Darius Kane slipped the thirty-three dollars into his pocket and looked toward Quinn.
“By the way, did you get the time off approved?” Quinn nodded and said she’d managed to get two days away from the hospital.
With the real confrontation against Ozhin approaching, continuing to work would only divide her attention and increase the chance of something going wrong.
If the hospital had refused her request, she had already decided she would simply call out anyway.
Her job mattered, but not nearly as much as staying alive.
An awkward silence settled over the living room afterward.
Jordan remained stretched out on the couch playing with her phone, occasionally glancing between Quinn and Darius with increasing suspicion.
From her perspective, her sister had brought home a man she’d never met, covered the house in salt and strange religious objects, and was now acting awkward around him.
Jordan couldn’t help wondering whether they were secretly dating and simply didn’t want to admit it in front of her.
Quinn eventually broke the silence by standing.
“It’s getting late.
I’ll start dinner.
You two stay here.” Darius glanced toward the kitchen.
“Need help?” “No, I’ve got it.
It won’t take long.” “Okay.” While Quinn cooked, Jordan continued stealing occasional looks at Darius.
She was clearly curious but restrained herself from asking anything directly, probably deciding that questioning a stranger about his relationship with her sister during their first meeting would be rude.
Darius noticed every glance but pretended not to.
Explaining the truth would create far more problems than letting the girl believe whatever she wanted.
After dinner, Darius helped Quinn clean the dishes before they returned to the living room and turned on the television.
Jordan eventually disappeared into another room with her phone, leaving the two adults alone.
Since her own timer wasn’t approaching its critical point yet, they weren’t overly worried about letting her out of sight for short periods.
Darius lowered his voice and asked, “You’re sure what you’re planning for Jordan is safe?
Nothing that could seriously hurt her?” Quinn nodded firmly.
“I checked everything carefully and followed medical guidance.
I’m not going to do anything reckless with my sister.” She paused before adding, “And even if there’s some minor risk, it’s still better than letting Ozhin manipulate her when the timer gets close.” Darius gave a quiet nod without pushing further.
Their entire plan depended on keeping Jordan from panicking or being lured outside the protective area at the worst possible moment.
Before either of them could continue, the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
Quinn and Darius exchanged a puzzled look.
She wasn’t expecting anyone, especially this late.
Quinn stood, walked toward the front entrance, checked through the peephole, and hesitated briefly before opening the door.
A man in his forties stood outside wearing a casual blazer over a button-down shirt.
He had neatly styled brown hair and carried a bottle of wine in one hand, his expression carefully arranged into professional concern.
Darius needed only one look to recognize him from the movie.
Dr.
Sullivan.
Darius’s expression immediately cooled.
He had almost forgotten about this bastard.
On the surface, Sullivan was a respected physician and one of Quinn’s superiors at the hospital.
Behind that respectable image, however, he was a predator who used his authority over younger staff to sexually harass them, while relying on his position and influence to discourage complaints.
In the original events, he cornered Quinn and tried to force himself on her, then retaliated when she attempted to report him by falsely accusing her of inappropriate behavior first.
Only later, when other women came forward with similar stories, did the truth finally catch up with him.
Quinn looked genuinely surprised.
“Dr.
Sullivan?
What are you doing here?” Sullivan smiled warmly and raised the bottle slightly.
“You suddenly requested time off, and I thought maybe something had happened.
I wanted to stop by and make sure you were all right.” His gaze drifted past Quinn into the living room and landed on Darius sitting near the couch.
The smile remained, but his brows tightened almost imperceptibly.
“Oh.
I didn’t realize you had company.
Your boyfriend?” Quinn shook her head.
“No, he’s a friend.
And thank you for checking on me, but nothing happened.
I just needed a couple days to rest.” “Right.” Sullivan’s response sounded casual, but disappointment flashed through his expression.
Darius didn’t need movie knowledge to understand what was happening.
If Sullivan had merely wanted to check on an employee, he could have called or spoken to Quinn at the hospital.
Showing up at her home after dark carrying wine suggested something very different.
Sullivan recovered quickly and held the bottle toward her.
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.
Consider this a little gift.
Enjoy your time off.” Quinn accepted it politely.
“Thank you.
Do you want to come in for a drink?” Darius nearly raised an eyebrow.
Sullivan glanced toward him again.
“No, that’s all right.
I still have a few things to take care of tonight.” “Okay.
Have a good night.” “You too.” Quinn waited until he walked away before closing the door and returning to the living room.
She set the wine down on the table, still looking mildly confused by the unexpected visit.
Darius didn’t bother easing into the subject.
“Be careful around that man.” Quinn looked over.
“What?” “Dr.
Sullivan.
He’s not what he pretends to be.” Her expression became more confused.
“What are you talking about?” Darius told her.
He didn’t soften the important part.
Sullivan had a pattern of abusing his position around women working beneath him, and Quinn herself would become one of his targets if events continued along their original path.
Worse, when she tried to expose what he’d done, Sullivan would move first and twist the situation against her.
Quinn stared at him in disbelief.
“No way.” Darius raised an eyebrow.
“You forgot who you’re talking to?” She paused.
Then remembered the ridiculous explanation he’d given her when they first met.
“The fortune-teller thing.” “Exactly.” Quinn looked toward the bottle of wine.
Suddenly, the gift didn’t seem thoughtful anymore.
Her expression twisted with disgust.
She picked it up carefully, moved it away from the rest of their food, then wiped her hands with a sanitizing wipe almost on instinct.
“That’s unbelievable.
He acts like one of the most respectable doctors in the entire hospital.” “That’s usually why people like that get away with it for so long.” Quinn sat down slowly, visibly disturbed.
The Countdown app had made the situation feel even more unfair.
When everyone at the hospital had tested it, Sullivan’s timer showed decades remaining—far longer than hers.
Quinn, who spent her days caring for strangers, had less than three days, while someone who abused his position seemed destined for a long life.
“Fifty-seven years,” she muttered.
Darius glanced over.
“His timer showed fifty-seven years.” The bitterness in her voice was impossible to miss.
Quinn laughed once without humor.
“Seriously?
I have days left, and that guy gets another fifty-seven years?” Darius didn’t know what to say.
There wasn’t a comforting answer.
Reality had never guaranteed that good people would live long or cruel people would receive immediate punishment.
People liked sayings about karma, justice, and everything balancing out eventually because those ideas made an unfair world easier to tolerate.
Sometimes justice happened.
Sometimes it didn’t.
Darius had stopped expecting the universe to handle things for him a long time ago.
His rule was simpler.
Return kindness with kindness.
And if someone came after him or the people he cared about, deal with them accordingly.
The two remained silent for a while before Quinn finally looked at him seriously.
“Darius, thank you.” He raised an eyebrow.
“For what?” “For warning me.
And everything else.” Quinn’s voice softened.
“You’ve already helped me more than once.” Darius waved a hand.
“Don’t worry about it.
Helping you is in my own interest too.” Quinn blinked.
“What does that mean?” Darius merely smiled and turned his attention back toward the television.
She studied him for several seconds before deciding not to press.
Darius clearly wasn’t ready to explain everything about himself, and considering how much he’d already done, she wasn’t going to interrogate him.
Whatever his real reason was, she would remember the help he’d given her.
For now, that was enough.
(End of Chapter) 500 = +1 Chapter] [Review Goal: 10 = +1 Chapter]