Chapter 534

Cynthia was simply trying to shield Daphne and Old Man Neal from worry. After exiting the Neal Group's building, she retreated to her car. She leaned her head against the backrest and allowed her mind to wander aimlessly.

Only today did she discover from Yoel what Yves had meant by Joshua's fever episode before the most recent one. She never imagined her forgiveness would trigger such a potent emotional shock in Joshua. Even less did she anticipate that he had been in the hospital beset by a high fever and receiving intravenous therapy on the day she had told him about her impending kidnap.

His prolonged fever and a night spent in the cold seaside breeze without relief exacerbated his condition. Without this unfortunate sequence of events, the gunshot wound he later suffered might not have had such devastating consequences.

As she dwelled on these thoughts, Cynthia felt a heaviness press upon her chest. She was at a loss as to how things had spiraled to this point. If she had kno