Chapter 152: Julian Fletcher Wants to Make Cecilia Caldwell Forget Asher

Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Julian Fletcher Wants to Make Cecilia Caldwell Forget Asher

The harsh glare of the truck’s headlights made my consciousness begin to waver.

’Don’t...’ I struggled constantly.

’I don’t want to lose this baby.’

...

"Cece! Julian Fletcher, don’t touch her..."

"Julian... she’s not Cecilia Caldwell. Don’t be like this. You’re scaring me."

"Cece... Don’t die. Please, don’t leave me." Julian Fletcher sounded like he’d gone mad, wailing as he held me, begging me not to die.

The voices of Erin Whittaker and Madeline Quinn grew more and more distant.

"Julian Fletcher, you bastard."

Madeline Quinn was still cursing him out.

I tried desperately to open my eyes, but my consciousness was slipping further into chaos.

"Save her... Doctor!"

"The baby can’t be saved..."

"Save the baby... At any cost, you have to make sure both the mother and child are safe."

I heard Julian Fletcher’s choked voice as he pleaded with the doctor to save the baby in my womb.

’What is he doing? Is he starting to regret it now? What’s he thinking about? The scene where the police discovered my body?’

"Please, Doctor, save the baby. She’s already lost one child; she can’t lose this one, too. I’m begging you."

Julian Fletcher was frantic, relentlessly begging the doctor to save me and the child.

Erin Whittaker tried to stop Julian through her tears. "Julian, when are you going to wake up? She’s not Cecilia Caldwell! Her name is Silvia Lynch! No matter how much she looks like her, she is not Cece! Snap out of it!"

Julian Fletcher ignored Erin Whittaker.

"Julian Fletcher! What’s so great about Cecilia Caldwell?! You know how vicious the real Cece was... You clearly detested her." Erin Whittaker tearfully asked Julian why he was suddenly acting this way, why he’d become a completely different, crazy person after Cecilia’s death.

"Julian Fletcher, look at yourself now! You actually tried to kill yourself for Cecilia Caldwell, you were willing to die for her..." Erin Whittaker screamed with jealousy. "And now you’re throwing your life away for a woman who just looks like her. Julian Fletcher! What does that make me to you?"

I could still hear Erin Whittaker crying as she interrogated Julian Fletcher.

’Suicide?’

’Would a man like him really commit suicide for me? Don’t be ridiculous...’

"That lunatic is finally dead... Ha... finally dead." Erin Whittaker was still raving, likely driven mad with joy after hearing that Asher had fallen off a cliff.

"He’s finally dead, and that Charlie is dead too. The two monsters from the Twin Star Orphanage are finally dead! They should have died long ago! Why did they get to be talented? Why did God have to make them special? Geniuses like that deserve to die... We can only have equality when everyone is ordinary, right?"

"Shut up!"

I heard the sound of a slap. Madeline Quinn must have lost her patience and hit Erin Whittaker.

"Madeline Quinn! Do you think Cecilia Caldwell was some kind of saint? You’re the only one who treated her like a friend! Back at the orphanage, someone took a liking to her red skirt and wanted it. Do you know what she did? On the surface, she was a harmless little angel, and everyone praised her for being so mature and cute. But behind their backs, she took a knife, killed a chicken in the kitchen, smeared its blood all over that person, and dyed their skirt red. Then she smiled and asked, ’Didn’t you say you liked red skirts? From now on, I’ll dye one for you every day...’"

Erin Whittaker was trembling as she said this, as if recalling something terrifying. "Cecilia Caldwell is a lunatic, a perfect match for that Asher! They both deserve to die!"

"You shut up!" This time, it was Julian Fletcher who yelled at Erin Whittaker.

"She’s not..." To my surprise, Julian Fletcher was defending me. "She’s just sick. Dr. Quinn said so... Cece was just traumatized as a child. He has a way to make her normal again, to make her forget all those bad memories..."

Julian Fletcher murmured to himself.

"If it worked once, it can work a second time. I didn’t believe Dr. Quinn before, but this time, I will make her stay by my side. I’ll make her forget all the unhappy things, forget everything about being with that lunatic... She’ll only remember me, and she’ll come back to me..."

"She’s not Cecilia Caldwell!" Erin Whittaker cried out.

I started to panic, too. I wanted to struggle, to wake up.

’I’m scared... I’m scared my amnesia really has something to do with that Victor Quinn. I’m scared of losing my memories again, of forgetting Asher again.’

’No, I don’t want to forget him.’

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting now? Our Cece dared to kill a chicken? That’s so cool," Madeline Quinn retorted to Erin Whittaker. "Don’t bother spreading rumors. Let me tell you, even if Cece really did kill a chicken and smear its blood on someone, that person deserved it."

"You’ve all been completely bewitched by her," Erin Whittaker said through gritted teeth.

"Then how come no one’s bewitched by you? Aren’t you supposed to be such a vixen? How did Julian Fletcher, after being blind for so long, suddenly see clearly? What does that prove? It proves your skills are lacking, you pathetic little homewrecker."

Madeline Quinn and Erin Whittaker started fighting.

"Stop fighting! This is a hospital!" a nurse yelled as she came out.

Soon, it was quiet outside.

I was still struggling, praying that Madeline wouldn’t leave, that she wouldn’t give Julian Fletcher the chance to take me away. I was scared... scared he would really take me to see that Victor Quinn.

’I’m scared of forgetting Asher.’

"The patient is very weak. We’ve saved the baby for now, but she needs to be under observation for a while. During this time, she absolutely cannot be agitated again," the doctor said as he came out, explaining the situation to Julian Fletcher.

"Thank you... Thank you, Doctor."

"It’s my job."

"How is Cece?"

Just when I thought I would wake up soon, I suddenly heard the voice of a middle-aged man.

It was Victor Quinn.

Every nerve in my body tensed up.

"Cece hasn’t woken up yet, but the baby is safe," Julian Fletcher said, sighing in relief.

"Get rid of those two women who were arguing and take Cece away," Victor Quinn said, sounding displeased.

I panicked, trying to force my eyes open. ’Don’t take me away...’

’I don’t know if my past amnesia had anything to do with Victor Quinn, but since he’s a psychiatrist—and one from a mental hospital at that—I just feel like he can’t be trusted.’

’On a subconscious level, I even find him terrifying.’

"Mr. Quinn, will it work?" Julian Fletcher asked in a low voice.

"Don’t worry, it will," Victor Quinn replied, sounding very confident.

The more confident he sounded, the more scared I became.

Memories began to surface in my mind.

I remembered... my parents really did send me to a mental hospital, where I met Victor Quinn.

My first impression of him was that he was a terrifying man.

He smiled too gently as he called my name. "Cece, come with Uncle."

He took my hand and led me down a long, deep corridor. The wards were filled with psychiatric patients in hospital gowns. I watched them, then looked back at my parents, who were standing at the end of the hall, crying.

They wanted so desperately for me to become a normal, cute, and likable child.

"Cece, there are two oranges here. If I wanted to eat one, would you give it to me?" He had brought me to the treatment room and was beginning his evaluation.

I looked at him indifferently, clutching my doll, staring at him as if he were an idiot. It seemed like such a childish question that I didn’t want to answer.

"Cece, what if you had a friend who was jealous that you had two oranges and tried to steal them? If you caught her, how would you handle it?"

"Chop off her hands."

In my memory, my voice held a coldness that was unnatural for a child my age.

My answer stunned the nurse beside him. She asked Victor Quinn in disbelief, "Is she really only five years old?"

They observed me for a while, even putting me in a room with other children and letting the older, aggressive ones bully me. Then they watched me like I was an animal in an experiment.

In the end, without determining the cause of my condition, Victor Quinn wrote down: Severe Affective and Cognitive Disorder.

I watched him through the glass window. He was like an executioner. His voice was ice-cold as he spoke. "Apply for transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with hypnotherapy. If the results aren’t significant, then apply for electroshock..."

"Dr. Quinn, she’s just a child!"

Victor Quinn took a sharp breath. "Have you ever seen a group of aggressive teenage boys be afraid of a five-year-old girl?"

...

As the memories slowly became clearer, I grew even more frightened.

Victor Quinn’s so-called treatment for me consisted of hypnosis and physical stimulation.

No wonder I lost my memories.

If Julian Fletcher handed me over to Victor Quinn, I would most likely end up just like before—forgetting my past, forgetting everything related to Asher.

"After the car accident, Cece did forget a lot of things. It’s my fault I didn’t cherish her properly," Julian Fletcher was still saying, feigning guilt.

’In reality, he just wants me to lose my memories so he can trap me by his side.’

I struggled in fear. ’I don’t want to forget again! I won’t repeat my mistakes and be trapped by Julian Fletcher, emotionally blackmailed into being a helpless puppet who can’t fight back!’

"Asher..."

"Sebastian Lancaster, save me..." I thrashed desperately, crying out.

’Asher, hurry and save me.’