The Silent Wife

Rachel's car wouldn't stop speeding and swerving through the road, The rain was making it difficult for Hans to see as well, but the moment he saw through the wipers, he could see Rachel in the car. However instead of stopping for him, she kept driving ahead. He knew something was wrong, so he chased after her.

The East Coast highway was the one with the least traffic in the city, especially on rainy days. Even so, that didn't make Rachel relax one bit, not after she had sped past three cars. At that point, she was drenched with sweat.

"You're on the highway now, aren't you? The cops are clearing the path right now. Turn on cruise control and brace yourself for a crash."

A crash? All the color drained from her face, and she started imagining every horrific way to die in a car crash.

"You'll be fine, so don't worry. You should see a container in the middle of the road in a couple of minutes. Crash into it, and the airbags will shield you. That's the only thing you can do now." He looked at her calmly.

Rachel gritted her teeth. Not like I have any other choice.

A while later, Rachel realized there were barely any cars on the road. The rain was still crashing down, but Rachel had no time to care about that. She was still driving, but her hands were already sweaty, and she almost lost her grip on the steering wheel. Eventually, she saw a blue container standing in the middle of the road. Remembering Justin's advice, she crashed into the container's side.

Bam!

A moment later, smoke billowed from the engine, and flames roared.

That was what Hans saw when he got to the scene. At the same time, a black car sped past him before screeching to a halt in the middle of the highway. Justin then sprinted toward Rachel's car an smashed the window.

Hans was in his car, watching the scenario unfold in the rain.

"Rachell" Justin was roaring and yelling at everyone to disassemble the car to save Rachel.

The airbags sprung into action the moment Rachel crashed into the contalner. whole body getting squashed by a soft, airy thing, and she felt suffocated by the airbag. The car stopped quickly after the initial crash, but she couldn't get her ears to stop buzzing. A long while later, the sound of something smashing her car's window made her snap out of it. She tried to see who it was, but all she could make out was a familiar face. The rain made everything blurry, after all.

The scene of the accident was cordoned off by the police a short while later, while the sirens of firetrucks and ambulances kept blaring around her.

Rachel was sent to the emergency room, while Justin waited for her in the corridor. His fists were clenched, and the veins on his forehead popped. Obviously, he was furious.

"She's fine. Just had a minor concussion. She'll be alright once she rests up," the doctor said, and Justin's fury was assuaged, albeit only slightly.

After the doctor was gone, Justin asked Frankie, "Where's Tina?"

"Winston just called me. Sald she went to a yacht banquet with some friends."

Justin's eyes glinted mercilessly. "Ah, so she has chosen death."

"President Burton, she is your cousin. Don't you think it's" Before he could finish, Justin gave him a look that chilled him to his bone.

That night, Rachel wouldn't stop vomiting, and the nurse kept going in and out with a basin in hand.

Justin's mood took a turn for the worse. "I thought she's fine. Why is this happening?"

The nurse looked fearful. "It's a side effect from the concussion. Vomiting is normal."

I'm fine. Rachel was on the bed, looking frail. However, she felt lucky that she got out of that alive. Compared to that, vomiting a few times wasn't that bad. "Are you alright?"

Rachel shook her head. She didn't even have the strength to reply after vomiting so much. I'm tired. I want to sleep.

"Alright. Sleep tight." Justin tucked her in and patted her through the blanket.

Hls concern felt so unreal for Rachel, but she was too tired to care, so she slept almost immediately.

When she woke up the next morning, she felt some of her strength returning.

Frankie came in with a lot of stuff in hand. "President Burton, madam, breakfast is here."

Rachel sat up against the bed, staring at the table that was filled with food in disbellef. Why'd you buy so much?

"President Burton told me to. Said he doesn't know what you like, so I should buy everything first. But I'll buy your favorite next time."

"Ahem." At the side, Justin coughed.

Just when Rachel was still in a trance, Frankie was already pushing the overbed table toward her.

"What would you like, madam? We have English breakfast, sandwich and coffee, mochi, red velvet cake, and..." As Frankie was listing out the things he bought, he was reminded of something, and he smiled. "Um, President Burton can help you with this. I still have work to do, so see you later."

Subsequently, Justin cleared his throat. "What would you like?"

Rachel was surprised, but only for a moment. She then pointed at one of the items on the table. That one. Mushroom soup and garlic bread. A local specialty, and a great one at that too. You should eat

too.

Justin nodded, and he took a cup of coffee. "I thought I told you to wait for me yesterday. Why'd you go off on your own?"

I have a car there. I can't just leave it in the villa.

"It's just a car. Just leave it behind. Not like it'll go missing anyway. You can still get into an accident even without the brakes malfunctioning in that kind of weather, you know that?" Justin suddenly ralsed his voice, scaring Rachel. "Don't do that ever again." He frowned.

Rachel nodded. When she recalled how panicked he looked in the video call the day before, she felt confused.

Justin was a man of few words, and nobody could guess what he was thinking. However, throughout the terrifying drive the day before, all she could hear was his voice, panicked and worried. She could feel that he was worried, but he kept it in check and calmed her down.

Knock knock. Someone knocked on the door. "Hello." It was a familiar voice, and Rachel looked up in shock.

The visitor was none other than Janice. She nodded at Rachel first before turning to Justin. "I'm Rachel's friend. Heard she's in the hospital, so I came for a visit."

Justin, however, froze up when he saw Janice. He saw Janice before back at the old district. She was one of the two people standing beside Rachel after all. "Mr. Burton, I presume?"

"Yes. Hello."

"Janice Hawkins."

"You girls have fun." Justin stood up without asking further.

However, Janice shrugged calmly. "I'm not here for her. I'm here for you, Mr. Burton."

Rachel's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Janice curiously. Justin shared her sentiments,

In the corridor, Janice whipped her ID out. "Sorry for disturbing you, but I need to confirm a few things. I got to know Rachel because of that case as well." At a closer look, Janice's ID read 'Investigation Bureau Deputy Chief.

"What case?"

"Hudson Pharmaceuticals' contraband."

Upon hearing that, Justin's face fell.