Chapter 60 Philip Wounded
“Evelyn, what are the odds of what?” the receptionist asked curiously.
Finisher
Snapping out of her thoughts, Evelyn waved her hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. I’ll just come back in three days.”
“You’re leaving already?” The receptionist looked a little reluctant for her to leave. “Why don’t you hang around for a bit? There’s a claw machine over there. Don’t all girls like those? Give it a try.”
Like showing off a prize, he pulled out a huge stack of arcade tokens and handed them to her
Evelyn almost laughed. “Those things are for young girls. I don’t play that stuff.”
After all, in her heart, she was already more than 50 years old, if she counted her two lives together.
Her spirit was worn with age, and she had long since lost interest in childish games.
But the receptionist wouldn’t give up. “Come on, Evelyn, you are a young girl. You look 18 at most! Give it a try. If Austin finds out you came and I didn’t keep you around, he’ll kill me.”
Maybe it was his persistence, maybe it was that last comment, but Evelyn stayed. She stepped up to the claw machine and gave it a shot.
One of the sensible arcade crew had already loosened the machine ahead of time, so nearly every grab was a win.
Within half an hour, she had a pile of stuffed toys stacked high.
Before she left, the receptionist even found a pretty bag for her convenience and let her carry them home.
Watching her walk out the door, he felt excited.
Once Austin returned, he’d surely get a pat on the back for this.
The thought alone made him thrilled.
…
By the time Evelyn headed home, the bag was empty. She had given away every stuffed toy to kids playing along the street.
It was fine to fool around outside, but at home, it was better to keep Yvonne from ever
8:20 pm
Chapter 60 Philip Wounded
knowing she had a soft, playful side.
The more mysterious she appeared, the more nervous Yvonne would be around her.
Back at home, Evelyn ate dinner calmly, and then she went upstairs to bed as if nothing unusual had happened.
Yet inside, she carried a quiet anticipation for tomorrow.
A showdown was coming, and she couldn’t wait to see how Yvonne would try to handle it.
hed
Close to midnight, a storm rolled over Southville. Rain lashed against the windows, thunder boomed, and lightning lit up the sky. The wind shook the panes so hard it felt like the glass might shatter at any second.
In the middle of that violent weather, Evelyn had a nightmare.
Since her rebirth, it was the first nightmare she’d had.
In the dream, she saw Philip. It was the last time she ever saw him-when he left for his mission.
That was the day he disappeared, never to return.
She woke with a jolt, gasping for breath, her nightshirt soaked through with sweat.
The dream had been too real. Even awake, she still couldn’t shake the fear.
Evelyn stiffly turned her head and saw that morning light was already pouring in.
Maybe it was because of the storm last night that she’d dreamed something so terrible.
She tried to calm herself, telling her heart it was only a nightmare, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away.
After all, if she could come back to life, could her nightmares come true?
“No, no,” she muttered to herself, shaking the thought away. “That’s impossible.”
Forcing herself to believe it, Evelyn washed up and went downstairs.
Yvonne was already gone. Zaid had rushed off to work after breakfast.
She sat alone at the table, still unsettled from the dream, barely able to focus on eating.
Evelyn hadn’t even finished breakfast when a frantic knock rattled the door.
2/4
8:20 pm
Chapter 60 Philip Wounded
Each thud seemed to pound against her chest, sending her pulse racing.
Finished
Startled, she jumped up too fast, banged her knee against the table, winced from the pain,
and hurried to the door.
Standing outside was Quade.
But he wasn’t his usual joking self. His face was streaked with tears and snot, and his clothes were smeared with both fresh and dried blood. The sight made Evelyn’s stomach twist.
“Evelyn-help … please,” Quade stammered, his words tumbling out. “I didn’t know who else to go to. The boss told me not to call anyone. I-I only thought of you.”
Evelyn’s heart tightened. There was no time to hesitate. She grabbed his arm and pulled him along. “Come on, we’ll grab a cab and get to Philip. You can explain everything on the way.”
“I drove here,” Quade said quickly, shaking his head. “Evelyn, no one else can know about this.”
“Then we should leave now,” she pressed.
On the way to Philip’s place, Quade choked out the story in broken bursts.
Philip had shown up at his place in the middle of the night, shot and bleeding badly. He refused to let Quade call a doctor, only let him give some antibiotics, and collapsed on Quade’s bed.
No matter how Quade begged, Philip wouldn’t say a word about what had happened. He just kept repeating the same order: no doctors, no hospitals.
Now, the bullet was still lodged inside him, and Philip had slipped into a fevered coma.
Quade, terrified and out of options, had turned to the only person he trusted-Evelyn,
“Evelyn, you’re the only one who can save the Boss now. Please, I’m begging you.” Quade’s voice cracked as he broke into sobs again.
Evelyn was horrified, panic rising in her chest, but she forced herself to stay calm. She steadied her tone and said, “I’ll save him, don’t worry. Just drive faster. He’s already infected. We need to get that bullet out, disinfect the wound, and stop the infection, or his life could be in danger.”
The military pickup roared down the road, Quade pushing it almost as fast as a race car.
Evelyn gripped the seatbelt tightly, whispering prayers in her heart, begging that they would reach Philip in time.
3/4
8:20 pm O NA
Chapter 60 Philip Wounded
Finally, after what felt like forever, they made it to the dorm.
Philip was burning up with fever, his face flushed unnaturally red, his lips cracked and bleeding.
Fahod
“Wet some cotton swabs with saline and dab them on his lips. Then use alcohol to cool him down. Don’t touch the wound. I’ll be right back,” Evelyn instructed and hurriedly left.
She knew the supplies in Quade’s room weren’t nearly enough to remove the bullet.
Without wasting another second, she ran to the lab, climbed in through the window, and grabbed a full set of surgical instruments along with an alcohol lamp. Then she rushed back to Quade’s dorm.
The cooling seemed to help-Philip stirred, his mind a little clearer, and his eyes fluttered
open.
When he spotted Evelyn, he turned sharply and glared at Quade. “Who … who asked you to bring her here?”
‘If I hadn’t, and you refused to go to the hospital, you’d be dead,” Evelyn shot back, rolling her eyes. She slipped into a white coat, pulled on sterile gloves, put on a surgery mask, and told Quade briskly, “I couldn’t find any anesthetic. Hold him down. I’ll have to take the bullet out the hard way.”
T-the hard way?”
Quade’s stomach twisted. Just the thought made him sick-Philip would be in unbearable pain.
“Boss,” Quade said quickly, thrusting his arm forward. “Bite down on my arm if you have to. I’ll take the pain with you.”
Philip shoved him aside. “You haven’t showered in two months. One bite and I’d have a mouthful of dirt. Just do it-I can take it.”
He had survived the pain of the bullet tearing through his body. Compared to that, this was nothing.
48
8:20 pm MMA
Reborn for Love and Revenge
