Chapter 6

"Why'd you go through my things?" Gemma panicked as she avoided Murphy's question entirely. "I'm 18 now. You can't just barge into my room and rummage through my stuff!"

Murphy's expression darkened as he slammed the ashtray on the table. "Is that the main point here?!"

The ashtray hit the floor with a dull thud, and Gemma flinched in fear.

"Gemma, you've misunderstood your uncle." At the height of the tension, Evangeline stepped in with a false air of concern. "He didn't go into your room. It's my fault. I didn't have any clean clothes, and the ones I wore yesterday… Well, they got ruined by your Uncle Murphy…"

She blushed, feigning shyness as she paused for effect before continuing, "I had nothing to wear, so I went into your room to borrow an old outfit of yours. But while looking, I accidentally came across this cancer diagnosis on your desk."

She was lying. Gemma had locked the cancer diagnosis away on the very first day she received it.

Yet in Evangeline's story, it sounded as if Gemma had deliberately left the diagnosis in plain sight, waiting for them to find it.

"Gemma, you're so young. How could you possibly have cancer?" Evangeline clutched her chest, her expression a delicate mix of sorrow and beauty. "Be honest with me. Is this diagnosis real, or is it some cruel prank?"

Gemma turned to Murphy, realizing for the first time that his gaze held more anger than concern.

Clearly, Evangeline had whispered enough poison in his ear before she got home. Murphy did not believe she was sick; he thought she was pretending to have cancer just to get his attention.

Gemma thought maybe it was better this way. At least her secret would remain hidden.

"It's a prank," she admitted softly. "I was just messing around with my friends. I didn't expect you to find it and—"

Before she could finish, Murphy, who had been sitting silently on the couch with a grim expression, stood up abruptly. "We're going to the hospital right now for tests."

Whether it was a prank or not, the hospital would reveal the truth.

"Uncle Murphy…" Gemma protested weakly. She did not want to go.

Yet one cold, piercing look from Murphy crushed her resistance. She knew him well enough to understand there was no escaping this.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, it was midnight. Normally, no departments except the emergency room would take patients at this hour.

However, Murphy had called the hospital director beforehand. Unwilling to offend someone as powerful as Murphy, the director arranged for a team of doctors to conduct a full examination on Gemma.

Cancer tests would take at least two hours to yield results. For Gemma, every second of those two hours was sheer torment.

She could not help but wonder—if Murphy found out she was dying, would he feel sad for her?

Or was she merely a burden to him now? A jealous, twisted nuisance he could not wait to be rid of? She did not know how long she waited, but eventually, the doctor came out with the results.

"Mr. Townsend, the tests are complete. Ms. Kirk is in excellent health. She doesn't have cancer at all."

Gemma was stunned. After all that agonizing waiting, this was the result she received?

She turned sharply to look at Evangeline. She did not need to guess to know that this had to be one of her manipulative schemes.

"Oh, thank goodness." Evangeline exhaled a long breath, her tone one of exaggerated relief. "So, it was just a prank? Gemma's fine… Murphy and I can finally stop worrying."

Murphy said nothing. He looked at Gemma intently, his gaze lingering as if he was seeing something for the first time.

Gemma's face was deathly pale, completely devoid of color.

The cherished rose he had nurtured so carefully seemed to be wilting right before his eyes.