The Day Our Promise Breaks

The nurse heard a commotion behind her and turned, a scalpel still in her hand as she was tidying up. When she saw Dahlia struggling to sit up, she immediately tried to stop her. "Ma'am, your wounds were just stitched up. You can't move so suddenly-"

Before she could finish, Dahlia snatched the scalpel from her grip and pressed it against the nurse's carotid artery, her voice cold and menacing. "Don't make a sound. I already have three lives on my hands. One more won't matter."

The nurse's face went stark white with fear.

Dahlia's glare was wild, the look of someone with nothing left to lose-a fugitive capable of anything.

"Just... calm down..." The young nurse's lips trembled as she whispered, desperate and terrified. She couldn't die now—not after just saying yes to her fiancé's proposal. They'd finally made it through so much to be together. She couldn't bear to let it end here.

Dahlia motioned for her to help her out through the emergency exit.

The nurse didn't dare resist, helping Dahlia out of bed.

Dahlia managed to brace herself enough to sit in a wheelchair by the wall.

The nurse wheeled her toward the staff exit-the one marked for contaminated waste.

The officers stationed at the main OR door were none the wiser as Dahlia slipped out another way.

All Dahlia wanted was to get out. Even if she became a wanted criminal, she would find a way—she'd stow away, change her name, do whatever it took. She refused to just sit and wait for her fate.

Sitting in the wheelchair, hidden behind the nurse and her own curtain of hair, Dahlia knocked the nurse out as soon as they'd reached the exit.

She hunched low, hair covering her face, and wheeled herself toward the hospital's main entrance, desperate to get away before the police realized she was gone.

She could see freedom-almost out the door.

Suddenly, a figure stepped into her path.

It was Evelyn, who'd sensed something was wrong.

Dahlia had spotted her in the lobby the moment she appeared-Evelyn, sharp- eyed and suspicious, watching her like a hawk as she tried to make her escape.

This was the last person Dahlia wanted to see-especially now, battered, desperate, after Wesley's torture and being handed over to the police by Charles. Evelyn would be loving every second.

Dahlia rammed the wheelchair straight at her.

But Evelyn moved fast. As the wheelchair barreled forward, Evelyn swung her leg out and kicked the chair from the side.

The wheelchair toppled, sending Dahlia crashing to the floor.

She tried to scramble up, but a heavy boot pinned her down, right across her wounded back.

Her freshly bandaged wound split open, blood seeping through.noveldrama

Charles had arrived just in time.

Meanwhile, the police had realized Dahlia was missing and coordinated with Charles's security detail to search the hospital, pulling up the surveillance footage. The moment they saw her heading for the main entrance, they rushed over

As Charles lifted his foot, the officers tackled Dahlia, forcing her to her knees- right in front of Evelyn.

"Let me go!" Dahlia shrieked, struggling violently. She would never willingly kneel before Evelyn.

Before she could cause any more

trouble, Andrew stepped forward and calmly injected her with a sedative. They cuffed her and loaded her onto the ambulance, taking her back to the prison hospital for further treatment. Cóntent

Once Dahlia was taken away, Charles immediately turned to Evelyn, rushing to explain, “Eve, please don't misunderstand. I only had Andrew save Dahlia because Wesley has already handed over the evidence that she hired a bitman."

"I've given the proof to the police. The only reason I want her kept alive is because death would be too easy. I'll have our best attorney defend her just enough to get her a life sentence-no parole."

"She's responsible for Charlie's and Grandma's deaths. I'll make sure the rest of her life is a living hell."