Chapter 496
Without wasting another moment, she leaned on Vicky’s arm and they left the salon, heading straight for the hospital.
The moment they arrived, Kristine asked Vicky to find her a wheelchair. Once she was settled into it, her thoughts drifted immediately to Asher.
Even from this distance, she finally understood what it must feel like — truly feel like — to be confined to one of these chairs day after day. The realization struck her with unexpected force. That was why he had fought so hard for her freedom. It was the one thing he couldn’t have for himself, so he had poured everything into making sure she had it.
Her eyes stung.
Vicky noticed her sitting in silence, staring at the chair. “Ms. Green? Is something wrong with it?”
“No, it’s fine.” Kristine blinked the feeling away and offered a small smile. “You’ve done more than enough. I can handle the rest on my own.”
“I can’t leave you — Iris specifically asked me to stay with you.”
“Really, I’ll be alright,” Kristine said warmly. “Go take a break. You’ve earned it.”
Vicky studied her for a moment, then relented. “All right. I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”
“Thank you.”
Kristine wheeled herself away. She had never used a wheelchair before, and her steering was awkward at first — but the hospital’s smooth ramps made it manageable. She found her way to the Neurology Department and parked near the door to wait.
She had chosen this hospital deliberately. It had no connection to the Yates Group, which meant no familiar faces and no risk of word getting back to Colton. She felt safer here than she had in weeks.
After about thirty minutes, her number was called.
She rolled through the door into the doctor’s office and explained her symptoms — the heaviness in her legs, the weakness, the way they seemed to give out without warning. The doctor ran a series of tests. When the results came back, the look on his face made her stomach drop.
“Will I ever be able to walk normally again?” she asked, her voice unsteady.
“It’s difficult to say,” the doctor replied, studying the results carefully. “Muscle atrophy typically stems from nerve damage, nutritional deficiency, or prolonged immobility. But your case is unusual. When did your legs begin to feel this way?”
“A few weeks ago,” Kristine said.
“Was there anything out of the ordinary around that time? Anything at all?”
She couldn’t tell him about the injections Colton had forced on her. The moment she mentioned something like that, he would be obligated to involve the authorities.
“Nothing comes to mind,” she said.
“Then we’ll begin with a conservative course of medication.” He started writing out a prescription. “But Ms. Green — try to think back carefully about when this started. The more precise you can be, the better I can help you.”
She nodded.
“Take this to the pharmacy downstairs.” He held out the prescription slip, but she hesitated.
“Hypothetically speaking — if this had been caused by an injection, would it matter what was in it?”