[You don't have to know who I am. Just know that Ember Lindt suspects you, and you really shouldn't let her stay at large or there's going to be problems.]It was as if the sender had seen everything that happened with their own eyes… Perhaps they were right there!Debbie quickly looked around and quickly spotted a person dressed in a black trench coat and a baseball cap on the second floor walkway. Seemingly sensing her gaze, the person quickly turned to leave.Debbie gave chase, but they were already gone when she reached the second floor. However, she was not giving up just yet—she quickly looked around to find the person when her phone jingled again.[Don't try to look for me, or I'll tell Isaac Jefferson that you tried to kill James Cross.]Debbie panicked—who were they? How did they know about Isaac?She quickly sent a reply.[What do you want?][To help you.]Debbie scowled. [Do you take me for a fool? You were threatening me a moment ago.][You can ignore what I sa
Debbie held her head high without appearing guilty at all. "James and I go way back. We know each other so well, and everything I'm doing right now is for his sake.""If you're not lying," Ember said with a sneer.Debbie promptly wheeled on her and snapped, "What's your wife's problem, Zachary Slate? She doesn't even know me! Why would I try to hurt James? Even if we can't agree on this, what we want is ultimately the same—for James to be fine. Your wife, on the other end, keeps insinuating that I'd hurt James! So I'm asking you, why would I do that? What good would it do me?!"Since Debbie had worked under Isaac for a long time, she was close with Stan and James. On the surface, she had no reason to hurt James. As such, Zachary said, "Forgive her. She doesn't know that you're his friend."Meanwhile, the medical staff had wheeled James out of the operating room, and Zachary said, "Let's go."Debbie glanced at James on the stretcher and remained impassive despite her panic. "Yeah
Dr. Wagner and Zachary were close, and so the former easily agreed to the surgery on short notice.But things appeared ominous at the moment."Well, he's safe and breathing…"Debbie panicked right then and dropped her phone, its screen shattering with a loud crack!Ember glanced at her, but while she felt that Debbie was obviously acting suspicious, Zachary thought that Debbie was just thrilled. "Don't worry. James is safe now."Debbie kept her head down to hide her reaction. "I'm just so happy…"Dr. Wagner suddenly said, "May I finish?" "What's wrong? Didn't you say he's saved?" Zachary asked."He's breathing, but…" Dr. Wagner was looking Zachary in the eye, but soon sighed. "I've done my best."Zachary sensed something ominous. "What is it?""He's in a vegetative state…""What?" Zachary exclaimed in fear and disbelief. It was a terrible outcome—the only difference between a person in a vegetative state and a dead person was their breathing!"We did what we could," Dr.
Though Ember was as rotten as she was a schemer, she was genuinely in love with Zachary.Meanwhile, Debbie was watching them nearby, finding Ember an eyesore no matter how she looked.Still, she turned away and whipped out a phone to make a call.It was soon answered."Mr. Jefferson? James is…"…Isaac had just met the Raideens.In any situation, they would first consider profit and then the big picture, but neither gave them reasons to help Irene. In fact, she was the reason their profits were hurt—since they were Minervans, and they controlled the interest of Mead Clinic.Naturally, they told Isaac that they were already doing him a favor by not adding fuel to fire.Isaac, however, knew that they were just refusing because he did not sweeten the pot enough. He whipped out his phone, about to make a call, when Debbie's call came.He answered it, but Debbie was stuttering a lot."Just tell me already!" he snapped."James… is in a vegetative state. He's at the Central Ho
Ember had a look of utter contempt. "You keep insisting that you are close with Mr. Cross, but you're in such a hurry to leave him already? You hardly look like you're mourning, too—are you really a friend to Mr. Cross as you kept claiming?"Debbie narrowed her eyes at Ember for seconds, but ultimately kept quiet and strode off, bearing with her snide remarks.After all, she knew that arguing or explaining would never work with Ember—the best option was to silence her permanently! On the other hand, Ember appeared disgruntled, but Zachary put a hand on her arm before she could, and even spoke on Debbie's behalf. "Ember, everyone including Debbie is hurting after what happened to James. She can come off as cold, but that comes with working with Isaac—it's not as if she doesn't care, but she's just that good at hiding her feelings."Ember appeared a little jealous that Zachary knew Debbie so well. "You seem to know everything about her… But I still think that she's up to no good."
There were those who willfully made the wrong choices for short term profits.Irene certainly learned her lesson this time. "Do you know what's going to happen if you insist on being so stubborn?" Her interrogator glared at her. "You're pregnant. Shouldn't you think of your child, even if you don't care about yourself?"Irene's fingers clenched. "I told you—I admit to damaging the research effort, and I'll take my punishment accordingly."After all, the hospital could only fire her and demand compensation, but it seems that the Minervan government wanted to make her crime a bigger issue than it was. She knew all too well that if she confessed, they would use her to cause an international conflict.Her interrogators suddenly stopped to whisper to each other.Irene could not hear what they were saying, but it definitely was nothing good given the looks on their faces.And her hunch proved right soon enough.It seemed that they could not get what they wanted from Irene, and the
This time, Irene was denied food and water from her cell, and she could occasionally hear a baby's tormented cries.She curled into herself, clutching her belly whenever she heard it, fearful that the same would happen to her own child. She had no idea how long she was kept in that dark cell, which seemed to transcend beyond space and light.At first, she knocked on her door to get a response, but her answer was silence.Eventually deciding that it was pointless, she simply gave up and idled to save her strength. As more time passed, thirst and hunger seized her, and she yearned to see the light again."Who can save me?"As she curled into herself at a corner of the wall, her thoughts soon became a mess and she started hallucinating.She started to tremble whenever she heard the baby's cries now.…Over at Duran, Isaac met Auric at a 7-star hotel.The venue was grand beyond description, and the furnishings within were just as extravagant. Crystals, velour, red velvet, and
Auric disagreed with Isaac's idea. "Minervan leaders have been trying to halt Zidonian's progress, and they'll make a huge fuss if they get any dirt. I really don't think you should go so far if it's not anyone important—""They're important to me, Auric."Isaac knew that he must sweeten the pot enough for the Minervans to release Irene and being the oil barons of Minerva, the Raideens would definitely take the deal.He was convinced that the Raideens would talk to the right people despite their personal agenda."You could talk to the ambassador—""That's too slow for me." Isaac had not the slightest hope for the Minervan embassy because it meant going through the bureaucracy. He could not wait while Irene was pregnant—not with all the procedures and intrigue potentially involved!This was his only option, given the Minervans' cunning nature.Naturally, he would lose money because it was such a roundabout solution, but that loss mattered not in comparison to Irene.Auric thou