Dominic kept glancing at the rearview mirror as he drove. Aveline lay sprawled across the back seat, her face pale and her lips trembling faintly.
"Damn it," Dominic muttered, pressing harder on the accelerator.
The tires crunched over gravel as he pulled up in front of a secluded two-story building. The place was quiet, but the front porch light was still on. Without hesitation, he got out, yanked the back door open, and lifted her into his arms.
The front door opened before he could knock. A middle-aged man stepped into the doorway, looking startled.
"Dominic? At this hour? And what is.. "
"She's having some kind of episode," Dominic said quickly, striding past him without waiting for an invitation.
"I see," the man replied, closing the door and following him briskly.
---
Back at the mansion
"Well," Andrea murmured, breaking the tension, "that escalated quickly." She leaned back on the couch, eyes narrowing in thought. "Her reaction to the Elias question was… quite intriguing."
Lucas frowned. "Intriguing? She looked like she was dying, Andrea. And that's all you have to say? I have a feeling you purposely asked her that question knowing it could trigger her. We need her to talk, sure but that was over the line."
Andrea's eyes flicked to him. "Yeah, I purposely tried to trigger her trauma. But she was trying hard to suppress it and that's not supposed to make her faint so quickly."
"Why would you purposely do that when you knew she was trying to suppress it?" Lucian demanded.
Andrea's lips curved slightly in amusement. "You sound like you care."
"I sound like I have a conscience," Lucian shot back. "I don't know why you guys have to make her suffer for her father's sins. That's just straight-up dumb."
Andrea smiled faintly. "Looks like she won't be suffering for long, though."
Lucas stared at her, confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"You'll see soon enough."
---
Eve walked slowly down the hall toward Aveline's room, her fists clenched tight, anger radiating from her. She needed to get Aveline out of this house and soon. The longer Aveline stayed here, the more dangerous it would become for her.
"Hey, Eve!"
She turned to see Luna jogging toward her with a bright smile.
"Did you see what happened to Aveline?" Luna asked, stopping in front of her.
"Yes, I did," Eve replied, her hands balling tighter.
"I seriously can't believe they would knowingly ask her questions that could trigger her trauma. That could be dangerous," Luna said, tapping her foot against the floor while staring at Eve.
Eve frowned. "What do you mean by trauma?"
"You didn't know? I thought you did, since you're close to her. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, honestly, I only found out because I was eavesdropping on their conversation," Luna said with a sly smile.
"She has a trauma?" Eve asked, shocked.
"Yeah. From what I heard, it's caused by a certain man named Elias. They know about it, but they still asked her questions connected to him because they're looking for some sort of machine," Luna said, her eyes glinting as she watched Eve's reaction.
Eve bit her lip, her fists tightening. So Aveline was connected to that machine and they would do anything to get it.
"You'd better get Aveline out of here before it gets worse," Luna warned.
"I want to, but it's hard without Dominic finding out. I need time," Eve said.
"There isn't much time. I can help you if you want," Luna replied, still smiling.
"Why would you want to help me? You're not even close to Aveline or me," Eve asked, suspicious.
"Let's just say I'm doing it for fun," Luna chuckled.
"Fun?"
"Yeah, fun. Let's go discuss the plan," Luna said, turning to walk away.
Eve followed, a strange unease curling in her stomach. There was something about Luna, something unsettling that scared her.
Aveline slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry at first, but it quickly adjusted. She looked around she wasn't in her room, and this wasn't the mansion. An IV bag hung beside her, the line running into her arm.
She closed her eyes, trying to remember how she got here. Slowly, the events came back to her… but then a hazy image of Dominic carrying her flashed in her mind. Her eyes flew open. There's no way Dominic could have carried me… right?
She slowly sat up in bed, catching the faint murmur of voices from outside the room. This wasn't a hospital it looked more like a regular home. Where am I…?
The door opened, and a man stepped in, Dominic right behind him.
"Oh, you're awake. I'm Philip, Dominic's family doctor," the man introduced himself.
Aveline nodded slowly. So, she was in Dominic's family doctor's house. That meant Dominic had really carried her here. Of course, why wouldn't he? He needed her for that stupid machine. Her gaze shifted to Dominic, who was watching her silently.
"So, Miss," Dr. Philip began, drawing her attention back, "I'm just going to ask you a question, then you can leave, okay?"
"Okay," Aveline replied with a nod.
"You experienced a severe dissociative episode, likely triggered by psychological distress," he explained. Then his tone turned cautious. "We also detected traces of sedatives in your system much higher than normal medical use, which could be harmful. Do you know how they might have gotten there?"
Aveline froze. Sedatives? Weren't those used for sleeping? Now that she thought about it, she had been able to sleep the past few days… but she hadn't taken any medication except for the pills Eve had given her. Could Eve have slipped sedatives into them?
"I did give you a small amount of sedatives while you were unconscious days ago," Dr. Philip continued, "which should have left your system by now. But it seems you've been taking more since then. It's likely the sedatives also contributed to your fainting."
"What do you mean by that?" Dominic asked.
"Well," Dr. Philip said, "for example when a triggering question or memory surfaces, adrenaline can spike and then suddenly crash. That drop in adrenaline would amplify the effects of any sedatives still in her system, making her dizzy, disoriented, and eventually causing her to faint."
Dominic's gaze sharpened as he turned to Aveline. "Who gave you sedatives?"
Aveline flinched. She knew it was Eve, but she couldn't say her name, Dominic might do something to her.
"I… I did," she lied. "I have insomnia, so I use sedatives to sleep."
"How did you get sedatives?" Dominic pressed, clearly unconvinced.
"I had some on me when you brought me to the house."
"Well, I suggest you stop taking them," Dr. Philip said.
Aveline nodded, looking down at her palms.
"I guess you can go now," Dr. Philip added, removing the needle from her arm.
---
Aveline and Dominic left the house and got into the car. The ride back to the mansion was silent. She rested her head against the window, watching the scenery pass.
"Next time," Dominic said, breaking the silence, "don't force yourself to answer our questions. If you can't do what we ask, just say no."
Aveline looked at him, surprised. "Okay," she said quietly.
Dominic glanced at her briefly, meeting her eyes before looking away.
When they arrived at the mansion, Lucas was asleep on the couch while Andrea sat with her laptop.
"Oh, you're alive," Andrea said, looking up. "Sorry about earlier." She smiled faintly.
Aveline simply nodded.
"Go up to your room and rest," Dominic told her as he walked toward Lucas.
She nodded again and went upstairs. Closing the door behind her, she sat on her bed. She still couldn't believe Eve had added sedatives to her pills. She couldn't trust her anymore… but why would she do that?
Another thing that nagged at her was what Dominic had said earlier in the car. Why would he say something like that?
"Everything is so confusing…" she whispered to herself.
Her door burst open, and Eve rushed in, throwing her arms around her.
"Oh my, you're alright! Thank goodness. I was so scared," she said, hugging her tightly.
Aveline was taken aback. Eve looked genuinely concerned but if she had given her sedatives, maybe it hadn't been for a bad reason. Maybe she should just ask her.
Eve pulled back, opening her mouth to speak. "I can't... "
"Eve, did you give me sedatives?" Aveline asked, cutting her off.
"Wh… what?" Eve stammered.