(From Ashes to Hope) Chapter 14
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When he arrived at the hospital, he rushed straight to the security room
without hesitation.
Inside the security room, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s, glued to the ever-
changing images on the screen, as if trying to see through the monitor, not
missing any possible detail.
His fingers tapped nervously on the table, the tapping sound a reflection of
his anxiety.
Time ticked by, but he couldn’t find any trace of Raina in the allergy
department, no matter how many times he reviewed the footage.
His brow furrowed, the doubts in his heart growing like a snowball, a dark
cloud hanging over him.
A thought flashed through his mind, maybe he should look for clues from a
different angle.
He started checking the security footage of the places he had been.
He carefully searched every possible corner in the footage.
Finally, he found something. Raina had been following him all along.
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This discovery was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating huge
ripples.
In the long corridor, Raina trailed behind John like a ghost.
Her footsteps were as light as a feather, each step cautious, as if afraid of
being discovered, like a schemer lurking in the shadows.
When the footage switched to the moment the nurse revealed Lily’s death,
Raina looked as if she had been struck by lightning.
Her face instantly turned pale, drained of all color, as if all life had been
sucked out of her.
Her body trembled violently, a physical manifestation of her inner world
crumbling.
Then, she collapsed to the ground, as if all support had been taken away.
She covered her mouth with both hands, trying to stifle a scream.
Her eyes widened, filled with shock and disbelief, fear and confusion
written all over them.
In her extreme fear, she fled the hospital like a startled rabbit.
Seeing this, John’s anger ignited, consuming his reason like a raging fire.
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He furiously pulled out his phone, dialing Raina’s number, his fingers
trembling with anger, failing several times to press the call button.
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He wanted to confront her, to demand an explanation, every question a
thorn in his heart.
But all he heard was a cold, automated voice on the other end, Raina was
unreachable, as if she had vanished into thin air. The sound extinguished the last
flicker of hope in his heart.
But things weren’t over yet. John frowned and zoomed in on the footage, his
eyes fixed on the screen, carefully observing Raina’s face.
To his surprise, Raina’s face was clean, without a single trace of rash, her
smooth skin like a mirror, completely contradicting her claims of alcohol allergy.
This discovery was like another boulder thrown into the lake of his heart,
deepening his doubts, the uncertainty shrouding his mind like a dark cloud.
He rushed to find a doctor, his hurried steps as if racing against time.
He demanded to see Raina’s medical records. When he saw the results of her
allergy test, his face darkened even more.
There was no diagnosis of alcohol allergy in her medical records, which
meant Raina had been deceiving him all along. The lie cut him like a sharp blade.
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John trembled with rage, his reason consumed by anger, the fury burning
within him like a raging fire.
He slammed his fist on the desk, a loud bang shaking the table, scattering the
documents on it.
The doctor next to him was startled by the sudden outburst, looking at the
enraged John nervously, not knowing what to say to ease the tension.
John’s gaze turned icy, as if capable of freezing everything.
“What if someone wanted to change their allergy results?” he asked the
doctor coldly, “Would your hospital still stamp it?”
The doctor swallowed nervously, the sound echoing his racing heartbeat.
heartbeat.
He replied cautiously, “Any report issued by the hospital is rigorous and
cannot be modified. We use electronic stamps now, there’s no need for manual
stamping. However, if she edited and modified it herself, that’s a different story.”
After hearing the doctor’s words, John’s gaze grew even colder.
A flash of lightning seemed to illuminate his clouded mind.
He finally remembered that Raina loved to wear perfume, its scent still
lingered in his memory.
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And he also remembered what I had told him, that almost all perfumes on
the market contain alcohol.
He realized that Raina might have been deceiving him all along, the
deception a web that had entangled him tightly.
John felt drained of all strength, deflated like a punctured balloon.
He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, hoping to calm his chaotic mind
with nicotine, letting the smoke carry away his frustration and anger.
However, just as he was about to light the cigarette, he caught the doctor’s
condemning look and remembered he was in a hospital.
He crumpled the cigarette impatiently and threw it into the trash can,
He had never felt so defeated, his trust so trampled upon, while he had been
kept in the dark like a fool. It was as if a sturdy castle had crumbled in an instant.
Leaving the hospital, he didn’t hesitate, his steps firm and hurried, hailing a
taxi and heading straight to the police station.
At the police station, he quickly reported the incident, every action filled
with urgency, then handed over the hospital security footage he had captured,
the footage like a weapon in his hand, hoping the police could uncover the truth
as soon as possible and bring him justice.
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And just as he stepped into the police station, Lily’s ashes, after all the twists
and turns, were finally laid to rest.
The small urn was slowly lowered into the grave, as if taking a part of my
heart with it, my deep attachment to Lily.
I knelt before Lily’s tombstone, defeated, my knees bearing all my pain.
Tears flowed uncontrollably, like a flood, each tear a manifestation of the
sorrow flowing from my heart.
I sobbed uncontrollably, my cries echoing through the silent cemetery, my
endless longing and guilt for my daughter.
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