Chapter 2: You'd Better Hide Forever
Tara's POV
I sneezed twice as soon as I stepped through the door of Mountain View Estate.
"Boss, are you catching a cold?" Peter asked worriedly while bringing in my luggage.
I waved dismissively. "It's nothing, just dust."
"I think it's more than that, you look pale," Peter said, already walking toward the kitchen. "I'll make you some ginger tea."
His concern stood in stark contrast to the cold voice that had been echoing in my mind since yesterday.
"I told you, her life or death means nothing to me!"
I watched Peter rummaging through the kitchen cabinets. People who care about you worry even over a sneeze; those who don't wouldn't be moved even if they saw you dying.
How foolish I was three years ago. Just because Luke saved my life, I felt indebted to him. As if my virginity was so precious that I needed to marry him out of gratitude.
"Peter," I called to him, "forget the ginger tea, but I do need you to establish connections with the Lincoln family."
Peter stopped what he was doing, looking surprised. "The Lincoln family? That's unexpected."
"The murderers who killed my parents, and my attack three years ago, might be connected to the Lincoln family."
"The Lincolns are in politics," Peter's expression turned serious. "It seems the person behind this is more powerful than we imagined." He leaned against the kitchen counter. "As it happens, their family patriarch, Old Lincoln, is in poor health and searching for renowned doctors. I could let them know about your medical expertise."
I nodded. "Do it."
While Peter made the call, I gazed at the garden through the living room window. How strange that my path would cross with the Lincoln family again.
Ten minutes later, Peter returned, his expression hesitant.
"Boss, the Lincoln family is quite urgent. They want you to come as soon as possible, but your wound..." his gaze fell on my bandaged side.
I gave a bitter smile. "This? I raised a dog for three years without taming it, and it bit me."
Peter's face tightened with anger. "Where is that beast? I'll knock its teeth out."
"Dead!" I replied coldly. "Tell the Lincoln family, two days from now, at four in the afternoon!"
As I went upstairs, the wound throbbed with pain. Sometimes, the worst injuries come from those we once trusted most.
Luke's POV
I spent the entire night at the hospital with Sarah. Exhaustion hit me as I left the hospital. I needed to change clothes.
At the intersection, I unexpectedly said: "To Lakeside Park."
I wasn't sure why I wanted to return there. That place hadn't felt like home for some time. But I hadn't changed my clothes in two days.
Walking in, I first noticed an envelope and a set of keys on the coffee table. Divorce papers and house keys.
I picked up the envelope, then put it back down. Without realizing it, I went upstairs to her bedroom—a place I had never entered during our marriage. We both had our own rooms. Tara only came to mine when I wanted sex.
The room was spotless, typical of Tara. Her closet door was slightly ajar, and I pulled it open wider.
Everything related to the Carter family was still there—dresses I bought her, jewelry with the family crest, even monogrammed bathrobes. She left it all behind, just as the divorce agreement stated. A clean break.
I touched a silk dress I'd liked seeing her in. I remembered her wearing it at my grandmother's birthday—she made Gloria laugh like she hadn't in years.
For three years, she kept everything in perfect order. My meals, my clothes, my schedule—all handled impeccably. As a wife, at least in those aspects, she was exemplary.
I slammed the closet door too hard. It seems her "I'm dying" act was just a trick to distract me while she planned her escape.
"Tara Taylor," I said under my breath, "what game are you playing this time?"
The phone rang. It was James, his voice urgent.
"Sir, Miss Sarah's condition has worsened!"
"I'm on my way."
I rushed through the hospital corridor toward Sarah's room. Doctors and nurses moved quickly around her bed. Her skin had turned bluish, and she was struggling to breathe.
"What's happening?" I grabbed the nearest doctor.
He pulled me aside. "Mr. Carter, we believe Miss Quinn was poisoned before she came to the hospital. The substance is very complex, unlike anything we've seen. Our treatments are only buying time."
Poisoned? By whom?
Sarah weakly called my name. I went to her bedside and held her cold hand.
"Luke," she whispered, "don't blame Tara. She was just protecting her marriage. If I had listened to her and stayed away from you, this wouldn't have happened. I brought this on myself..."
Tara? Did she really do this?
"At a time like this, you should be concerned about yourself," I said firmly, "not that ruthless woman. Focus on getting better."
But I began to wonder. Would Tara really poison someone? She was angry, but murder seemed excessive.
Outside Sarah's room, I dialed Tara's number. Her phone was turned off.
"James," I turned to my assistant, "search the entire city for Tara. Now."
Two days passed with still no trace of Tara. I stood at my office window, overlooking New York's traffic.
"Sir?" James knocked and entered.
"Have you found her?"
"We haven't found a doctor who can treat this poison," James said cautiously. "As for Mrs. Carter... it's difficult. She has no family. All her activities for the past three years were connected to you. There's nothing suspicious in her background, no clues about where she might have gone."
I turned to face him. "Two days... intensify the search!"
Was she hiding because she felt guilty? Or had something happened to her too? Despite everything, the thought of Tara being in danger still troubled me.
"Tara," I said to the city, "you'd better be good at hiding forever."
"Sir," James interrupted my thoughts, his tone excited, "we've heard about a doctor known as 'Red Falcon.'"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Red Falcon is a legendary doctor who can cure any poison or disease. They say she can even bring the dead back to life. She mysteriously disappeared three years ago, everyone thought she died, but she's suddenly reappeared."
"And?"
"We just received reliable information that this afternoon at four, she'll be visiting the Lincoln family to treat Old Lincoln. Perhaps she could help Miss Sarah?"
"The Lincoln family..." One of the most powerful political families in the country. Getting a meeting wouldn't be easy, but for Sarah, it was worth trying. "Make arrangements. We're going."
James picked up the phone. "I'll send a request immediately."
"No," I said, grabbing my coat, "I'm going myself."