RE - Chapter 284: Alan’s Little Sister? (Patreon)

“…Mmm.”

Blinding sunlight streamed through the hospital room window and spilled across the bed, dappling Alan’s fair face with light.

As the warmth of the sun reached her cheeks, Alan slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling for a while.

“Am I… dead?”

Feeling the covers over her, Alan instinctively tried to push them aside, only to realize she was still hooked up to an IV.

“No way. You’re awake?”

Mia hurried to Alan’s bedside and checked the monitors beside her.

“Sorry… could I have some water?”

The soft, delicate voice nearly caught Mia off guard.

She turned to look, only then confirming that the voice had really come from Alan.

“Sure. I’ll get you some. Don’t move around.”

Mia quickly brought her some water and raised the head of the hospital bed so Alan could sit halfway upright.

At first, Alan was a little reluctant to be fed, but when she saw the concern on Mia’s face, she quietly accepted it.

Some of the warm water missed her mouth and trickled from the corner of her lips, dampening her hospital gown. Mia gently wiped it away before taking the cup back.

“I’m going to get the doctor. Don’t move, okay?”

Only after Alan nodded did Mia turn and leave.

Alan watched her go, feeling a little emotional.

I really ran into a good person… I thought I was done for.

No, I shouldn’t think like that… If I died, wouldn’t Leon…

Right, Leon!

I’ve been missing for so long. He must be worried. I need to contact him.

One second, Alan had obediently nodded and promised not to move. The next, she was already trying to pull out the IV and get out of bed to find a phone.

Fortunately, Mia came back quickly.

“Don’t move!”

Caught red-handed, Alan knew she was in the wrong. She could only stare at the tip of Mia’s nose, doing her best to look as though she hadn’t been doing anything at all.

The doctor came to Alan’s bedside, checked the monitors and IV, then removed the nearly empty IV bag.

That saved her the trouble of yanking it out herself.

The doctor asked Alan several questions. After confirming that everything seemed normal, he drew a tube of blood and left to have it tested.

“I tell you not to move, and the very next second you’re trying to run off.”

“Sorry… I-I have something important to do.”

“What could possibly be more important than your life?”

Alan lowered her head again.

At the same time, she couldn’t help wondering why she had no backbone at all in front of Mia.

If this were Leon, she would’ve snapped back at him ages ago.

Seeing Alan sitting there as meek as a little quail, Mia instinctively took her for a sheltered young woman who had only recently come of age.

She stepped forward and gently stroked her soft white hair.

“All right, I’m not blaming you.

Just don’t do that again.”

“Mm…”

Once she had comforted her, Mia turned to the real issue.

“What happened to you? You collapsed by the roadside, and your immune system is extremely weak.

You were so far from the city that there’s no way you could’ve gotten there on your own.”

Was she… abandoned?

No. That usually happened to children, and she was already grown.

Alan shook her head and decided to play dumb.

“When I woke up, I was already by the roadside. I hadn’t walked very far before…”

“All right. I figured.

What’s your name, then? Do you have any family or friends?”

“…Han. Grace Han.”

“Chinese? That doesn’t seem right… You clearly look Caucasian.”

Even putting aside the obvious physical differences between East Asians and Caucasians, Mia had studied biology.

She could tell at a glance that something didn’t add up.

Only then did Grace remember that her appearance had changed completely.

“…I was adopted by Chinese parents.”

“Oh, I see. That makes sense.

You can just call me Mia.

What’s the name of the bastard who adopted you? He actually abandoned you?!”

“All right. Do you have his phone number?

Don’t worry, I’ll help you. If he really dumped you out in the suburbs and nearly got you killed, I can sue him!”

Grace broke into a cold sweat.

Sue myself? How would that even work?

“N-No, that’s not what happened. He didn’t abandon me.”

“…”

Mia gave Grace a suspicious look.

Grace’s mind raced, and she quickly cobbled together a lie that was barely believable and riddled with holes.

“My brother went missing, so I asked one of his friends to help me look for him…

I insisted on going with him, but halfway through, I wandered off by myself and got lost.”

“You got so lost that you ended up all the way out in the suburbs?”

“Well…”

“Didn’t you just say you don’t remember what happened before you passed out?”

Crap…

I remember Leon being so easy to fool. Why is Mia so much harder?

Fortunately, Mia had no intention of pressing her for answers.

If the girl didn’t want to talk about it, Mia wouldn’t force her.

“So you were trying to contact your brother’s friend just now?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“…All right. Here.”

Mia took out her phone and handed it to Grace.

“Do you remember his number?”

“I do.”

“Okay. I’ll be in the hallway.”

Worried that her presence might make Grace uncomfortable, Mia even stepped out of the room to give her some privacy.

Seriously, I could cry.

Grace held the phone, her thoughts churning.

Then she stopped hesitating, quickly opened the phone, and dialed Leon’s number.

...

The phone on the nightstand kept vibrating. In the pitch-black room, the screen suddenly lighting up was especially conspicuous.

The incessant buzzing finally forced Leon to lift his head from the pillow and reach for the phone.

An unknown number?

He slowly sat up and answered.

“…What is it?”

“Leon, it’s me!”

“Sorry, who is this?”

Leon frowned at the unfamiliar female voice coming through the phone.

“Alan.”

Leon’s brow furrowed, and he hung up.

What a joke. There was no way that was Alan.

Speaking of which, he should probably get up.

It had been several days. Carla should have sent the information by now, so he needed to check with Annette.

Just as he was about to get out of bed, the phone rang again.

Same number.

Leon sighed, irritation creeping in.

Using Alan to mess with him over and over again?

Apparently, whoever this was wanted a taste of his special treatment.

“You’re Alan? Prove it.”

“You keep Ada’s handgun in the hidden compartment on the second level of your nightstand.”

“How do you know…”

“You usually keep three pairs of underwear and five pairs of socks.”

Leon fell silent.

On the other end, Grace took his lack of response as a cue to continue.

“You secretly used half a bottle of my 13-in-1. You snuck some of Snowy’s steak in the middle of the night without telling me. You never bought the souvenirs you promised after the last mission.

And didn’t you lose that bet and say you’d handle Hunnigan’s gift? Why haven’t you given it to her yet?!”

“Wait, hold on.

Aren’t you supposed to be proving who you are? Why does it feel like you’re just attacking me?”

Leon was thoroughly confused. Everything she said matched, and some of it was stuff no outsider could possibly know.

Could she really have some connection to Alan?

A sister? Something like that?

How did I never know about her?

“All right…

That night in the Maldives. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m absolutely sure you and Ada…”

“I believe you. Stop talking.”

Damn it. Why would Alan tell someone about that?

Leon felt a surge of annoyance.

Grace, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief, right up until she heard Leon’s next question.

“Are you Alan’s sister?”

“…Your sister, my ass! I AM Alan!”

The indignant voice burst from the phone. Leon hurriedly pulled the phone away from his ear.

Once she finally quieted down, Leon was still full of doubts, but he began taking the situation seriously.

This might actually have something to do with Alan’s disappearance.

His expression turned grave as he calmly said,

“Tell me where you are. I’m coming over right now.

…I don’t care whether you’re really Alan or not. Wait for me.”