Chapter 2143 Unheeded Emergency Calls

Coco was Melanie's tiny toy poodle.

Three nights ago, during that catastrophic rainstorm, this dog had sprained its paw.

"Don't cry. I'm on my way."

Luke hung up and urged the driver to speed up.

"Luke, thank goodness you're here."

Melanie threw herself into his arms, her eyes red and puffy.

He rubbed her back gently, taking the dog from her arms.

He knelt, pulling antiseptic and gauze from the medical kit, wrapping the dog's paw with tender, practiced ease.

Floating above them, I watched him tie the final knot.

I was the one who taught him how to tie that specific bow.

One freezing winter, when he had a high fever, I ran out into a blizzard to get his medicine and ended up taking a nasty fall.

While waiting in the emergency room, I watched the nurses bandage a wound and learned the technique, teaching it to him when I got back.

I told him, "Luke, if I ever get hurt, you have to bandage me up just like this."

He held me close back then, swearing he would never let me get hurt.

Now, he used that very knot to tend to Melanie's dog.

"Luke, I saw the live broadcast."

Melanie looked at him, her voice tentative.

"Is Grace... really dead?"

Luke's hands did not hesitate for a single second.

"A woman like her? She loves herself too much to die."

"She would do anything for money. This is just a pathetic attempt to extort me before the wedding."

Melanie bit her lip.

"But the medical examiner sounded so sure. What if..."

"There is no what if."

Luke cut her off.

"Melanie, you are too soft-hearted. That's why she is able to manipulate you."

"Back then, she took a million dollars from your mother and walked away from me without a single regret. You can't trust a single word that comes out of her mouth."

Hearing this, I did not even have the energy to smile bitterly anymore.

Years ago, when Luke was still a medical intern, he made a mistake that threatened to cost him a massive settlement.

If he could not pay, his license would be revoked, and he would face prison time.

Melanie, who was actively pursuing him, had her mother approach me. They offered me a million dollars.

The condition was that I had to leave Luke forever.

I did not take their money.

Instead, I signed up for a high-risk, unregistered clinical trial to earn the money, paying off his settlement anonymously.

But when Luke was cleared, Melanie told him that I had taken the money and run.

And he believed her.

From that moment on, in his eyes, I became a mercenary wretch who sold her soul for a paycheck.

Carter's voice broke through the silence over a phone call.

"Luke, the police are calling again."

"Audrey says if you don't come down to sign the papers, they will have to file Grace's body as unclaimed."

Luke sighed, his patience wearing thin.

"Then let them."

"Tell Audrey that the act has gone on long enough. If she keeps pushing this, I will personally see to it that her department's funding gets pulled."

Carter stammered over the line.

"But... Audrey sent over a photo."

"Luke... the girl in the photo... she looks exactly like Grace."

Luke's breath caught for a fraction of a second, but his voice remains cold and steady.

"AI filters can recreate anything these days. What does a photo prove?"

"If you have nothing better to do, go down to the morgue and see her little show for yourself."

He cut the call.

Melanie leaned in, wrapping her arms around his.

"Luke, the tailor sent over your suit for tomorrow. Why don't you try it on?"

Luke nodded, the tension leaving his shoulders.

"Sure. Whatever you want."