getting you out of here."

She shook her head weakly, clutching his sleeve. "Home... I want to go home..."

She longed to tell him the truth—to call him "little brother" just once. But darkness swallowed her too fast. All she managed was to nuzzle against his chest like she'd done with their mother as a child.

Three days later.

Ethan stood by the hospital window, watching Susan's still form. The doctors said her organs were failing. She might not survive the winter.

His phone vibrated—a text from his father reminding him of today's engagement banquet.

"Sir, it's time," the butler murmured at the door.

Ethan pressed a kiss to Susan's forehead. "Wait for me."

He'd never know this was their final goodbye.

When he rushed back, the room stood empty. Nurses said Susan had awakened at noon, insisting on leaving. No one knew where she'd gone—just as no one knew which world had finally claimed her.

Outside, the first snow of winter began to fall. Pristine flakes erased all traces, as if a girl named Susan had never existed at all.