Chapter 550: A Hint of Mina

Mina was skimming through Ren's file, shocked by what she was reading. He had been institutionalized by his family shortly after the night he tried to pull her into his car. During his hospitalization, he spoke openly about her and Sadie, but he also mentioned another girl named Elaine. Apparently, Elaine also died in a car accident, and Troy, although younger, had been made by his family to pull Ren into his group of friends to help him 'get over her passing.'

That, in itself, was not alarming, car accidents were random and unpredictable, but what was frightening was that Elaine was in a relationship, but Ren would not take no for an answer. His harassment of the girl had gotten so bad that their high school intervened and made her transfer schools.

Ren, however, followed Elaine to the new school, making the man her family had arranged for her to marry call off the engagement. Still she was not interested in Ren, and that was when his harassment became physical.

The file said that Elaine drove her car off a cliff to rid herself of Ren, but Mina had a feeling that Ren may have done it himself, the same way he had done to her sister. She felt herself grow sick because she had almost believed him when he said he was not driving his car that day, but Ren's file hinted that he was prone to lapses in his memory, often doing things that he claimed not to remember later.

Mina felt her head begin to throb with the information. The night that Ren attacked Troy, and was near to turning on Sadie, he appeared to have only realized his actions when she pulled him away, but he never denied them. He simply allowed her to tug his arm and lead him back to his car. Mina remembered Ren asking her to drive with him and she foolishly agreed.

A large hand reached up and slapped the file hard, making Mina flinch. She narrowed her eyes at Zane, who was chuckling while mocking her startled expression. She reached out to the man, punching his arm, and he winced from the contact.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Mina was beside herself with worry, and she tried to scoot over to Zane, who stopped her. He had never shown her his injury, so she would not have known what side he had been shot on.

"Ian tells me that you cannot walk yet, but I want to take you out. Do you trust me?" Mina did not know if she wanted to go anywhere. She had not brought a change of clothing and was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"I don't have clothes."

"You think I would ask you out and come empty handed? I brought something for you to change into." Mina stared at the man suspiciously. "Mina, let's not cross this bridge again. You have always been clear about your feelings toward me." She smiled before agreeing and Zane had a nurse come in and help.

Mina had not taken a decent shower since she had left the facility, in part because she was too tired to stand, and while she was still feeling weak, she used her energy to scrub her body well, and even wash her hair. Instead of drying it, she wrapped it above her head, and changed into the clothing that Zane had brought for her. It was simple, jeans and a sweater, and Mina could not be more grateful for the comfort of it. She hobbled over to the wheelchair and waited for Zane who entered with a smile.

----

Mina was returned to the Lee mansion after Zane had taken her out for a meal and to meet with his mother. He pushed her inside and straight to the lift. He stopped at the guest room and was confused when it was locked. He asked her if she had the key and Mina reluctantly pointed toward the study. He pushed her toward the door, and she gestured for him to continue.

Confused, Zane moved to the next door. It was a room that he had never gone into because it was completely unfinished and unfurnished. It was the nursery Ian's nan insisted that he build when he had first acquired the land and demolished the homes on them. Mina reached out and opened the door, looking back at Zane whose brows were lifted to his forehead.

"Am I missing something?" Mina remained silent as he pushed her into the room. Zane kept his thoughts to himself, but he was internally cursing his friend. It was one thing to keep Mina in his home, but a completely different thing to move her into an adjoining room. "Mina, are you comfortable with this arrangement?"

"I haven't really thought about it." In truth, there were many nights where she was extremely grateful and others, she was so uncomfortable it gave her a headache. She had more privacy in the new room, and there were many nights that President Lee had stopped her from being sick in the bed by helping her to the restroom.

"Do you know this room is adjoined with Ian's?" Mina nodded in shame, because Zane's tone was disapproving, and she had mistakenly thought he was judging her.

"I know how bad this makes me look, but I wasn't given a choice and I think President Lee's nan forced him into putting me here." Zane had allowed his face to reveal his discomfort with the situation, and Mina had misread it. He wanted to explain but thought better of it. Mina was blissfully unaware of how Ian felt about her, and he did not want to give her more reason to sink into depression.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. I just wanted to make sure you are okay. You know, I also have a home where you can stay." Mina rubbed the back of her head in guilt.

"President Cameron says I have to stay here until the person who injured President Lee's head has been arrested."

"Haven't they recovered the man?" Zane was careful not to tell Mina that she had killed the person she shot, it was one of the rare times that he agreed with hiding something from the woman, not because it was right, but because he did not think she needed to know or could handle it.

"The person I shot is not the one." Zane narrowed his eyes, before finally understanding what the woman was hinting at.

"I don't blame you; Ian deserved it and for my role, I deserved this." Zane lifted his arm faking a pained expression and Mina resisted the urge to smile. She knew it was wrong to rejoice in another person's pain, but she could not deny that she felt good about having brought President Lee as close to death as he had brought her.

"Will you tell President Cameron?" Zane shook his head dramatically, while simultaneously pulling to her feet.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. Now, if you could." Zane gestured for Mina to walk toward the couch in her room, and she shuffled toward it. Since he had picked her up, he had been making her take a few steps here and there. Nothing too strenuous, but enough to make her feel winded afterward.

"Why have you been torturing me today? Is your friend too busy to do it?" Zane smirked; happy to see a small hint of Mina's personality peeking through.

"Doctor Witt says that you haven't been to physical therapy, nor have you made arrangements for someone to come to you. I guess you plan on staying in this room permanently." Mina stiffened, because that was not the case at all, but she could not tell if Zane was hinting at something or if he was teasing her, so she gave a sarcastic response.

"What need do I have to run? It's not as though I am being held against my will. Look at the beautiful room I am in."