Chapter 3

Charlotte's POV

Early the next morning, I went to the hospital alone.

My left leg had been hurting since last night, and I couldn't straighten my back.

Someone passed by outside the examination room pushing a wheelchair. The sound of wheels rolling over the floor made me briefly lose focus.

The doctor looked at the scan and pushed the report in front of me.

"The old injury hasn't worsened, but there's no room for improvement either."

I looked up.

The doctor continued. "Normal daily life is fine. But standing for long periods, running, entering dangerous sites, or high-load walking. None of that is suitable."

He paused, then added. "If the Rescue Research Bureau wants you doing rear analysis and route assessment, you can manage. But if you want to return to fieldwork, this leg won't allow it."

I picked up the report, my fingers pressing against the paper's edge.

"If I persist with rehabilitation, is there any chance of recovering enough to enter field sites?"

The doctor didn't respond immediately.

He rehung the scan on the light board, the white light illuminating the bone shadows clearly.

"Miss Charlotte, don't gamble with this leg."

I folded the report and stuffed it into my bag.

As I left the examination room, I steadied myself against the wall, but quickly stood on my own.

When I returned to the house, no one was in the living room.

I wanted to put the report back in my room first. Passing the walk-in closet, I found the door open.

My usual robe was gone.

The braces in the drawer had been rifled through, spare support bands tossed on the floor.

I bent down to pick them up, a sharp pain shooting through my side.

Mandy's laughter came from upstairs.

I held the stair rail and went up. The bedroom door was half open.

Mandy stood in front of the mirror wearing my robe, the sleeves casually rolled up.

My brace sat on a chair beside her, pushed aside like some eyesore.

Mandy saw me and looked surprised at first, then said softly.

"Charlotte, you're back? I couldn't sleep last night and grabbed a robe without realizing it was yours."

I walked over and reached for the brace.

Mandy immediately clutched her chest and stepped back half a step.

"Don't come in so suddenly. I just calmed down and you're scaring me."

Xavier came from the other end of the hallway, first steadying Mandy.

"What's wrong?"

Mandy shook her head. "It's nothing. I took the wrong robe and Charlotte might be upset."

I held the brace in my hand.

"This is my rehabilitation equipment. It can't be touched carelessly."

Xavier glanced at the brace, his face already showing impatience.

"The house is so big. Mandy just moved in and isn't familiar yet. It's normal to take the wrong thing."

His voice turned cold. "You don't need to corner her in the room over something so trivial."

I said. "The support band is deformed. It'll affect my walking."

Xavier's eyes swept over my leg.

"You're not going out to run projects anymore anyway. Going one day without it won't hurt."

One sentence, reducing my three years of rehabilitation to useless struggling.

Mandy lowered her head to unbutton the robe, her eyes reddening first.

"Then I'll take it off right now and give it back to Charlotte."

She moved slowly, as if being forced to humiliate herself in public.

Xavier pressed down on her hand.

"Keep wearing it."

After speaking, he turned to look at me.

"You wear something else."

I looked at that robe.

It was what I often wore when my old injury flared up, fabric that had pressed against my numb leg countless times.

Now on Mandy's body, it was as if even my last trace in this house had been tried on by someone else.

I said nothing more and went downstairs with the brace.

There were already two suitcases outside the rehabilitation room door.

I pushed the door open. The handrails were still inside, along with the equipment I used every day to practice walking.

Documents from the old building accident were scattered on the desk. Supplementary materials I'd been organizing last night.

I put the brace back in place and opened my computer to continue writing.

The Rescue Research Bureau required me to supplement details of my on-site assessment from three years ago.

When I wrote "before the second collapse, cracks had appeared in the west load-bearing wall," my hand paused.

That day before I pushed Adrian away, I did hear Mandy screaming on the outer perimeter.

But Mandy was far from the collapse point.

Footsteps sounded at the door.

Mandy had already changed back into her own clothes and stood at the doorway.

She saw the words "old building accident" on the screen and her expression immediately changed.

"Why are you still digging through these things?"

I closed the computer.

"My materials."

Mandy stepped back, her voice trembling.

"Are you determined to drag everyone back to that day? You know I feel terrible when I see these things."

Xavier was quickly called over by her.

Mandy leaned against him, her hands still shaking.

"I just came to apologize to Charlotte, but I didn't expect to see these old building materials. When I saw them, I thought of the wall collapsing that day, thought about how I almost died."

I stood by the desk, the computer already closed.

I looked at Xavier.

"She was on the outer perimeter at the time."

Xavier's expression darkened.

"Are you still distinguishing who was inside and who was outside?"

I said nothing.

Xavier took a step forward, his voice heavier.

"No wonder Mandy hasn't been able to move on these years. You were injured too. You should know better than anyone how terrifying that day was."

Mandy tugged at his sleeve, saying softly. "Xavier, stop it. I don't mind being wronged a little."

Xavier didn't stop.

"She just took the wrong robe and touched your brace, and you put on this attitude."

He stared at me, saying word by word. "You owe Mandy for what happened at the old building."

I stood leaning against the desk edge without responding.

The computer screen went black, reflecting my left leg hanging at my side.