I kept talking. “I'm leaving, Frederick. For good.”
Frederick's chest hollowed out for a split second, a bad feeling rising through him, and he was about to step forward and demand an explanation when the urgent shouts of Victoria's attending doctor pulled him away.
“Ms. Cox is having a rejection reaction to Ms. Butler's blood.”
“The blood is contaminated. There's something toxic in it.”
The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the basement of the mansion.
When he saw I was awake, Frederick seized me by the throat, his eyes bloodshot, his gaze murderous enough to grind my bones to dust.
“Loretta, you vicious bitch. Victoria almost died because of you. Do you understand that?”
His hand was crushing my windpipe. I didn't know what had happened, but whatever it was, Victoria had done something to frame me. She always did.
But the week wasn't up yet. I couldn't die now, or I'd never make it back.
I thrashed with everything I had and rasped out an answer. “I was half-dead myself. How could I possibly hurt her?”
He let go with a cold laugh. “Still won't admit it. You really are beyond saving.”
“Before the blood draw, you secretly injected a substance into your own veins that you knew would trigger an allergic reaction in Victoria. That's why she went into rejection during the transfusion.”
“Do you have any idea how close she came to dying? The doctors had to replace every drop of blood in her body three times before they brought her back.”
My eyes went wide. I hadn't imagined Victoria would go this far to set me up.
“I didn't do it. You're the one who dragged me there to give blood. I had no warning, no time to prepare. How could I have poisoned anything?”
“And the entire hospital is staffed by your people. How would I even know exactly what she's allergic to, let alone get my hands on the right drug?”
Frederick stiffened. A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes. Then Victoria burst through the door, pointing at me, her voice shaking with fury and grief.
“You want to know how she knew? Because she went through my medical file at home. She found out exactly what I'm allergic to.”
“And during the chaos of the emergency, she injected herself with the allergen before the blood draw.”
“Frederick, the doctors detected the drug in her blood. That's a fact no one can deny.”
Frederick slammed his foot down on the burn wound on my arm. The raw, blistered skin split open, and blood seeped out mixed with thick yellow fluid.
The pain ripped a plea out of me. “Frederick, I didn't do it. I was already leaving. I had no reason to do any of this.”
The moment I mentioned leaving, his expression turned savage. “Stop with the act. Where exactly do you think you're going?”
“You're staying right here until you admit what you did. When you're ready to own up, I'll let you out.”
The basement door slammed shut again. I curled up on the concrete floor, shaking from the pain. 「System, can you pull me out now?」
「Host, the full week is required. Please hold on a little longer.」
So I gritted my teeth and held on. But there was no medicine in the basement. No food. No water. The fever was burning through me, and before long, I blacked out.
When I came to, my whole body was scorching. My lips were cracked and peeling, my throat on fire.
I lay on the basement floor, helpless, waiting to die. Somewhere between consciousness and delirium, I heard laughter filtering in from outside. Music. It sounded like they were throwing a party.
I didn't know how much time passed. I felt myself growing lighter, and then, slowly, I drifted free of my own broken body.
The basement door flew open. Frederick rushed in, elated, shouting.
“Loretta! A Player took over my body before, but I've fought my way back. I'm me again. You……”
Then he saw my rigid, rotting body. His legs gave out and he crumpled to the floor. “Loretta!”
