gentle, diffused, not the harsh glare of a typical hospital. The air

nnected to an IV drip, the clear fluid slowly seeping into her vein. S

ket. He

up, her head swimming, and fumbled

ng for

iet rumble from the corner of the ro

ight, she saw the figure from the garage. He was tall, dressed in the same black trench coat. His face was starkly handsome

llapsed. I called an ambulance. They

he video was still there. Not just there, but moved into a new, password-pr

replaced by suspicion. "Who

emotion. "I was passing by. As for why... let's just

acelet, the same kind she had. An identification band for a clinical trial p

l file on her bedside table-the one the paramedics must

diagnosis. She

his tone still unnervingly calm. He gestured to her phone

washed over her aga

ly on him," Kash stated, not

her sides. "That's n

asn't. But you collapsed in the Ward Institute's parking garage. And I h

pulled out a small, unassuming white

the VX-7 project. It's not on the market. I ha

ng it a miracle drug, a theoretical game-changer. He said it could halt the disease

this?" she whispere

want to live, you'll enroll in the VX-7 trial." He paused,

ha

your eyes open. This place isn't always what it seems. Ju

reeled.

er. "And you're desperate. A woman who has just been abandon

were true. And in their brutal honesty, they ignited something wit

face of the mysterious man offering it. He was right. S

n eyes clear and hard fo

, her voice stea

of approval. He turned to leave, h

said over his shoulder. "Stop relying on other people, Colett