Chapter 671

"I'm an adult now, just like your parents. I have the right to go in." Evelyn's voice trembled slightly but remained resolute.

Lotus stood like an immovable wall, his small frame barricading the clinic door. Evelyn's fingertips turned cold with frustration, yet she couldn't budge the determined child.

Hurried footsteps echoed in the distance.

Evelyn looked up to see Elder Thompson rushing toward them, his silver hair glaring under the morning sun. Deep worry lines etched his weathered face.

"Alexander?" Her voice nearly cracked. "How is he?"

The elder avoided her gaze and sighed heavily. "Lotus and Lily came to me in the middle of the night, saying something terrible happened..."

Evelyn dug her nails into her palms, numb to the pain. "Did you come from the Lotus Pond?"

Silently, Lotus stepped aside.

"The police are here," Elder Thompson wiped his brow. "The commotion last night woke the whole village. We barely hid when their cars rolled in..."

Her heart stuttered.

"The pond's edge... it's covered in blood." The elder's voice shook. "They've cordoned it off as a crime scene..."

Lotus paled. He understood better than anyone what those bloodstains meant.

Evelyn's throat tightened. "Did they catch anyone?"

"Those monsters vanished like smoke." The elder clenched his teeth. "An ambulance came, along with someone in a white coat..."

"A medical examiner?" Her whisper barely carried.

The elder nodded uncertainly. "That's what they called him."

Darkness edged Evelyn's vision as she swayed.

Lotus and the elder steadied her. The old man's eyes reddened. "Dr. Carter, Mr. Hamilton..."

"He'll be fine." Her grip on the table turned her knuckles white. "He promised me."

Lotus clutched her sleeve. "Dr. Carter..."

She forced a smile. "I'm alright. Elder, could you gather more information?"

"Of course." He nodded vigorously. "Mr. Hamilton's a good man. Heaven will protect him."

Only after he left did Evelyn collapse into a chair. The clinic's silence pressed in, broken only by her ragged breathing.

"Lotus," she murmured, "go stay with Lily."

The boy shook his head stubbornly. "I told big brother I'd protect you."

Evelyn stared at the dried blood on her hands—remnants of last night's escape. Without Lotus, she might have...

"You've done wonderfully." She ruffled his hair.

The door burst open as three nurses rushed in, gasping at her injuries.

"Dr. Carter! What happened—"

"Why isn't Mr. Hamilton with—"

Their flurry of questions stabbed like knives until Elder Thompson's wife arrived with steaming corn and sweet potatoes.

"Doctor, you should eat something."

Evelyn declined, handing the food to Lotus. The boy devoured it, then choked when he saw her standing.

"Dr. Carter?"

She passed him water, her gaze steady. "Come with me to the pond."

"You're worried about big brother?"

"Yes." Her whisper barely carried. "He's someone very important to me."