Chapter 5

Donald examined me closely, and a dark, vicious look crossed his eyes.

"Catherine, his physical condition is exactly the same as it was six years ago. If six years really passed, his body shouldn't be like this."

Catherine’s face fell.

She glared at me. "What kind of game are you playing, George?"

She balled her fists and punched me hard in the chest.

"And here I was feeling guilty, trying to offer you a place to stay! You made up this ridiculous lie to trick us!"

I gritted my teeth through the pain. "It’s the truth. I was only gone for sixteen minutes."

"Sixteen minutes!" Catherine laughed hysterically. "Do you think the whole world is stupid?"

She raised her hand to hit me again, but Donald stopped her.

"Wait, Catherine. Didn't George say he was abducted by aliens?"

"Let’s prove he’s a liar and have him committed to a psych ward forever."

Catherine grabbed my arm and dragged me up.

"Fine. You want to play the alien card? Let’s get you tested."

They threw me into the back of their car and drove straight to the hospital where Donald worked. They dumped me onto a bed in a private room.

A second later, a nurse stuck a needle into my arm, pumping a cold fluid into my veins.

Donald whispered in Catherine's ear, "I already spoke to the lab director. He’s going to write up a fake report saying George is severely schizophrenic. The asylum transport is already on the way."

I clenched my fists. Catherine grabbed me by the collar and dragged me off the bed, holding her phone camera right in my face.

"Alright, cheater. Tell the camera. Where did you run off to with your little mistress six years ago? Why are you back now pretending to be a victim?"

Her eyes were filled with venom.

"Do you know how worried I was when you first disappeared?"

"I was so stressed that I ignored Donald for days..."

Donald’s voice coldly cut her off. "And because of that stress, she had a miscarriage. We lost our second baby."

Catherine went quiet for a second, her gaze turning even colder.

"You owe me for the last six years, George. Today, you pay."

I stared at her. "Catherine, I am telling the truth. You can't do this to me."

"Are you scared now?" Catherine mocked. "Can't keep up with your own lie?"

"Instead of waiting for the psych evaluation, I think I’ll just make sure you shut up permanently."

She grabbed a sedative syringe from Donald and stabbed it into my arm.

I stumbled back, hitting the wall.

The drug worked fast. My vision started to blur.

Donald chuckled. "Don't worry, George. It’s my own special mix. It hurts like hell, but it gets the job done."

As I slid down the wall, the Obsidian Wishing Stone fell out of my pocket.

I stared at it and whispered, "Make them feel a hundred times the pain they caused me."

Right then, a nurse ran into the room, panting. "Dr. Carter! The lab results are back. His physical indicators are completely normal. The psychological evaluation is perfectly fine, too!"

"What... what did you say?"

Catherine’s hands shook as she grabbed the report from the nurse.

"Does this mean... George was telling the truth?"

Donald’s eyes widened in horror. "The aliens... the wishing stone... it’s all real? We..."

Before he could finish, Catherine’s phone rang loudly.

She picked it up, and her assistant's panicked scream echoed through the room.

"Ms. Catherine! Oh my god, the company is crashing!"