Back in the safe house, the air was thick with tension.
Adex stared at Jill, his jaw tight and rage boiling below the surface. It seemed like he could jump at her throat at any moment. But Jill didn't move. She grinned at him and maintained eye contact. She was slow, stubborn, and madly calm.
Adex opened his mouth to scream, but the sound stayed in his throat. His back arched sharply, as if an unseen hand had grabbed his spine and jerked.
He gasped, wild-eyed. "What's going on?"
Jill did not react. Her voice came low and steady. "What do you think?"
He backed away, bewildered. "What did you do to me?"
Jill sat up, dragging the sheet behind her. Her hair fell over one shoulder. "What I should've done a long time ago."
Adex rolled off the bed and landed hard on his feet. He staggered, hand pressing on his stomach. A heavy sweat burst out on his cheeks. He appeared pale as if something inside him was turning against him.
His voice broke, "Something's wrong."
Jill rose carefully, almost ceremonially. She stood upright, her eyes filled with rage. "Everything's been wrong since the day you forced yourself on me."
He turned around, shouting, "What did you do, you bitch!?"
The word landed like a slap and hung in the air. Jill didn't react.
She said, "What had to be done," calmly. "But there is still time."
He bent over and coughed. "Time for what?"
"I have the antidote. But you'll have to do exactly as I say."
He looked at her for a second, his hands shaking and sweat dripping down his face. "Where is it?"
Jill took a deep breath and slowly walked over to him. "In a safe place." You have seconds. Maybe less. "Do what I say, or something bad will happen…"
She moved closer, her eyes narrowing. "To your baby."
He stood motionless, as if she had cut the air in half.
Adex's mouth opened, but no sound came. Finally, a whisper: "What do you want?"
Jill didn't smile. She remained firm. "Leave Adex and Anna alone."
Adex's expression changed, but not in the way she expected. He appeared bewildered.
"I haven't harmed Anna," he said quickly. "She's fine."
She tilted her head, watching him. "I don't believe you. What about Adex?"
"That's not possible."
Then it struck. Jill winced as her expression stiffened. Her legs buckled, and she grasped the bedpost, her mouth quivering with pain.
Her voice came through clenched teeth. "Leave him… now."
Adex stood motionless in disbelief as he watched Jill struggle in anguish.
"What's happening, Jill?" he asked, his voice unsteady.
Jill let out a sharp scream, clutching her stomach with one hand and holding tightly to the bedpost with the other.
"You thought I poisoned you?" she said through clenched teeth. "No... I poisoned myself."
Adex's expression twisted. Disbelief flared into fury.
"You bitch!" he shouted, lunging toward her—but his knees buckled after a single step. He dropped to the floor with a thud, eyes wide.
"Why would you do that?" he growled, his voice shaking with rage.
Jill's breath was strained, her body weakening, but her gaze never left his.
"I know you heard everything Linda told me," She said, "but you didn't know... her advice was a trap—for you, not me."
Adex's jaws constricted. His hands closed into fists. His eyes filled with rage.
"You didn't poison me?" he said, trying to convince himself.
"I could have. But I know it won't work. You always make it through. Jill's voice trembled, and her body swayed. "But I also know what your weak point is: me. That's the only thing that scares you."
She took a shaky breath, looked him dead in the eyes, and whispered, "Leave that body."
Adex had a distorted expression.
"No," he said abruptly. "That's not possible!"
Jill's mouth erupted with blood, as if her body had turned on itself. She gasped, her eyes rolling back, and fell to the floor.
Adex yelled—loud, raw, full of horror and rage. His hands sprang to his head, grasping it like his skull was parting.
Then came the shift.
The air in the room became thick and heavy with something invisible. Then, like a dam breaking, a spirit hidden for too long came out of Adex. A loud, strange scream broke the silence as Larry's body, dark, violent, and twisting like smoke, pulled away from Adex's. It fought its way up, scratching at the ceiling, and then it was instantly gone.
And then—
The door banged open.