Forbidden Passion
Chapter 524 A Fateful Encounter

Phoebe never gave a damn about the entertainment biz, but she never saw it coming that Patrick had been blind once. His eyes looked totally fine now. Phoebe blurted out, "Did Patrick get a corneal transplant or something?"

Theodore's grip on the wheel got tighter, and he peeked at Phoebe's glowing phone. "What's the gossip online?"

Phoebe said, "They're saying there was an explosion during filming, and he got seriously hurt."

Theodore nodded. "Yeah, the Reynolds Group threw money at that movie. It was a cop flick. They rehearsed a big scene a bunch of times, but when they actually shot it, something went wrong. The explosion went off early, and he was driving through the blast zone. The car got blown into the air, flipped a bunch of times, and landed on a taxi."

Phoebe's hands got all sweaty. "What happened after that?"

Theodore went on, "The crash killed three people and seriously injured one. Patrick made it, but the actress riding shotgun wasn't so lucky. She died right there, and so did the taxi driver. The passenger in the back was still alive when they got to the hospital, but they died a few days later. The movie got canned."

Phoebe was horrified. "How did Patrick go blind?"

Theodore added, "The explosion messed up his eyes. Two days after he got out of the ICU, he said he couldn't see a thing. The docs thought it was just temporary from the trauma, but after checking him out, they found out it was corneal necrosis, and he might be blind for good."

"It was that bad?" Phoebe gasped.

"Yeah, but whether it was lucky or not, after the docs confirmed he was blind, the passenger in the taxi died. The passenger had signed an organ donation form, and the Winston family pulled some strings to get the family's approval to give Patrick the corneas."

Phoebe was stunned. "What was the passenger's name?"

There was no way it was that much of a coincidence, right? It couldn't be!

Theodore frowned, trying to remember. It had been a while, and he couldn't recall. "I don't remember. Just that his last name was kinda unique."

Phoebe's heart was racing. She sat up straight and looked at Theodore, her voice shaking. "Was it Quinn?"

"Sounds about right. I heard he was a med student at Harvard. His folks said he wanted to dedicate his life to medicine, so he signed the organ donation form early," Theodore said. Phoebe slumped back in her seat, feeling a chill down her spine. She remembered what Cindy had said that morning.

Cindy mentioned the guy's eyes were beautiful and that she wanted to dig them out and keep them.

No wonder Cindy's tone was off. Cindy knew all along that Patrick's corneas were Caleb's, which was why she became Patrick's contract lover. Theodore asked, "Phoebe, what's up?"

Phoebe's face was pale. She turned to Theodore and said, "Can you take me to Cindy's place?"

Theodore frowned and glanced at the time on the car's display. "It's late. Why do you need to see Cindy now?"

"I need to ask her something face-to-face. If you're tired, just drop me off, and I'll grab a cab." Phoebe said.

Theodore pursed his lips, looking annoyed. "You think I'd leave you on the side of the road in the middle of the night?"

Phoebe thought, 'Didn't you ditch me on the overpass last time without batting an eye?'

But right now, all she could think about was how much Cindy knew. Did Cindy go after Patrick on purpose, or was it just a fluke?

Back then, the identities of Caleb's organ recipients were top secret. Nobody knew who the seven recipients were.

So how the heck did Cindy know Caleb's corneas ended up with Patrick?

Theodore glanced at Phoebe, then made a U-turn at the next intersection, heading towards Cindy's place.

When the doorbell rang, Cindy was soaking in a petal bath. She knew how to live it up. If there was one place in the apartment she loved, it was the bathroom with its massage tub. Steam bath, glass sauna, and massage bath, with an embedded TV. She could binge-watch shows while soaking. It was the ultimate luxury.

Cindy heard the doorbell but didn't plan on answering it.

Patrick had a night shoot, so it couldn't be him. Whoever else it was, Cindy wasn't in the mood.

The doorbell rang more urgently, followed by knocking.

Cindy couldn't stay in the tub any longer. She got out, dried off, and wrapped herself in a robe before heading out.

Through the intercom, Cindy saw Phoebe standing outside. She quickly opened the door and let her in.

"Phoebe, what are you doing here so late? Did you have a fight with Mr. Reynolds?" Cindy asked, closing the door and following Phoebe into the living room. Phoebe plopped down on the couch and saw Cindy's wet hair draped over her shoulders, still wrapped in a robe. "Were you just taking a bath?" she asked. "Yeah, I was enjoying it. Did you really have a fight with Mr. Reynolds?" Cindy asked, looking concerned.

"No." Phoebe shook her head, looking uneasy. "I just found out something that's really bugging me."

Cindy asked, "What is it?"

Phoebe licked her lips. She had thought about a million things on the way over, but now that she was facing Cindy, she didn't know how to ask. Should she ask if Cindy knew Patrick's corneas were Caleb's? Did Cindy become Patrick's contract lover because she saw him as a stand-in? But looking into Cindy's innocent eyes, she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Caleb was a painful memory for Cindy. It had taken her forever to get over that heartbreak.

When she mentioned Caleb that morning, Cindy's eyes were still filled with sadness.

Bringing up Caleb now would probably keep Cindy up all night.

Cindy stared at her. "What's wrong? Why are you hesitating?"

Phoebe closed her eyes and suddenly leaned in to hug Cindy. "Nothing; I just happened to be passing by and wanted to see you."

"Don't be so cheesy. You're giving me goosebumps." Cindy pretended to push Phoebe away. "Save that trick for Mr. Reynolds. He'll go nuts for you." Phoebe laughed and let go of Cindy, her gaze becoming complicated again. "Cindy, whatever you want to do, I support you."

Cindy was confused. "What's up with you tonight?"

"Alright, I'm leaving. Mr. Reynolds is still waiting outside," Phoebe said and left.

Cindy saw Phoebe into the elevator and watched it descend. She shook her head. "Weird. Is Phoebe gonna ghost me again?"