Since I knew the location of the operating theatre, I could easily gauge the location of other hidden places too.
Brandon drove over and waved at me. I got in the car and had a light chat with him.
It was afternoon when we arrived in the city. My stomach grumbled loudly as I had not eaten anything that day. I entered a restaurant, ordered my meal, and took out my phone. As I was about to call
Anthony, I noticed I had several missed calls.
Out of habit, I had placed my phone in silent mode. The calls were from Anthony and Hailey.
Anthony probably called to check if I had eaten lunch, so I decided to call Hailey first.
Anthony called before I could dial Hailey’s number. I picked up the call and chuckled. “Mr. Featherstone, I feel very honored to receive your call despite your busy schedule.”
He scoffed at my mocking. “I’m guessing you missed your lunch. Why didn’t you pick up my calls earlier? What were you busy with?”
This man seemed to grow more protective as the days pass. It seemed like I might need to start reporting to him every hour.
“I told you that I had an appointment with Brandon to view the operating theatre. That appointment ended, and I was about to feed your baby and myself.”
He sighed with worry. “What about the breakfast that I’ve prepared for you this morning? Did you skip it?”
I scratched the tip of my nose and replied, “I ate, and I got hungry again soon after. I plan to eat more later.” The truth was, I did not eat breakfast as I was in a hurry.
He sighed once more helplessly. “You’re already a mother, yet you’re not taking good care of yourself. Should I get a nanny for you?”
I immediately rejected his offer. “We don’t need a nanny for now. I’m fine. I’m only two months pregnant. It would be better to wait till Summer’s recovery and at a later stage of my pregnancy. What do you say?”
He agreed as he knew that it would not be easy to convince me otherwise. “Sure. On the condition that you would start taking good care of yourself and our baby.”
I smiled, knowing that it was out of his concern for me. “Okay, I’ll take note. Let’s put this aside for now.”
While the waiter brought out the dishes, I took a bite and continued, “Do you know where the hospital is located? It’s within a factory in the suburbs. That building looked abandoned, but they built an operating theatre on the second floor of it. They had five doctors and a few wards as well. It’s inconspicuous – no passerby would’ve guessed it.”
“Hmm. An operating theatre in a factory – inconspicuous and could be shifted easily. It was indeed the perfect place. However, our focus now is to be careful. There had been several issues that occurred at the ports of Moranta. It seemed like the Murphys had intentionally caused the delay. Please be careful. Joseph will arrive within these few days. Keep in mind, safety first.”
I nodded in agreement. I had guessed that Armond had been keeping his eyes on the Featherstones. He did not seem like the type to give up after one failure.
We chatted a while more before Anthony hung up, and I gobbled the food down. I planned to look for Hailey after.
If Armond chose to act up in Moranta while I create some trouble for Anthony in A City, he might not have sufficient energy left to deal with the issues at Moranta. Furthermore, Anthony had taken over the ports not long ago and need some time for things to settle down. Our plan had a high risk of falling through if Armond were to sabotage.
All of them were looking out for their own benefit. The illegal operating theatre was not a piece of substantial evidence to bring Armond down. We need to find a witness and the family members of those who supplied medical equipment to them as soon as possible.
At the hospital.
Upon arrival at the hospital, I saw Hailey packing while wearing a fur coat. I frowned and asked, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? What did the doctor say?”
She turned and was stunned to see me. “I’m fine. I’ve had this illness for quite some time already. I prefer to rest at home. I don’t like to be in the hospital.”
I sighed as I failed to convince her. “You need to take good care of yourself, especially now that you’re all alone. We have to accept that some things cannot be changed and carry on with our lives. You have to hang in there.”
She stopped her movement, turned to look at me, and replied, “Her name is Carmen.”
I was taken aback for a moment before I regained my senses and asked, “Did you manage to contact her parents? To compensate for the guilt you hold, why don’t you help to take care of her parents?”
She shook her head while her eyes started to turn red. “No. She’s an orphan. Dad brought her back from the orphanage. Her parents abandoned her at a young age, so Dad decided to let her stay with us.”
Orphanage?
Could it be that the child that Armond had been searching for came from the orphanage instead?
“Do you know which orphanage she came from?” That could be a clue as there would be records of the adoption at the orphanage.
She went through it in her head thoroughly and nodded. “Carmen never told me about it. She only briefly mentioned that she was from an orphanage.”
“Does your Dad know?” Hailey’s father might have gotten in touch with Armond. It could save a lot of trouble if he could stand in as a witness.
Hailey shook her head. “That, I don’t know.”
I stared at her in silence and asked, “Hailey, do you hate Armond?”
She was startled by my question. She looked at me with utter confusion.
“We must get the criminals arrested. If we do not report him, there might be countless victims in the future. You want the same too, right?”
She thought about it for a moment. “What are you planning?”
I knew that we had to keep certain things to ourselves. However, it’s only right for people to pay for their crimes. “Could you bring me to your father? He could be a critical witness.”
Her face turned pale. “No way. If he confesses everything, he might never be able to get out of jail for the rest of his life. I don’t wish to ruin his life. Neither should you.”
As she narrowed her eyes, I pursed my lips and said, “I totally understand how you feel. However, deep down, you know that your father is in the wrong, and he has to take responsibility for it somehow. If he keeps silent, Armond will continue to harm more kids. Do you want another incident like Carmen’s?”
“Please leave. I don’t wish to hear more of what you have to say. Scar, you’re too selfish; you only think for yourself. He’s still my father, and I can’t bear to let him stay in jail for the rest of his life. Leave! I would never agree to it.”
She was getting emotional and shoved me out of the ward. I had no chance to speak.
I understood that it was hard for her to face something like that. She was right. I lacked consideration for her feelings. Furthermore, the only family member she had left was her father.
I returned to Summer’s ward. I was startled as she was not there. I tugged at Cameron’s sleeve and asked anxiously, “Mom, where’s Summer? Did her condition worsen again?”
Cameron patted my shoulder, hinting for me to calm down. “Don’t worry. She’s fine. The doctor suggested for her to be quarantined in the disinfected chamber. We can visit her once in the morning and once at night.”
I let out a sigh of relief. My heart ached as I saw Amy asleep at the bedside. She must have been anxious since the day she had first been there. I felt apologetic towards her as I had no energy and time to be there for her.
“Have you contacted the child’s legitimate guardian? The hospital would require their signature before proceeding with the surgery. It had not been easy to find a suitable donor. Let’s hope to resolve this quickly.” Cameron whispered, “This child is too skinny. I’m worried that she might not be able to recover from the surgery. We need to nourish her to prevent any side effects post-surgery.”
I pursed my lips, nodded, and looked at Cameron. “Mom, we might need to postpone the surgery. Firstly, Amy’s body is too frail. No matter how much we love Summer, it’s not fair for us to make use of another child like that. I bought a house in A City and hired a nanny who is a great cook. Let’s wait for her health to improve before we even consider the surgery. Secondly, I need to find a way to register her birth. For that, I need to head to the village. It’ll take some time, so we need to postpone the surgery.”
“But will this affect Summer’s illness?” Cameron asked in a worried tone.
I was worried too, but we should not look back since we already reached this stage. “Mom, We need to have faith in Summer. She’ll recover for sure!”
We had no other option.
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Regardless, what’s important is for Summer to be healthy again.”
I nodded in agreement. “Mom, don’t worry. I won’t let anything bad happen to Summer.”
As she nodded, her gaze landed on my tummy. “Your tummy is growing by the day. Have you ever seen any pregnant ladies as haggard as you? You need to take better care of yourself.”
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.
Leave a Reply