Can’t Win Me Back

The hospital corridor was eerily silent in the dead of the night.

The lone nurse on duty drowsed at the nurses' station, oblivious to the flashing red light from the malfunctioning surveillance camera down the hall.

A figure clad in a white doctor's robe and mask darted past the station, his movements purposeful.

He carefully scanned his surroundings before pushing open the door to Natalie's ward and slipping inside.

The patient lay curled up in bed, seemingly fast asleep.

The intruder crept closer, a glint of steel catching the dim light as he drew a dagger from his sleeve.

He raised the weapon high and stabbed the person on the bed.

All of a sudden, his vision went dark.

Unexpectedly, the person on the bed leaped up and threw the blanket over his head! Panic surged through the assassin.

He flailed wildly with the dagger, ripping the blanket free.

But before he could react further, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against his forehead froze him in place.

"Don't move.

Not unless you want your head to be blown off." Under the dim light, Axel's eyes glinted with a dangerous glint.

A cynical smile played on his lips, sending shivers down the assassin's spine.

The ward door burst open, revealing Sean and Xavier leading a team of men who quickly surrounded the intruder.

"Are you alright, Mr.

Axel?" Sean inquired, his voice laced with concern.

Axel clicked his tongue.

"I didn't even attack him.

All it took was a blanket to take this fool down." With a practiced ease, Axel disarmed the assassin.

He sneered.

"Sir, you can barely fight, yet you're trying to be an assassin? Try harder next time.” The assassin's face was drained of color.

His knees buckled, and he crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Axel growled, nudging the man's

Reveal his name, and

in prison, you can

you'll be able to walk out of this ward with all your limbs

over the phone! I've never met him in person!" the man stammered, sweat drenching

"But...

message history! He wired a million to my account two days ago and promised another after

assassin

it to Axel after

to

find a way to unlock this phone." Sean nodded

"Thank you, Mr.

the silence returning to the ward as if

though they had helped Alyssa out, a sense of unease lingered in Axel's gut as

phone vibrated, making

as he read the words on

a text from

words were a gut

so much that his vision blurred, and

She wrote, "Goodbye, Axel.

I'm leaving Solana City.

try to

manage to find out where I am, I won't see

fingers trembled as he typed and retyped a frantic

Amber? Tell me." A

was

He wasn't satisfied.

unshed tears, Axel bombarded Amber with

as if he had

there!" "Who do you think I am? Can you avoid seeing me just because you don't want to? Do you think you can control me?" "You're the

you love me? Say

reply buzzed back almost immediately, its words acold and sharp knife that

"I don't

were just a ray of light that

what the

simply gave me a feeling that I've

never disappear, but

don't feel anything

is all that

you really love me, don't approach