Holding Carlos' phone, Megan said to him, "Uncle Carlos, the reception in the room is bad. I'll take the call outside."
"Okay," Carlos responded.
Megan hung up the phone and walked out of the private booth. She was about to call Tristan again when Carlos' phone started ringing. It was an unknown number.
Megan stared at the number, wondering, 'Who's this? Why are they calling on Carlos' private number?' She decided to answer the call. "Hello?" she said.
At the other end of the line, Debbie recognized the girl's voice. She smiled bitterly and said, "Put my husband on the phone."
Megan had been nervous the whole afternoon, worrying that she would be held responsible if Debbie was dead. Now that she heard Debbie's voice, she heaved a sigh of relief. 'Thank God. She's not dead.'
"Uncle Carlos doesn't want to talk to you right now." Megan lowered her tone to a whisper. As far away as Carlos was, he was definitely out of earshot. The whisper was a voice that only she and Debbie could hear. The girl glanced around warily.
But Debbie wasn't happy. 'Doesn't want to talk to me? Who's this bitch to decide whom he talks to?!' "Put him on the phone!" Debbie demanded, balling her hands into fists. If Megan were standing in front of her right now, she would put one of those fists to good use—punching her in the face.
"Uncle Carlos is in a bad mood. He really doesn't want to talk to you. It took hours for me to make him smile even a little. Just leave him alone. Moreover, Uncle Carlos told me to answer the call for him. He even told me how to unlock his phone. Just go away."
"So… how do you unlock his phone?" Debbie doubted what she said. Anything Megan said was suspect at this point.
To her surprise, Megan recited the new password to get into Carlos' phone—Debbie's birthday. She'd set it only a few days ago. Now, she had to believe Megan was telling the truth. Heartbroken, she hung up the phone quickly.
But Megan's performance had only just begun. Still holding the phone to her ear, she pushed open the door to the private booth and said in a persuasive tone, "Aunt Debbie, hang on. Why don't you tell Uncle Carlos that yourself? Hello? Aunt Debbie?"
Carlos opened his eyes suddenly when he heard Megan's words. Megan showed him the conversation log while holding the phone with trembling hands. "Aunt Debbie called from an unknown number. I thought it was Tristan, so I answered it, but it turned out to be Aunt Debbie. She asked me to tell you that she wouldn't be home tonight and then hung up."
Carlos took the phone and glared at the number silently for a long moment before he called Debbie, but he didn't get through; it went straight to voice mail.
He hung up in disgust and then dialed the unknown number. A woman answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Where is Debbie Nian?" Carlos asked coldly.
"Oh, you mean the young girl who borrowed my phone? She left with her boyfriend."
'Boyfriend?' Carlos stood up abruptly from the couch. "Where did they go?"
The woman smiled. "I don't know. Her boyfriend carried her in his arms. It was so sweet. Lucky her! My husband and I were talking about the happy couple."
Jealousy and anger filled Carlos, replacing the disgust he had felt before. These were rawer and more powerful emotions, and Carlos was no stranger to them. In fact, he felt more powerful, more physically imposing when he was upset.
At the hospital, Debbie gave the phone back to the woman holding the baby. Just then, Hayden was back with the receipt after paying the bill.
Doctors were not far behind. "Deb, I asked them to get you a ward. Come with me," he said to her.
Sitting there, Debbie looked pale and felt groggy. She nodded to Hayden and attempted to stand up. However, a surge of dizziness forced her to thump back into the chair again.
Hayden scooped her up as soon as he noticed how weak she was. He made her comfortable in his arms and hurried towards the ward. The hospital had been packed with patients recently. There hadn't been a ward available in a long time. Right now, even the corridors of each floor were crammed with hospital beds.
After pulling some strings, Hayden managed to get Debbie into an upscale double ward.
When they got to the ward, Hayden placed Debbie on the bed carefully and tucked her in. A nurse took her temperature—39.6℃. A high fever.
In Orchid Private Club
Carlos couldn't be indifferent to Debbie, no matter how mad he was at her. He still cared for the woman, though sometimes he thought only God knew why.
"Find out where she is! Now!" he told Emmett on the phone. Emmett knew exactly who he referred to.
When he and his men found Debbie, it was already past midnight.
In the inpatient department of Y City Second General Hospital
A bunch of men in black stalked through the corridor, breaking the relative quiet of the hospital.
The man in charge looked grimly at the hospital beds on either side of the hallway. Imagining Debbie in such terrible surroundings, he quickened his already hasty pace.
Those menacing men drew most of their attention from the patients and their families. Their looks and presence made people wonder who they were and what they were doing there.
Emmett pushed open the door to a double ward, after which Carlos walked in steadily. There were two beds and four people inside.
A woman lay in the bed closer to the door, and a man sat next to it, head resting on the edge of the same bed, asleep. Carlos gave her a glance and walked on. She wasn't Debbie.
In the other bed lay a woman with a bandage around her head. She was in deep sleep. She was hooked up to an IV, a needle taped to her arm.
Hayden sat on the sofa beside the bed, working. Seeing Carlos walk in, he smiled at him but didn't speak.
The two men's eyes met. With a stern look on his face, Carlos said nothing to Hayden either. He strode over to the bed and stared at Debbie. She was the point. She was what he had come for.
Her face was a sickly red. The bandage around her forehead was blood-stained. The fluid in the infusion bottle was mostly gone.
Carlos promptly peeled back the tape and plucked the needle out of her wrist. Hayden stood up and tried to stop him, but Emmett walked over and kept him where he was.
When Carlos lifted the covers away, he saw that underneath, Debbie was only wearing hospital clothing. Quickly, he took off his overcoat and wrapped her tight. Without a word, he picked her up from the bed.
Maybe it was the warmth of his arms. Just then, Debbie slowly opened her eyes. In a blur, she thought she saw Carlos.
"Mr. Handsome…" she muttered. The ice around Carlos' heart melted. The tough man softened. The tenderness in his eyes went rogue. Nothing could conceal it anymore.
He lowered his head and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry, I'm getting you out of here." He was so gentle, so caring, Debbie thought she was having a beautiful dream. Slowly, she closed her eyes again. If she stayed in that dream, she would rather never open her eyes again.
Since the moment Carlos walked into the ward, Hayden hadn't been able to get much work done. He stood aside and watched Carlos' every move. Being a gentleman, before leaving, Carlos said to Hayden, "Thank you, Mr. Gu, for taking care of my wife tonight."
Hayden nodded in response.
The whole thing was done rather quietly. The other patient never stirred.
Onlookers gathered at the door as they left the ward.
The bodyguards cleared the way for them ahead, so Carlos and Debbie got to the parking lot without disturbance.
Emmett trotted to the car and opened the back door for him. After he and Debbie got in, Emmett sat in the passenger seat.
They were heading for an affiliated private hospital owned by ZL Group. A VIP ward that was three times as big had been arranged.
Two chief physicians along with a few nurses were waiting for them at the entrance to the intake department. They walked up as soon as Carlos' car arrived.
After a thorough examination, a doctor said to Carlos, "Nothing serious except the fever. The injury on her forehead was caused by some kind of blunt force. Looks unintentional. The bruises on her legs? Just scrapes."
Carlos reminded him with a furrow, "She's on her period. Be careful with the medicine. I don't want her harmed."
"Yes, Mr. Huo."
When everything was settled, it was already past 2 a.m. Carlos sent Emmett home to get some rest and he himself sat on the wide bed.
