So, I took a bold step and entered the last three digits of their birthdays, but quickly realized it was too obvious. Considering Herschel and Jacqueline seemed to favor Conrad a bit more, I decided to put Conrad's numbers first, followed by Dustin's., My heart raced and my blood pressure must have hit the roof as I entered the last digit. At that moment, Luke was only about thirty feet away. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, my eyes glued to the screen instead., As the private route on the screen brightened up, indicating I had entered the correct password,

"Evergreen Wellness Retreat

" appeared. I knew about Evergreen Wellness Retreat; it was one of the three health resorts I had been investigating., This was the moment I had been working towards, and with the answer in front of me, I finally allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief. I reached to erase my search history just as Luke pulled open the car door., His gaze fell on my trembling hands before shifting to the navigation screen, the sweat on my back making me shiver.,

"Felicia, what are you doing?

" Luke asked me., Swallowing my nerves, I blurted out,

"I-I was trying to find some music to listen to but couldn't figure out how?

", The skepticism in Luke's eyes was palpable. He clearly didn't buy it., I tried to convince him, saying my stomach was in knots, but who in their right mind would believe that someone in distress would seek solace in music? It was a poorly spun lie, but it was too late to back out, now.,

"So, I called my doctor friend, and she suggested listening to some soft music to calm down. She even recommended I go to the hospital for a check-up, thinking it might be acute gastritis or appendicitis.

" I was not proud of how easily the lie came out. When did I become such a fibber?, But I had no choice. I needed to uncover the truth behind my father's death, whether it was truly an accident or not.,

"I see,

" Luke handed me the medication he had bought,

"Let's get you to the hospital then. What music would you like me to find for you?

",

"Thank you, Luke,

" I said, guiltily popping a pill into my mouth without even taking water first. It wasn't wise to take medication on an empty stomach, but one antacid wouldn't kill me.,

"Felicia, here's some water. Why would you take the pill dry?

" Luke quickly handed me a glass of water, which I drank in hurried sips, the bitterness of the medicine spreading across my tongue.

"You really must be in pain, you're even sweating. Going to the hospital is the right move,

" Luke observed, starting the car much more swiftly than usual., It wasn't until we arrived at the hospital entrance that my nervous heart began to calm down., Luke insisted on accompanying me inside, concerned for my well-being, but I managed to send a quick message to Fanny Willis, begging her to come and save me from this awkward situation. Thankfully, she wasn't in surgery and arrived just in time to spare me from Luke's well-intentioned scrutiny.,

"Luke, I'm fine. Please, don't tell Jacqueline and Herschel,

" I pleaded with him before he left., He nodded, though I knew he'd probably report back anyway., Once Luke was gone, Fanny looked at me with a mix of concern and curiosity.

"What's going on?

", I didn't hold back, sharing every detail with her. Her expression turned serious, a rarity for her.

"Felicia, are you sure you want to go through with this? Don't you want to think it over?

"

"What's there to think about?

" I asked, confused., Fanny didn't answer right away, which made me think.

"You're worried it might lead back to Herschel?

", She didn't confirm or deny, but my heart sank. If my dad's death was linked to Lord, and Lord was a major client of the Wagner Group, then..., A chill ran through me, stopping my thoughts in their tracks., Search the website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.