Everyone was under the impression that police would solve the case quickly since they had found
clues and evidence, but it seemed that the case was not as simple as everyone had thought it to be.
They were all gangsters, and each of them was involved with homicide. They were brilliant at not
leaving a single trace behind because the moment they had left the alley; they had dispersed in
different directions, leaving no evidence of their presence.
And even if they did accidentally leave a trace behind, it would have been erased quickly, as if erasing
a pencil mark with an eraser.
The case's complexity made even the police's brows crease with frustration, but there was nothing that
they could do.
At the hospital, Sam appointed new bodyguards for Kevin's protection and instructed them to guard
him 24X7.
Kevin had refused to be guarded initially. He was content with having Anne by his side, but when Sam
had told him about the dangers that might crop up if the former wasn't protected and that Anne might
end up getting hurt, Kevin had begrudgingly consented.
Kevin was recovering steadily, courtesy to Sam who was a brilliant doctor.
The DG of police had visited Kevin in person. After talking to him for some time, he looked at Anne.
He opened his mouth and closed it again. He looked flustered, and that perplexed Anne as well as
Kevin.
"Sir, you can say whatever you wish to. There's no outsider in this room. Therefore, you don't need to
refrain yourself," Anne said politely.
The director looked at Kevin who nodded reassuringly. He sighed heavily and said helplessly, "That
group of people can establish an underworld empire in a society ruled by law. They are extremely
shrewd." He shook his head in dismay. "We can't find them now. It seems as if their very existence had
vanished into thin air."
The couple knew this from beforehand but they did not interrupt the director and let him continue
speaking.
"You had promised them to get Kim out at that time. I want to use him as a bait and lure them out of
their den," the director said to Anne.
Kevin was injured and confined to the bed due to which Anne was the only option available. The only
person who would be able to help the police now.
Anne looked at Kevin. After a moment of silence, he looked at the director and said thoughtfully, "I have
heard that Kim is literally worshipped by those men and they are loyal to him. Therefore, it's a good
idea to use him as a bait. But you will have to wait until my legs recover completely."
Kevin was quick-witted and it didn't take him long to understand that the police was eager to do
something about the case and was getting impatient, but he also knew that the director would want to
involve Anne in this and he wouldn't let that happen.
The director didn't say anything. He looked at Anne who averted her gaze.
When he saw that even Anne didn't wish to agree to his proposal, he sighed. "All right. I'll wait a few
more days." The director had no choice but to agree with Kevin.
After the director left, Kevin let out a breath and murmured, "It's good that he came to meet. Otherwise,
I would have gone to meet him."
Anne smiled knowingly. She knew that even Kevin wanted to see the end of this case. She was also
thankful to him for not letting her get involved in this.
The day of Kim's execution was drawing near, which was making the group more restless with each
passing day, and they were starting to get desperate and in that desperations they might do anything.
What Kevin and others had planned to do was to use their desperation to defeat them.
Although Kevin was in hospital, he still handled the business. His assistant would arrive with a pile of
documents every single day and today was nothing different. Anne, on the other hand, had nothing to
occupy herself with so she felt bored. Sitting on the bench in the corridor, she sighed as she thought of
how she could while away her time.
"How is Kevin?" Anne was startled by a familiar voice.
Looking up, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. The woman in front of her was still skinny but she
looked more radiant than what she did when they had last met.
The woman was none other than her younger sister, Rose, whom she hadn't seen for a long time.
Anne was taken aback because. She had thought that Rose would have gone back to her family after
Sam's hospital closed down. But surprisingly, she hadn't left.
"What are you doing here? I thought you had left." Anne furrowed her brows, baffled. She knew Kevin
had let go of Rose so she shouldn't be here anymore.
Rose frowned as she took a seat opposite to Anne.
"What do you want?" Anne asked gravely.
She felt tired to the bones. So many things had happened in the past few days. Anne decided that
unless Rose provoked her, she wouldn't say anything unpleasant to her.
"Anne, have you ever loved Ryan?" Rose asked her out of the blue.
Surprise flashed through Anne's eyes. She didn't expect that Rose would ask her such a question. She
shook her head and said firmly, "From the very beginning until now, I have treated Ryan as a friend."
Rose nodded without countering her answer. She lowered her gaze and looked thoughtful.
Anne was at a loss. She had never seen her sister so quite.
"Rose, why didn't you tell me that you were here? I was worried about you," she said softly. She was
about to say more when an anxious man appeared in the corridor. The moment his eyes landed on
Rose, they filled with tenderness and relief.
Anne's eyebrows rose up. She turned her quizzical gaze at Rose before it went back to the man who
was now walking towards them. The man was Rose's husband, Mark, but she was under the
impression that they were divorced.
'Why is he here then?' she wondered.
During the two years when Anne had been prisoner to Kim, a lot of things happened, including Mark
and Rose's divorce.
After the plastic surgery, Rose had come to meet Anne where she had said that she wanted to
compete for Kevin again.
So Anne thought Rose and Mark would never get back together again.
After all, no man would like his woman to harbor feelings for another man.
Then what was going on now?
Rose followed Anne's gaze and when she saw Mark, she lowered her gaze again. When he came to a
stop near them, she spoke softly and Anne did not miss the tenderness in her tone.
"I felt a little bored in the ward, so I came out for a walk. I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry." Rose peered at
him.
Mark shook his head and said, "You don't have to say sorry. I went out for a long time so it's
understandable that you got bored." He looked at her sheepishly.
Rose smiled in return.
Anne's mouth parted slightly, partly in astonishment and partly in curiosity. It was then that Mark turned
to look at her and his eyebrows rose as if he had just realized that there was another person present
apart from Rose.
"Anne? Why are you here?" he asked in slight confusion.
"Kevin is admitted here. He has suffered an injury," Anne replied with a tired smile.
"Kevin is injured?" Mark's voice held surprise. He then asked, "Should we go and visit him?"
"No, thanks for offering but he is busy at the moment with office work. Moreover, he has almost
completely recovered so there is no need," Anne said gently.
Even though Anne gave a very logical reason for them to not meet Kevin, she actually didn't want them
to visit him because she was afraid that after seeing Kevin again, Rose's mind might change and Mark
and her budding relationship might suffer the brunt. She didn't want that, not when Mark had been
helpful to her in the past.
However, Mark did not think about it too much. Instead he nodded before looking at Rose. His gaze
skimmed over her fragile frame after which he commented with dismay, "Rose, you have to eat more
and take good care of yourself. Compared to Anne, you are very thin."
Anne's lips twitched and subconsciously she looked down at her figure.
Although she was a mother of three children, she had always paid attention to keeping fit. She was
curvaceous and was in better shape than a lot of unmarried girls, but she felt discomfited when she
heard the word 'fat' implied in Mark's voice.
Anne frowned but when she looked at Rose, she couldn't help but agree with Mark. Her sister did look
frail and thinner than her.
But she didn't mind being fat like this. She might as well call herself a healthy woman than a fat one.
Rose replied with a wistful smile, "Don't worry. I will eat more."
Then she turned to Anne and asked, "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"
Anne shrugged in reply and looked at Mark who discreetly walked away, leaving the two girls alone.
"What do you want to talk about?" Anne asked warily. Even though they didn't hate each other, their
relationship wasn't on the best terms either. So she really didn't know what to say to her or rather what
the other might have to say to her.
Rose averted her gaze and hesitated for some time before mumbling, "I'm suffering from anorexia."
Anne's jaw slacked open.
"After Sam's hospital closed down, Kevin let me go back. But when I went back home, I couldn't eat
anything like I did in the hospital. It was then that I realized that I was suffering from anorexia.
Mark came to know about my situation and has been taking care of me ever since." The mere mention
of Mark lit up her eyes. But then her lips curled into a sneer as she said, "After I got married with Mark,
I gradually grew tired of him. I couldn't see anything good about him. On the other hand, I thought
Kevin is way better than him."
Anne did not argue with her. She silently waited for her to continue.
"When I heard that Kevin was injured and admitted here, I hesitated to come and visit. But after I did, I
didn't know what to tell you.
I know that Kevin loves you, not me.
During my recuperation, Mark's constant company helped me stay calm. I pondered on a lot of things
during that time.
Mark told me some facts about you and Kevin that I had no idea about and honestly, I was shocked
after hearing them.
If I had been in your place, I don't know how much I would have accepted these things. But I would
definitely not have been as brave and tolerant as you were." Rose concluded with a rueful smile. Anne
pursed her lips but remained quiet.
Rose had thought that she knew everything about the two of them but unfortunately she was unaware
about so many things.
But as far as she was aware, Anne loved Kevin with every iota of her being and would never do
anything to betray him.
After the medicine was drained out of her body, the doctors had done a thorough check-up of her and
Rose knew that she would recover.
And she might be dim-witted but even she knew that Anne's next actions were all for tricking Kim.
Because of Kevin, Anne was even labelled as a vulgar woman.
If she had been in Anne's place, she would have left Kevin and would have never sacrificed like the
latter.
So it was understandable and clear why Kevin had chosen Anne over her.
"I am not inferior to you in any aspect. In fact, I daresay that I am better than you in many things.
But unfortunately, I don't have enough conviction and insistence, due to which Kevin could not be
mine," Rose said with a bitter smile.
Anne exhaled slowly. She did not wish to argue with Rose nor yell at her. But she did want to give her a
reality-check. She wanted to break her delusion. "Rose, did you ever think that this love you are
speaking of might just be a competitive spirit? I think you never loved Kevin to begin with. You saw me
as a competitor and just tried to win Kevin's heart to prove that you are better than me," she said
patiently, uttering each word slowly in order to convey her message across her sister.
Anne was sad when she thought that how both of them were constantly at each other's throats instead
of being affectionate towards each other. Even though they were half-siblings, they had been separated
for quite a long time. Therefore, they should try to reconnect and reconcile with each other instead of
competing.
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