REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 57: WILLIAM’S SECOND NIECE

Dustin let out a heavy sigh. His fingers tapped impatiently against the steering wheel as he glanced at his watch for the hundredth time. Two hours. It had been two hours since Ava went into the hospital to see her grandfather, and she still hadn’t come out.

He looked at the hospital’s entrance once more, watching everybody that walked out of the glass, hoping it would be her. But it never was. He fought the urge to groan once more.

He’d tried calling her. The first two times, her phone rang, but there was no answer. After that, it went straight to voicemail. Dustin raked a hand through his thick, brown hair. Something wasn’t right.

He was worried, beyond even, especially after he spotted Sasha leaving the hospital with Caspian and Noah about an hour ago.

Another agonizing hour ticked by, and Dustin couldn’t take it anymore. His gut screamed at him that something wasn’t right. Slamming the car door shut, he walked into the hospital.

The receptionist looked up as Dustin approached her. She smiled politely. "Good afternoon, Sir," she greeted cheeryly. "How can I assist you?"

Dustin forced a smile. "I’m here for William Whitlock. I need his room number."

At the mention of the name, her smile faltered. She turned sharply to the girl beside her who also looked up from her screen when she heard the name. Forcing a smile, she turned back to Dustin. "Are you family? A relative?" She asked.

Dustin took notice of their behavior, but he said nothing. Instead, he nodded. "Yes, I’m a...relative."

The girl smiled weakly, before signalling the other girl who suddenly walked away from the desk. Turning back to Dustin, "I’ll need to confirm that, Sir. Do you have an identification?"

Dustin finally looked away from the place the other girl vanished. He forced another smile. "I don’t have time for formalities. I just need the room number."

The girl stared at him wearily. "I’m sorry, Sir--" She trailed off when the other girl came back.

She looked at Dustin nonchalantly before leaning into the first girl’s ears. "Mrs. Whitlock is not picking up," she whispered.

The girl’s face tightened and she hesitated before responding to Dustin. "I’m sorry, Sir, but without proper identification and confirmation, I can’t give out any information."

Dustin leaned forward slightly. "You need confirmation from my family?" He asked calmly.

The girl’s eyes flickered toward her colleague who shifted uncomfortably. They exchanged a glance.

"You couldn’t reach them, could you?" Dustin pushed.

The girl fidgeted with a pen as she exchanged another glance with her colleague. "Sir, as I mentioned, we still require--"

"You clearly don’t know who you’re dealing with," Dustin interrupted, placing an elbow on the desk. "I’m William Whitlock’s second niece. The man lying in that bed practically raised me, and I don’t have the patience for your bureaucratic nonsense."

The first girl stammered. "I-I understand, but--"

Dustin held up a hand. "Let me make this sinple. Either you tell me where he is, or I’ll make a call to your CEO and lay a not-so-friendly complaint."

The second girl paled. "Mrs. Whitlock gave strict orders--"

Dustin chuckled darkly as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "And what exactly does that have to do with me? Those orders are for strangers, aren’t they?" He asked coldly.

The two girls hesitated, until Dustin started searching through his contacts. They glanced nervously at each other. The first girl wanted to protest again, but before she could, the second girl nervously stepped out of the desk. Her hands trembled slightly as she gestured to the elevator. "This way, Sir."

Dustin smiled. "That’s more like it." He followed the girl to the elevator. When they got to the elevator, he stopped the girl from following him. "I can take it from here."

The girl nodded curtly. "Last floor. Room 2," she said politely.

Dustin walked into the elevator. "Next time, don’t waste my time," he said, facing her from inside the elevator. "People like me don’t take kindly to delays."

She nodded quickly. "Understood, Sir," she said and the door slid shut.

~~~~~~~~~

Ava exhaled shakily between her gritted teeth. With her right hand gripping her left wrist just below the unforgiving handcuffs, she leaned back from the steel table. The sharp sting of the cuff against her wrist felt like it was cutting straight to her bone.

Her shoulders trembled from the pain, and she winced, biting her bottom lips to stop herself from moaning loud. Tears clouded her vision from the pain, and when she felt like going crazy, she released herself.

Ava shuddered from the pain. Her hands trembled as she carefully placed them by her sides, and she breathed shakily as she slammed her head softly against the wall for the seventh time.

She’d been trying to get out of this handcuff for a while, enduring this excruciating pain, tugging, twisting, and wrenching her wrists to get out of it, but it hadn’t budged, not even an inch. All she’d felt was pain.

She shakily ran her tongue over her bottom lips. She’d clamped them so hard with her teeth that she drew out blood. Tears filled her eyes once more, but she looked to the ceiling, blinking to prevent them from falling.

She sniffled and slammed her head back against the wall again, this time harder. She shouldn’t cry. No one deserved her tears. Not the stupid men that put her through this, or Matilda that instructed them.

She had to get out of here. Her grandfather needed her.

Ava forced herself up and flexed her aching fingers. If only there was something slippery... She didn’t finish the thought before she suddenly had an idea.

Without hesitation, she gathered saliva in her mouth and spat on her wrist, just above the handcuff. The sticky liquid dropped down her skin, but she didn’t stop. She spat again and again until her whole left hand was filled with it. Then, using her free hand, she spread the saliva around her left hand, making sure everywhere was covered.

Ava let out a shaky breath that caught her strangled sob as she thought about the pain from what she was about to do.