James certainly understood and agreed, or Diarmuid would never leave this room.
“I’ll try my best,” he told Stephen.
Stephen lowered his gaze. “Sorry for all the trouble.”
James actually thought that this was what he was supposed to do anyway… How was it any trouble?
Meanwhile, Diarmuid was standing alone in front of the surgical table after chasing everyone out. Everything around him seemed to turn still, and it looked as if he was alone in the world!
Hours passed, and he never stepped out even though it was already nighttime.
Outside, James was beside himself with worry, but he did not dare to go in.
Stan arrived just then and asked, “How happened?”
James’s eyes were beady even as he looked at his colleague and told him hoarsely that Abigail was killed in an explosion, which left Stan in disbelief.
“How could this happen? I thought we were prepared? And what is Mr. Althoff going to do now?” James told him, “He’s still inside after chasing everyone out. No one dares to go in and disturb him.” “This isn’t going to work,” Stan replied.
James knew that too, but was there any other way?
Sitting on the bench, Stan kept scratching his head for a while before groaning, “Well, what are we supposed to do now?”
James actually had no idea what to do just then. “Sheryl and Tommy are fine, right?”
The thought would actually calm himself, and Stan quickly looked up when he was reminded of that. “I have an idea now.”
“What is it?” James asked.
“He still has family aside from Abigail,” Stan told him.
James came to a realization right then. “Are you talking about Tommy?”
“Yes, Tommy is his son,” Stan replied. “No matter how sad he is or how he is unable to get over Abigail, can he really abandon his own son?”
James actually thought that it made sense, but he had his concern regardless. “This is a hospital, though. And is it really okay to bring a baby near dead people?”
“That’s his mother,” Stan pointed out. “Our main priority right now is to help Mr. Althoff get over Abigail’s death.”
It did make sense, so James said, “Alright. Let’s do this.”
“I’ll bring Tommy over,” Stan offered.
“Fine, you go do that,” James replied. “I’ll keep an eye on things here.”
Stan hence left, and returned over an hour later with Tommy.
The baby had been given a fright and cried a lot after being kidnapped, and it took Sheryl a while to coax him to sleep.
He eventually did, but it was still quite a while, and he was also sniffling from time to time as if he would wake up at any moment.
“Now, you go in,” Stan told James–he was still a little too scared to approach Diarmuid.
Moreover, he was always the best at hiding.
On the other hand, James really wanted Diarmuid to pull himself together. “I’ll do it.”
“I always knew we could count on you when it counts,” Stan told him.
James shot him a vicious glare. “That’s all because you’re a rat, and I always have to take the fall whenever something happens.”
“The best are always busy,” Stan retorted.
“Fuck off,” James snapped, but took a deep breath and started to carry Tommy into the operating room. However, he had barely reached the doorway when Diarmuid yelled, “Get out!”
Tommy was immediately woken up, and started bawling.
“Boo–hoo… Mah–mah…”
James had no choice but to leave. As he had zero experience with children, he simply rocked Tommy as he cooed, “It’s alright, you don’t have to cry…”
“Boo–hoo…” Tommy kept crying, leaving James anxious the more he did.
Soon, James was sweating bullets, “Well, what now?”
“Mr. Althoff definitely heard Tommy,” Stan replied. “But he’s not coming out. Is he really abandoning Tommy because of Abigail?”
“Maybe it’s just too hard to take,” James said.
“Well, he was hurting too when Yvaine died, but not like this-”
“That’s different,” James cut Stan short. “To him, Yvaine was dead more than ten years ago, and any sentiment would have faded. Even if we did find her again, how much sentiment could he have recovered after she died soon after? But Abigail is different, because she’s the first woman he allowed into his heart.”
James certainly broke it down with clarity and thoroughly, and Stan agreed since it made perfect sense.
Right now, the key was still for them to make Diarmuid pull himself together.
Still, Stan was very restless and he started to pace around the walkway. “Tommy is bawling himself hoarse, but he still isn’t coming out to check. Isn’t the boy his? Doesn’t he care…?”
That was when James suddenly said determinedly, “I have an idea!”
Stan became excited. “What is it?”
“Who’s the reason Abigail’s dead?” James asked.
Stan suddenly stared at James as if he was stupid. “lan Althoff, of course!”
“And what if lan Althoff suddenly escaped-”
“There’s no way he can–I’d never allow him to,” Stan cut James short right then, growling viciously, “I’ll break his legs if he does.”
James did not stop him from finishing, and instead waited until Stan calmed down before explaining, “I know. He isn’t getting away, but we can let him go…”
“Let him go?” Stan exclaimed, unable to catch on to what James was planning just then. “It’s already merciful enough that we’re not cutting him into pieces. Did you suddenly have a brain fart or something?”
James rolled his eyes at Stan. “Could you pipe down and hear me out first instead of interrupting every single time?”
Stan finally did so. “Fine. What were you trying to get at?” he asked.
“Since Mr. Althoff is still grieving Abigail, what do you think would happen if we suddenly told him that the one who killed her has escaped? Don’t you think he’d quickly pull himself together to seek vengeance for the one he lost?”
Stan pondered over the idea James proposed.
Nothing seemed to be working at the moment, since even Tommy could not lure Diarmuid out of the operating room.
In that case, they might have to use Diarmuid’s hatred to spur him on instead.
If anything, it was worth a try.
“Alright, I’ll send Tommy home right now and release lan…”
“Wait,” James called out, stopping Stan as the latter left. “Don’t do it so quickly–we need to prepare, and it won’t do if we somehow lose lan Althoff. He’s still out right now, isn’t he?”
“Probably,” Stan replied. “The dart we used would keep anyone out for over ten hours.”
“Dose him further to keep him unconscious and implant him with a tracker. That way, we’ll know where he is no matter where he goes.”
Stan stared at James for a moment before saying, “Good plan. Leave this to me.”
“Remember–the implant must be placed somewhere hidden so that he doesn’t notice,” James added.
“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll get it done right now,” Stan replied.
Tommy had exhausted himself from crying and could now only sniffle in Stan’s arms.
As Stan did not know how to take care of children either, he had to bring Tommy home and leave the baby in Sheryl and Mrs. Watson’s care.
On the other hand, James stood outside the operating room, leaning against the wall as he waited.
Time seemed grilling to him…
“James.”
Diarmuid suddenly spoke from inside, and James did a double take, thinking that he had misheard.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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