Chapter 49
Aurora didn’t know much after that. Around that time, Maura was preparing to marry the Newton family’s heir, and all her focus was on that.
Aurora only knew that after the incident, Sunrise Pharmaceuticals had lost a large portion of its market share, which severely crippled the company. Eventually, they had to withdraw from the pharmaceutical industry, paving the way for the Crawford family to rise to power.
While she was thinking it couldn’t just be a coincidence, she also wanted to get to the bottom of it. She’d heard that this manager named Giles was quite talented, and since she was planning to start her own pharmaceutical company, she thought he might make a great manager if she could bring him on board.
Aurora began, “So, you-”
Before she could finish speaking, Irene, who had been walking next to her, suddenly clutched her stomach and sat down on the ground. Her face, which had been rosy just moments ago, instantly turned deathly pale.
“Ms. Crawford… Could you, please…call an ambulance…” Irene was drenched in sweat, her forehead glistening, but her voice remained surprisingly steady.
Maura’s eyes widened when she noticed the blood slowly seeping between Irene’s legs. Margaret froze in shock, yelling out, “Y–you’re bleeding!”
Seeing that, Aurora quickly pulled out her phone and dialed 911. After hanging up, she knelt down on one knee behind Irene, offering her support. “Where’s your phone? Call your husband and get him back here.”
Irene took a deep breath, trying to push through the unbearable pain. She pointed to a crossbody bag hanging from the stroller and replied in a shaky voice, “It’s… It’s in the bag..”
Aurora reached over and grabbed the phone from the bag, handing it to Irene to unlock. But before Irene could do anything, there was a loud clatter, and she let out a cry of pain as her wrist gave out. The phone slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.
Margaret pointed at the growing pool of blood and screamed, “Oh no. What are we going to do, Rory? There’s more blood. Is she going to die?”
“She’s not going to die!” Aurora said firmly. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for anyone passing by who could help carry Irene to the residential gate, but there wasn’t a single person in sight.
She thought about calling the property management since they were nearby, and it would be faster if they came by car. But when she unlocked her phone, she realized she had only saved the general manager’s number and not the direct line for the property office.
“Margaret, do you have the number of the property management office?” Aurora asked. Margaret shook her head, completely at a loss.
Aurora figured she might as well call back the ambulance and check where they were.
“Hang in there. We’re already on the way.” The nurse’s calm voice came from the other end of the line, soothing Irene, telling her not to worry, and promising they’d be there soon.
Aurora then asked, “Margaret, do you still remember the way to the property management office? Can you go now and get help?” She was worried. that Margaret might get lost.
Actually, it would’ve been better for Aurora to go herself, but Margaret wasn’t all there mentally and panicked even more than Irene at the sight of blood. So, Aurora figured that if she stayed, she’d be able to react quickly if something happened.
Margaret nodded firmly, patting her chest. “I know the way!”
Aurora smiled, “Alright. Go back the same way and find the property management office. I’ll wait here for you.”
“Okay.” With that, Margaret took off running.
Irene let out a shaky breath, taking several deep breaths to ease her pain. Cold sweat covered her body, but she still didn’t forget to thank Aurora. “Ms. Crawford, it’s so lucky I ran into you today. If I were alone-”
Aurora grabbed her hand, trying her best to stay calm. “Don’t talk. Save your energy.”
Five minutes passed, and Margaret still hadn’t returned. Aurora called her, only to find out she had gotten lost. Rubbing her forehead in frustration, Aurora muttered, “I shouldn’t have sent her in the first place.”
“Forget it. I’ll go myself,” she sighed as she stood up, ready to leave.
However, Irene grabbed Aurora’s pants leg and looked at Aurora pleadingly. “Ms. Crawford, please don’t… Don’t leave me alone…”
This was Irene’s first time giving birth, and though she appeared calm, she was terrified deep down. Having someone stay with her gave her a little comfort. Aurora sighed and stayed. Luckily, the ambulance arrived soon after, and Irene was quickly taken to the operating room.
1/2
11:39 AM
Chapter 49
When Giles got the call from the hospital, he had just been thrown out by the security guards at Sunrise Pharmaceuticals. The nephew of one of the major shareholders stood nearby, sneering, “Just give it up, Giles. They’ve got all the evidence on you. If you don’t wise up soon, you’ll end up in prison.”
Giles was fuming as he thought, ‘Evidence, my ass! The so–called witnesses are company employees, and they’ll do anything the boss tells them to. The physical evidence can be faked too–just slap my name on a file, and suddenly it’s all on me?‘‘
His eyes burned red with rage, and he was about to lunge at the guy when his phone rang with the hospital’s call. “What? Irene’s in the hospital?”
A chill shot up Giles‘ spine, and he stopped caring about fairness or justice. He rushed to the hospital as fast as he could.
Just as he reached the operating room doors, the light above them switched off, and the doctor stepped out. He rushed over and asked, “Doctor, how’s my wife?”
The doctor removed his mask and smiled faintly, “She got here just in time. Both the mother and baby are safe.” Giles breathed a huge sigh of relief after hearing this.
The doctor gave him a reproachful look. “What were you thinking? Your wife was about to give birth, and you still had her doing heavy lifting. Do you have any idea how risky it was? Her baby’s position had shifted. If it wasn’t for…” Giles knew he had messed up and quickly admitted his mistake.
In a short while, the unconscious Irene was wheeled out of the operating room with the baby lying beside her. Giles stayed close, following them step by step into the ward. After a while, he suddenly remembered that he needed to pay the bill at the counter.
When he went to pay, the nurse at the counter asked for the ward number and bed before replying, “The person who brought your wife already covered the payment.”
Giles froze for a moment, surprised that, even when his life was at its lowest point, he could still meet someone so kind. Then, he asked, “Miss, did they leave any contact info?”
They did. Hold on a sec. I’ll get it for you,” the nurse replied.
Giles lowered his eyes, looking at the slip of paper in his hand, and memorized the phone number on it.
Over at a private hospital in Jydratica, a girl in a hospital gown was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Lola, who had gone back to using her real name, was laughing out loud at the TV program. She glanced at the man working at the desk beside her, feeling a little guilty as she covered her mouth, afraid of disturbing him.
It had been a week since she had been brought back, and this whole week felt like a dream to her. Back in the Whitaker family, she had endless chores to do every day, never having time to sit on the couch and watch TV.
Upon noticing the man beside her closing his laptop, Annie scooted over and asked, “Daxon, you said you found me because someone told you where I was. Can I meet her?”
Annie wanted to thank that person in person. If it hadn’t been for Aurora, Annie might still be trapped in the Whitaker family, enduring the endless cycle of insults every few days and beatings every other, with no future in sight. Worse yet, Annie might have been sold off to a bar as a hostess.
Daxon’s usually cold eyes softened a little as he replied, “She’s in Mereida, far from Jydratica. Once you’re feeling better, I’ll take you to visit her.” Annie nodded obediently. “Okay.”
Just then, there were three rhythmic knocks at the door. Annie eagerly ran to open it, and when she saw who it was, she exclaimed in surprise, “Dexter, you’re here!”
