Chapter 113
Julian Thorne’s voice was so faint it was almost inaudible, so Vivian Sinclair had to lower her head even more, leaning close to his face.
Then she finally heard his lips barely moving: “Water p>
Water?
Did he want some water?
Vivian Sinclair immediately stood up: “Alright, wait for me p>
But just as she got up, a hand reached out and gently pulled her arm down.
Vivian’s body was out of her control as she was forced to sit back down, crashing heavily into Julian Thorne’s arms.
“What are you doing p>
A voice snapped angrily from behind her.
Vivian turned to see Truman standing grimly and furiously in the doorway, glaring at her like she was some scheming thief.
Vivian: p>
Now there was truly no way to explain herself.
Truman rushed in.
“Miss Sinclair p>
“What exactly are you doing p>
“Do you realize Mr. Thorne is not only injured but also burning with a high fever? What you just did could easily make his condition worse p>
“And even if you are an honored guest of the Thorne Family, that doesn’t mean you can just walk into Mr. Thorne’s room whenever you want, does it p>
Truman’s words were clear, blunt, almost harsh; his meaning was that Vivian had seriously overstepped.
Vivian was utterly helpless, and could only lift the arm that was still being held down.
“I didn’t want to hurt him p>
“It’s your Mr. Thorne who wanted water. Since you’re here, you should take care of him p>
“As for my status, sorry, I did cross a line p>
Vivian wasn’t thick-skinned.
Since the butler had called her out so openly, arguing further would only make her seem guilty of ulterior motives.
Anyway, Julian Thorne already had an entire medical team at his disposal; Vivian really had no reason to personally look after him here.
She finished speaking, freed herself from his grasp, then stood up to give Truman her seat.
Only then did Truman realize Vivian hadn’t simply flung herself into Julian Thorne’s arms.
An awkward embarrassment flickered across his face.
He suddenly remembered how hard his own attitude had just been—if Mr. Thorne woke up and found out, he’d surely be punished.
Yes, Truman might not want Mr. Thorne too close to Miss Sinclair, but he couldn’t deny how special she was to him.
“I was rude just now. I apologize, Miss Sinclair p>
Vivian merely nodded and, without another word, left Julian’s room.
A tinge of anxiety crept up in Truman’s heart.
No, things can’t go on like this.
If Miss Sinclair’s belly grows and outsiders discover how close she is with Mr. Thorne, the reputation of the entire Thorne Family will be ruined p>
Vivian was exhausted.
Back in her room, she washed up and lay down on the bed.
As much as what happened just now irked her, she wasn’t really taking it to heart.
After all, Truman was just the butler.
Who was she anyway?
Just a guest here to help treat Stella Thorne.
And between herself and Julian Thorne… there really shouldn’t be any more entanglement.
If this keeps going, she’s afraid things might spiral out of control p>
Vivian was just drifting off to sleep, when her phone suddenly vibrated.
She picked it up, suddenly much more awake.
Dr. Lyle?
Why was he calling so late?
Vivian sat up and answered: “Hello? Dr. Lyle, what’s going on at this hour p>
From the other end came frantic, ragged breathing, as if he was running; his reply to Vivian was broken and gasping: “Help—Miss Sinclair p>
“Someone… someone found us p>
“Nurse Young’s been taken p>
“Help me p>
“God, they’re here p>
“Ah p>
With Dr. Lyle’s anguished scream, Vivian was left completely stunned.
“Hello p>
“Hello p>
From the other end came a tremendous crash, like something breaking.
Then the line went dead.
Vivian tried calling again, but no matter what, she couldn’t get through.
Vivian knew Dr. Lyle must have gotten into trouble, so she immediately dialed a contact she had on that side—a senior from high school.
Back then, it was that senior whose contact she’d given Dr. Lyle, telling him to seek him out after he arrived in Zanthos.
The senior owned a hospital over there and had arranged for Dr. Lyle and Nurse Young to stay safely.
Luckily, the senior answered quickly.
Vivian immediately asked, “Senior p>
“Could you help me locate Dr. Lyle p>
Senior: “Vivian, I was just about to call you and you rang first p>
“Your friend is in trouble p>
“Someone somehow tracked down my hospital, and went straight to Dr. Lyle’s office to grab him p>
“Dr. Lyle managed to escape, but the nurse got caught p>
“I’m on my way to the police station right now. At least I’ve been here for several years; don’t worry—I’ve got some connections. I’ll do what I can to get them out p>
Vivian could only pin her hopes on her senior.
That night, she barely slept at all.
Barely made it through to morning, and by then Vivian had grown dark circles around her eyes.
She stared anxiously at her phone—finally, her senior called back.
“Vivian, I’m sorry p>
“These people are too powerful—even my contacts couldn’t stop them p>
“They’ve already taken Dr. Lyle and Nurse Young p>
“Vivian, if they’re after you, you need to be mentally prepared for what’s coming p>
With that, he hung up.
Vivian’s phone slipped out of her hands onto the floor.
Everything had happened so suddenly; she’d thought about it all night, but still couldn’t figure out who was behind it.
She’d heard recently that the hospital was investigating something.
She’d had Patrick Powell check into it, just in case her own secret had leaked.
But Patrick couldn’t find anything.
She really wasn’t strong enough—so she was at a disadvantage.
The Grant Family?
If Austin Grant found out the truth, he would definitely do something about the child in her belly!
But did he have the power?
The Sinclair Family?
The Sinclairs probably wouldn’t bother with this—it offered them no benefit.
Or… did Julian Thorne discover her secret?
She’d heard last time at the Thorne Family that the Madam was desperate for Julian to get married and have children, and had even tried drugging her own son just so she could have a grandchild.
Could they have realized the sperm was tampered with?
So now, the Grant Family and the Thorne Family were the prime suspects.
Vivian didn’t dare to think what would happen if her secret was exposed.
“Knock knock p>
Lina Holloway knocked on the door, “Miss Sinclair, are you awake p>
“Miss Stella isn’t doing well—Dr. Jason would like you to come over p>
Stella Thorne had another nightmare last night.
She woke up at three in the morning, then stayed hidden under the bed and refused to come out.
Not only that, she had gnawed all five fingers of her left hand until they were bloody.
“He’s here, he’s really here p>
“I don’t want to go out, don’t want to go out p>
No matter how the servants coaxed or persuaded her, Stella wouldn’t budge.
When Vivian rushed over, the family was discussing whether to simply lift the bed and move her.
Jason: “No p>
“That will only make her more afraid and unsettled p>
“The best approach is to let the person she’s most familiar with try to calm her nerves—that way her condition won’t worsen p>
When Vivian arrived, everyone stepped aside to let her through.
Jason said to Vivian, “Miss Sinclair, in Stella’s mind there’s always been a Demon King p>
“The Demon King is the imprint left by her childhood trauma p>
“Every time her condition gets worse, the Demon King appears and pushes her to the brink p>
“Last time, she set the room on fire because she saw the Demon King grinning evilly at her by the curtains, and lost control p>
“Miss Sinclair, only you might be able to coax her out this time p>
“If Stella comes out because of you, it would be a huge help to her recovery p>
Vivian nodded, and without hesitation, took Lina Holloway’s hand and knelt down.
Vivian wore only pajamas.
So her rounded belly was clearly visible, pushing up against the fabric.
Everyone watched as a pregnant woman crouched down on the floor.
But she quickly realized how uncomfortable that was, and simply sat cross-legged, leaning down to meet Stella’s eyes under the bed.
“Stella p>
“It’s Sister Sinclair p>
“Why don’t we go draw pictures together p>
“Sister Sinclair hasn’t seen Stella’s drawings in a few days. I want to see how much you’ve improved p>
“Let’s draw how the sun scatters over the grass, how dewdrops fall onto the earth, and how Stella rolls around on the grass, okay p>
“And, I’m already hungry p>
“Let’s go have breakfast? I heard there are crab roe soup dumplings—your favorite—this morning p>
“They’re full of crab roe, steaming hot, so fresh and delicious—too bad I can’t have any p>
“Will you eat a few extra ones for me p>
Stella’s lips quivered, on the verge of crying, her eyes filled with overpowering terror: “But Sister Sinclair…the Demon King is standing at the foot of my bed p>
“I’m so scared p>
“When he opens his mouth, his teeth are all sharp, and his tongue is so thin and long it can reach his chin p>
“I’m scared, I don’t dare come out…wuwu p>
Vivian reached out her hand: “We’ve already chased that Demon King away p>
“Otherwise, how could I dare come in p>
She didn’t deny the existence of the Demon King.
Instead, she chased the Demon King off in a different way.
As expected, Stella’s eyes instantly lit up at the idea.
“Really p>
Vivian: “Of course. Look how many people are here—in this room, if the Demon King was still around, wouldn’t we have all stomped him to death by now p>
“Come, let me pull you out p>
A slow smile spread over Stella’s face.
Looking at her Sister Sinclair, it was as if a dazzling beam of light broke out behind her and rushed straight into Stella’s eyes.
Stella finally ate her beloved crab roe soup dumplings.
Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief.
This was the first time after Stella had an episode that things ended up safely!
Even Truman said, “Miss Sinclair, thank you for your hard work p>
Vivian: “It’s part of the job p>
After all, she’d accepted the money.
But Vivian genuinely felt for Stella.
She hadn’t rested well last night, so she barely ate anything before heading back to her room to sleep.
Truman watched her leave, doubts growing heavier in his heart.
Was her sudden coldness because of his attitude yesterday?
But this morning, he’d received good news.
Maybe, now he could move on to the next phase of his plan p>