Chapter 6 The Chameleon Beside Me

I saw Jane's expression freeze slightly. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, quickly placed the medicine on the bedside table, and smiled kindly, saying, "Let me take a look!"

Her smile was so gentle it gave me the creeps.

I pointed to the painful spot with my finger and said, "Right here!"

She touched it with her finger and pretended to press it, asking, "Is it here? I don't see anything unusual here."

I groaned in pain and said certainly, "It's right here; it hurts a lot!"

Jane answered, "There's nothing wrong here!" She looked at other areas and inquired, "Do you have any other discomfort?"

She was trying to divert my attention.

I sat up straight, touching the painful spot while looking at her. I pretended to inquire with a feigned sense of perplexity: "Strange, I always feel like my head is being pricked by needles; it seemed to have happened a lot recently!"

"Nothing unusual. You probably have neuralgia! I occasionally have this, too!" She explained to me using her own experience.

I cursed her in my heart; she was really good at pretending.

I could feel the grainy bump on my head with my fingertip and the trace of blood I had just wiped off, yet she insisted there was nothing unusual. She was clearly taking advantage of the fact that I couldn't see that spot and was lying to me on purpose.

I figured she had stabbed my head more than once because I had been waking up from this stabbing pain frequently, but I had never been as clear-headed as this time.

After a long while, I pretended to be thoughtful and responded.

Maybe feeling guilty, she said to me, "Mrs. Hall, you should take your medicine first. I'll go check on Mason; I don't feel comfortable with him playing downstairs alone."

Jane turned and walked out. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief; this was exactly the effect I wanted. Otherwise, she would have watched me take the medicine before leaving.

I hadn't taken two doses of the medicine since last night. I clearly felt that my mind was much clearer, my sleepiness was no longer so messy, and the symptoms of fatigue had also lessened a bit. Even my heart rate was normal.

It seemed that I couldn't take this medicine anymore. I suspected that all my adverse reactions were related to this medicine.

I had to find a way to get the medicine tested to see what she was giving me.

I also needed to find out if John knew what was happening to me.

But for now, I had to pretend I had taken the medicine.

I looked up at the spot where the surveillance camera used to be. My intuition told me not to let my guard down. I still didn't know why Jane was doing this to me. How many more conspiracies were hidden that I didn't know about? There had to be a reason.

Ruby stretched and crawled out from under the blanket, burrowing into my arms. I suddenly had an idea and held it, petting it a few times. I put the pills near its nose, and sure enough, Ruby reacted strongly, jumping away. It seemed it was very resistant to these pills.

I withdrew my hand, took a sip of water, and pretended to take the medicine, but the pills slid into my long sleeve, making it hard for anyone to notice.

Then I got up and went to the bathroom, washed my face, and discreetly threw the pills into the toilet while using toilet paper.

I walked back to the bathroom nonchalantly, quickly washed the towel, and then calmly walked out of the room and downstairs with the bowl.

Though I appeared calm, my heart was pounding. I never thought I would need such a heightened sense of counter-surveillance in my own home.

At the stairs, I seemed to hear John's voice. I paused, my nose tingling, and unconsciously quickened my pace.

This was a spontaneous display of my dependence on him. After all, he was the closest person to me in our house.

For ten years, he had taken great care of me, showering me with love. Anyone who knew us knew he treated me like a treasure and loved me dearly.

I really wanted to know if he was aware of what was happening to me while I lay unconscious and helpless in bed.

Downstairs, John's low voice and Mason's laughter almost brought me to tears in my moment of helplessness.

As I hurried down the stairs, I looked up and was stunned by the scene before me, stopping in my tracks.