The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 352

By the time Quinn stepped out of the restaurant, the sky had already darkened.

The shadows of the sycamore trees swayed under the streetlights, stretching her solitary silhouette long against the pavement.

She didn't call the family driver. Instead, she hailed a cab by the street, slid into the back seat, and gave an address. Every word Archie had said was still echoing in her mind. Every word was right, every word was gentle, but every single word felt like a dagger.

She pulled out her phone, scrolling to her call log with Garrison. She stared at the text that read "Call duration: 2 minutes 14 seconds." Her thumb hovered over the redial button, but she ultimately didn't press it.

She recalled their phone conversation earlier that day. When Garrison told her not to come to the hospital, there had been an unnatural tension in his voice.

An infectious disease control drill?

Quinn was a doctor herself now, working at a prestigious, top-tier hospital. She knew very well that a small, private clinic like The Haven Medical Center wouldn't run a full-scale lockdown drill even once a year.

What was he hiding?

The cab pulled up to the entrance of The Haven Medical Center.

She pushed the doors open. The triage nurse at the front desk was looking down at her phone. Quinn walked up, tapped on the counter, and offered a polished smile. "Excuse me, is the hospital running some sort of quarantine drill recently? The kind that restricts outside visitors?"

The young nurse looked up, shaking her head in complete bewilderment.

"I haven't heard anything about that. A small clinic like ours doesn't do drills like that. Are you... not feeling well? I can help you register to see a doctor."

Quinn's polite smile didn't waver. She shook her head, said, "No, thank you," and turned toward the elevators.

She took the elevator straight to the top floor, to Garrison's office.

The office door was closed. Through the gap, she could see the room was pitch black.

Was he not there?

"Dr. Foster is... tied up over in the inpatient ward. A patient's condition is a bit unstable, so he's been keeping an eye on things there."

"...Alright, I understand."

Quinn thanked him and turned to head toward the elevators.

Her heels clicked sharply and rhythmically against the tiled floor. But instead of leaving, she slipped into the inconspicuous stairwell next to the elevator bank and stood in the dim shadows for a moment...

Assistant Dawson's expression... was entirely too suspicious.

He was clearly hiding something.

Three minutes later, the faint sound of footsteps drifted down the hall. A young female nurse approached carrying a tray and called out to Dawson, "Dr. Dawson, Dr. Foster asked you to order some food—Patient 521's soup went cold, and he needs a fresh, hot serving."