The air went still, thick with unspoken tension.
Scarlett turned slowly, her movements heavy and deliberate,
Their eyes met, and Briony felt her heart plummet.
Scarlett stared at her, disbelief etched deep into eyes still swollen and red from days of weeping.
“How is this possible…” Scarlett shook her head, let out a hollow, humorless laugh, then whipped around to glare at Quentin, her voice trembling with fury. “Why? Why is this about Bryn?”
Quentin just smiled, cold and unrepentant. “Because I can’t stand her,” he replied, his tone casual, almost flippant. “I don’t want to see Briony happy. So anyone close to her–anyone she cares about–I’ll make sure they pay for it.”
“That’s your reason?” Scarlett’s laugh broke apart into sobs, tears streaming down her face. “Quentin! I’ll kill you! You bastard-!”
Scarlett screamed and launched herself at Quentin, but a pair of officers caught her just in time, holding her back as she thrashed in their arms.
Quentin watched her unravel, then threw his head back and laughed, wild and triumphant.
It was too much for Scarlett. Her body crumpled, and she fainted dead away.
Ableson and the police hurried to get her to the hospital.
As Quentin was being led away to the holding cells, he fixed Briony with a chilling, venomous grin. Even with his hands cuffed, he managed to drag a finger across his throat in a grotesque, mocking threat.
James’s fists clenched at the sight; he looked ready to lunge, but Briony grabbed his arm, stopping him.
The two of them stepped out of the police station, James seething. “That Quentin is a real piece of work. All that charm–just a mask for a monster.”
Briony said nothing.
James paused, then glanced over his shoulder and realized she’d fallen behind, her head bowed, lost in thought.
He sighed. “Don’t let what Quentin said get to you. He was trying to provoke you, that’s all.”
Briony looked up, shaking her head. “It’s something about this doesn’t add up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I barely know Quentin–we’ve hardly ever spoken. His hatred for me is so… sudden.” She frowned, thinking aloud. “And he’s Rosita’s stepbrother.”
James’s eyes widened as the pieces began to fall into place. “You think this is about Rosita?”
“I’m not sure. We don’t have any proof.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” James muttered, stroking his chin. “But Quentin’s the heir to the Lockwood family. He runs the whole estate now. Would he really risk everything just to settle a score for Rosita?”
“That’s what I keep asking myself,” Briony replied. “They’re not even real siblings. Even if they were, how many brothers would throw away their future just to help their sister get revenge?”
“Good point…” James frowned. “It’s strange, isn’t it? The head of the Lockwoods, throwing his life away over something so… petty?”
Briony nodded. “Exactly. There has to be something else going on, something we don’t know.”
1/2
19:36
υπαρισι αυτ
“If that’s true, then Rosita’s definitely not as simple as she looks. Should we-”
James was interrupted by Briony’s phone ringing.
She’d purposely switched off silent mode these past few days, tetrified she might miss any news about Stella,
It was Dr. Cedric Clarke.
Briony answered immediately. “Dr. Clarke?”
“We just landed,” Cedric said. “We’re heading to Horizon Health Institute now.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She hung up, and she and James rushed out toward the hospital.
The Lockwood Hospital had fallen on hard times after Quentin’s scandal; the atmosphere was tense and
uncertain.
In the ambulance, Scarlett woke up sobbing in Ableson’s arms, crying out for her daughter.
Ableson’s heart broke for her, and he did his best to comfort her as they sped toward the hospital.
Just before they arrived, Ableson’s phone rang. It was Cedric Clarke.
Stella had been found–and would be at the hospital soon. Ableson was overwhelmed with relief.
The moment they arrived, he and Scarlett rushed to the operating room.
Cedric Clarke and Stewart were waiting outside the doors.
“Dr. Clarke!” Scarlett nearly collapsed at his feet, making as if to kneel. Cedric, mortified, hurriedly pulled her
- up.
“Please, Mrs. Joyner, there’s no need for that. Please stand up!”
Scarlett shook her head, sobbing. “You saved Star’s life. The least I can do is thank you properly.”
“Really, you don’t need to say that,” Cedric said gently, glancing at her wan, devastated face. “Dr. Joyner still needs surgery. We won’t know anything until it’s over.”
Scarlett’s hands flew to her mouth, her whole body trembling. “Is she… is Star badly hurt?”
“Head injury, nearly drowned. Her condition is… not good.”
Scarlett’s knees gave out, and Ableson caught her just before she hit the floor.
“Stay strong, love,” he whispered, holding her close. “Star will come back to us. She knows we’re waiting for her. She wouldn’t leave us behind.”
Scarlett sobbed in his arms, inconsolable.
Cedric led them to a bench and urged them to sit while he stood sentinel outside the ER, unmoving.
Briony and James arrived to find Ableson and Scarlett already there; Briony instinctively slowed, hesitating. James glanced at her. “Something wrong?”
“I’d rather not go over,” Briony murmured. “We can wait here.”
James shot a look at Stewart, who was standing outside the ER. “Is this about your
ex–fiance?
“No.” Truthfully, Briony hadn’t even noticed Stewart until James mentioned it. She’d thought he would have no reason to be here now that Stella was found.
Clearly, Stewart and Cedric were closer than she’d realized.
Stewart noticed Briony, hesitated, then started walking toward them.
James rolled his eyes. “Does he have to act like we’re old friends?”
19:36
Chapter 240
