Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 163: The Cursed Wish

Birds beat their wings as they flew high above.

Their cries mixed with the dark clouds that seemed to trap the day in silence.

On the street in front of Bastion Hospital, cars drove by, their horns blasting away the little peace left in Thule.

In the underground parking lot of the hospital, the headlights of a silver Ferrari 250 GTO threw long, bright beams against the walls.

The windows of the vehicle were shut, yet sobbing sounds echoed loudly from inside. "I’m sorry, Leon. I waited, but you didn’t give me any response."

Tears ran down Zoe’s face as she lifted her head from the steering wheel. She wiped her face with her arm and took a shaky breath.

She swallowed, clenched her teeth, and stared ahead. Her breath caught as she pressed her foot on the accelerator.

"Let the earth take me, if I can’t marry who I want," she whispered, tightening her grip on the wheel.

Outside the underground parking lot, three ladies walked past the entrance, chatting.

"Anna, did you see Jade Baek’s face?" A lady with a slightly swollen belly turned to the short, blond-haired lady.

"Girl," Anna turned slightly, flapping her left arm like a bird. "I wanted to even throw myself at her."

Before Anna could finish, the third lady, Judit, who had the swollen belly, frowned. "Girl, I thought you were working on your pronunciation."

Anna threw a sharp glance at Judit. "What? Didn’t I give Jade the appropriate third-person tag?"

"Girl, he is a him. Not a her." Judit chuckled, then shifted her gaze toward the gate, where lots of people had gathered.

As soon as Anna moved a step forward from the underground parking lot, a silver Ferrari 250 GTO dashed forward at great speed. "Watch OUT, Judit!"

Judit heard the scream, but she wasn’t fast enough. The vehicle hit her and threw her forward.

The impact of the collision sent her crashing into the cement walls of the hospital, her head hitting a bent iron rod.

"JUDIT!!!" Anna lunged forward after catching herself from falling. Both she and Fortunate reached Judit’s side.

They froze at first glance, then used the little energy they had to pull her out.

As they carried the dying lady to the hospital entrance, smoke burst from the silver Ferrari 250 GTO’s exhaust pipe.

Zoe sat in the driver’s seat, the swollen airbag pressed against her bloodied face. Her eyes stayed wide as she murmured words filled with longing.

"If I can’t marry who I want, then there’s no point in living."

While the words slowly escaped from her mouth, the smoldering fire that was slowly swallowing the vehicle intensified.

Screams tore out as the guards dashed toward the burning vehicle, holding extinguishers.

On the third floor of the hospital, Leon became extremely restless, feeling that something was not right.

Lily moved toward him, then locked eyes with him. "Brother," she called out with her thin voice. "Are you okay?"

Li Mei was asleep, but her head tilted toward them as if she wasn’t. Her eyes, always open even in sleep, sent chills down Leon’s spine.

Why do I suddenly feel so uneasy? he wondered, forcing a smile. "I’m okay, little Athena."

Leon played with Lily’s hair. When he turned and saw Mr. Lee and Feng watching him, he blinked in surprise.

"Lily, stay here with Uncle Lee and Uncle Feng. I will be right back."

He left, head down.

After closing the door, he leaned against the wall, pressing his hands to his chest and taking three sharp breaths.

One. Two. Three.

But on the third, two nurses rushed past him.

"Who on earth would try to commit suicide on our premises?" A nurse with a blue band tied in her hair whispered as she and her companion descended the stairs.

"Suicide?" Leon thought, wondering why anyone would do that, as nurses and strong patients dashed past him. He moved from the third floor to the ground floor.

Standing at the center of the ground floor, his hands brushing through his hair, he frowned.

Jade, Darian, and the other two men dressed in full security outfits sat on one of the couches, staring at him and laughing.

Why has Darian’s behavior seemed off lately? he whispered to himself, then turned toward where the nurses were rushing from.

Jade and Darian kept watching Leon as he left the hospital. Outside, his heart sank when he saw a car that looked like Zoe’s.

"Zoe?" His right leg moved forward, but he caught himself and stopped. "No, she left like three hours ago. That can’t be her."

Although every ounce in him told him he was right, his heart rate didn’t slow after glancing at the smoky vehicle for the first time.

When he saw four nurses carrying a bleeding lady on a stretcher, Leon stepped aside, making way for them.

"Why do I have a feeling that could be Zoe’s vehicle?" he hesitated, yet kept moving forward, closing the gap between him and the vehicle.

When he walked down the small stairs at the front of the hospital, another set of nurses carrying a slightly bent lady dashed past him.

This time, he got shoved aside by one of the nurses. "Give way. Do you want her to die?"

Leon frowned, but something in him calmed him instantly. At least you could have told me to move aside first, he thought, then shifted his gaze from the nurse and focused on the vehicle.

Turn.

A voice that wasn’t his seeped into his head.

The cloth covering the dying lady shifted as he turned. Leon froze, the image of her arm stuck in his mind.

At that moment, as the door slammed shut, thunder rumbled across the sky. Seconds later, heavy rain poured down, soaking Leon’s clothes.

When the nurses moved past Darian, who was now standing by the receptionist’s desk, the ceramic bottle he was drinking from slipped from his fingers and struck the ground.

He threw a soulless glance at Jade and his men, then back at the running nurses. "Zoe!"

One nurse, who had picked up the license and was looking at it, stopped when she heard the name and turned to Darian. "Do you know her, sir?"