Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 106

(Ava's

POV)

Dr. Joe sat behind his massive desk, his piercing blue eyes locking onto mine as if he could see every dark thought I'd ever had. I hated the way he looked at me, like I was both indispensable and disposable all at once. "I have another task for you," he said icily. "This one requires precision."

I nodded though my stomach twisted. "What do you need me to do?"

He slid a sealed envelope across the desk. "Inside, you'll find details on a specific treatment schedule. I need you to tamper with it."

I hesitated. "Tamper with it how?"

"You'll replace Angel's injections with these," he said then produced a small bottle filled with a pale yellow liquid. "It's a suppressant. Nothing dangerous, but it'll slow her down."

My throat tightened. "Why Angel?"

His smile was cold. "Because she's becoming a problem. Too curious, too nosy. We can't have her poking around in things that don't concern her."

I stared at the bottle as my anxiety rose. Angel wasn't my friend-not really-but she wasn't my enemy either. She was... complicated. A girl caught in the same trap I was, just fighting it differently. "And if I refuse?" I quietly asked.

Dr. Joe leaned back, his fingers steepled. "You won't refuse, Ava. Not unless you want your mother's situation to take a turn for the worse."

ace up his

•

bottle back to my room, breathing like my heart was pounding beats in my chest. The envelope felt too heavy in my

were detailed instructions on how to switch Angel's injections

I grew more guilty. I wasn't doing this to hurt Angel. I was doing it to survive. To keep my mother

.

for a bandage. The bottles were exactly where the instructions said they'd be. My hands trembled as I swapped Angel's treatment for the suppressant. "Hey, what

around to see Dilrah standing

a bandage," I said quickly and held up a random roll of gauze I'd grabbed from the

didn't look convinced. "You're always sneaking around. What are you

snapped. "Mind your own

the feeling that

•

secretly observing Angel. She was laughing with Thomas and her face was glowing in a way that made me ache. How did she

her. I wasn't strong. But maybe I didn't have to be strong

knew about Dr. Joe and the center. If I was going to make it out of here alive,

.

(Bundah's POV)

with a French-English dictionary in her lap. Her brow furrowed as she tried to pronounce a word; her accent made it sound more musical

"I am trying,

sitting down across from her. "But you're doing