Chapter 15
Courtney remained silent, numb and careless, as Austin spoke to her. She simply wrote in her notebook. I want to stay at the hospital.]
She knew Vers would use her inability to speak as an excuse to have her removed from the hospital.
But Courtney had to stay. She needed to find out who the traitor was, to give Mark the justice he deserved, and to give herself and everyone else justice.
“I talked to them in the meeting. Your situation is special, and I’ve arranged for some treatment time for you. Just cooperate with the therapy. If you can speak again, you can keep your job, Austin grabbed Courtney’s hand and comforted her
Tve talked to Jack; let him check on you, okay?” he continued.
Courtney nodded.
Austin seemed relieved, as though satisfied with her compliance. “Courtney, last night was an exception. Phoebe was sick, but tonight I’ll stay with you. How about that?”
Courtney couldn’t help but find him ridiculous. It seemed as though Austin believed he was doing her a favor, like he was a king and his time was a gif she should be grateful for.
Tm going to change and get the car keys Austin glanced at his watch, and then affectionately rubbed her hair. “Wait here for me”
Courtney didn’t move, nor did she speak
Austin took her silence as obedience. He left the conference room.
The buzz of a message pulled Courtney’s attention. She glanced at the screen–it was a WhatsApp message from an unfamiliar contact.
Hayden had helped her set up a WhatsApp account, and she had logged in last night, adding Lorraine and Robert
[Honey, do you miss me?] It was Hayden. His profile was completely black, no picture, giving off a mysterious and cool vibe. His words, however, immediately revealed his playful nature.
Courtney opened the profile, ready to block him, but then she hesitated. The guilt from when she had let Hayden suffer in Weidan resurfaced. She finally chose to reply.
[Hayden, please don’t call me that.] Courtney replied seriously.
Hayden sent a pouty emoji in response.
Courtney: [Take care of yourself.]
Hayden. (Do you care about me?]
Courtney: [Just a doctor’s concern.]
Hayden: [Honey, my wound hurts so much. The doctors here aren’t as gentle as you.]
Hayden: [Courtney, I miss you so much. I feel like I can’t go a day without seeing you.]
Seeing the messages, Courtney was angered and embarrassed. She quickly exited the conversation
“Dad, how could you agree to report this! We should be covering it up, not reporting it. If Mark’s case goes higher, you’ll definitely be punished” Vera’s voice echoed from the hallway.
Just as Courtney was about to delete Hayden’s contact, she heard Vera’s voice.
Her heart sank as she heard James’s deep voice respond. “I’m only comforting her. I won’t report it. In fact, we can’t report it. We need to suppress this quickly and make sure to silence Mark’s parents.”
The door handle to the conference room turned, Courtney quickly rolled off the couch and hid behind it
James and Vera didn’t realize that C
Courtney was still there and thought she had already left.
“Dad, how can we silence Mark’s parents? Mark was their only child, and I don’t think they’ll just let this go, Vera said, sounding worried. “We barely managed to suppress this. If it blows up… what if it leads back to us?”
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Chapter 15
“We’ll start with money. If that doesn’t work, we’ll use other methods. We can’t rush it, but we can’t delay it, either” James leaned against the conference table and spoke casually.
“I don’t know how they managed to come back alive. Vera hissed, grining her teeth. “Why didn’t they just die out there, especially that Courtney!”
James glanced at Vera. “You’ve been spoiled by your mother. You’ve already won, so why are you still worried about a defeated opponent? The more you care, the more insecure you seem.
“Dad! Just look at the way Austin looks at Courtney. He was obsessed with her. If I don’t do anything, she’ll steal him from me, Vera said, a hint of frustration in her voice.
But her father was not worried at all. “You’re overthinking it. Austin is the successor I’ve chosen. His thirst for power and interests far exceeds his feelings for Courtney, Just think of our status”
“I heard the eldest son of the Reed family is coming back soon. After Marilyn marries him, our position in Henisburg will be even more unshakable. Austin is clever enough to make the right choice.” James was confident
བང་ཆང་བཟོ་བན་འར་
“I envy Marilyn. Her future husband is the only heir to the Reed family.” Vera’s mood brightened, and she snuggled up to James. “Dad, once she marries him, we’ll never have to take that humiliation again”
James nodded. “Instead of wasting time being angry, you should think of how to make your husband stay. All men are sentimental. A man’s fir love holds a significant place in his heart, but that doesn’t mean it outweighs his interests”
Vera gritted her teeth. “Dad, I still don’t feel secure. I have to kick Courtney out of this hospital”
“Tve given Austin six months. If after six months Courtney still can’t speak, then it won’t be my fault for not keeping her here,” James said in a low
voice.
Vera sneered. “Hmph, six months. That’s more than enough time for me to make her disappear
Behind the couch, Courtney was trembling as she gripped her phone.
Although she didn’t yet have proof that James and Vera had betrayed their medical team, their conversation made it clear that they were involved.
She had recorded their conversation, but she wasn’t very familiar with the phone. In her panic, she accidentally hat the camera button while trying to save the recording.
The clicking sound echoed, and the conference room instantly fell silent. James and Vera’s eyes snapped toward her.
Courtney’s entire body tensed, realizing she had been caught
SEND GIFT
