He descended into the basement, where the body of a man lay on the stark, cold surface of a bed, flanked by machines for blood storage.
The manâs form was gaunt, IVs punctuating his arms, his eyes wide open in a fixed gaze at the harsh fluorescent lights above.
Wade stepped closer and pressed two fingers beneath the manâs nose, searching for a sign of life.
There was none.
Yet, the body retained a hint of warmth.
âComplete the blood draw and get him out of here,â Wade commanded, his voice eerily detached, sending shivers down the spine.
âMr. Potter, this is spiraling out of control!â
Wade remained silent.
The assistant, thinking he hadnât been heard, pressed on.
âMr. Potter, we must stop this! Two have already perished!â
Wade turned abruptly, grabbed the assistant by his collar, and pinned him against the wall.
âI donât need you telling me what to do,â he hissed between clenched teeth.
The assistant didnât dare utter another word. Even after Wade released him, he stood frozen, barely breathing.
âWe need another death certificate.â
âFor whom?â
Wadeâs piercing gaze fixed on him.
The following afternoon, inside Joelleâs studio, a new intern tapped lightly and stepped in.
âMs. Watson, Mr. Miller has arrived.â
Joelle was immersed in paperwork. Several brands were eager to partner with her studio, and her team had laid out a few proposals. She aimed to complete her review before the day ended.
âHave him wait in the lounge, please.â
âUnderstood.â
Joelle hastened through her tasks, inadvertently making Adrian wait for around twenty minutes.
Upon opening the lounge door, she found the intern deep in conversation with Adrian.
More precisely, the intern was animatedly talking while Adrian scrolled through his phone.
âMs. Watson! Oh, I got so absorbed in chatting with Mr. Miller I forgot to excuse myself!â
The intern was fiddling with a coffee cup brewed twenty minutes earlier, now cold due to her reluctance to leave. Joelle noticed but remained silent, recognizing the need for guidance as the intern was a recent graduate.
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