Chapter 388

Chapter 388

With Matthew here, Nolan naturally had no reason to stay.

"I'll head back now, Mrs. Spencer." Nolan took his leave from Maria. "If Willow wakes up, please let me know."

Maria agreed.

After Nolan left, only Maria and Matthew remained in the hospital room.

Matthew was reviewing Willow's medical records from this period.

Maria's voice rang out in the room. "Matthew, do me a favor."

Matthew heard something unusual in Maria's tone and turned to look at her in confusion.

Maria walked to the bedside, looking at her granddaughter who remained unconscious.

"After Willow wakes up, help me buy two tickets," Maria said. "I'm taking Willow away."

Matthew's hand paused mid-page.

Maria turned to look at him. "The Lancaster family and the Brown family can't know about this. You should be able to handle that, right?"

Matthew's expression tightened. "I think you should ask Willow what she wants first. She may not want to leave, and besides..."

Maria cut him off. "It's precisely because I listened to her opinion that I had to watch her end up lying here."

Thinking of the scene where Willow had blocked the knife for Kaitlyn that day, Maria's heart still ached unbearably.

Matthew wanted to persuade her further.

But Maria didn't give him a chance to speak. "If you won't help me, I'll find a way myself. No matter what, I won't let Willow have contact with them again!"

Seeing Maria so stubborn, Matthew had no choice.

"I'll do it." He agreed.

Maria emphasized again, "The Lancaster family and the Brown family cannot know about this."

Matthew said, "Mrs. Spencer, Willow has already acknowledged the Brown family, and it's been made public. If you take Willow away without their knowledge, they can report it to the police."

Although he also didn't want Willow to have contact with those people, he felt Willow's opinion should take priority.

But Maria clearly didn't think so. "Then let them call the police! If they dare, let the police take me away! They have power and influence anyway. Let the police arrest me, and we'll see if Willow chooses them or me!"

Matthew sighed helplessly. "Please calm down. Don't make yourself ill. Willow will worry about your health when she wakes up."

Maria took several heavy breaths, looking down at her granddaughter on the hospital bed, and said nothing more.

On the bed, though Willow hadn't woken up yet, it was as if she heard their conversation—her brow furrowed slightly.

Neither of them noticed.

On the third day at dawn, Willow woke up.

The moment she opened her eyes, her thoughts hadn't yet fully returned when she heard Maria's voice.

"Matthew, Willow's awake."

She didn't know if it was her imagination, but Maria's voice sounded like she had made some kind of decision.

Next came Matthew's voice. "I know."

Know what?

Willow endured the waves of dull pain in her chest and looked at the two people by the bed.

Immediately, she noticed Maria's pale complexion.

During the days she had been unconscious, Maria had stayed by her bedside almost constantly. Only when persuaded by Nolan and Matthew would she reluctantly go to sleep for a while, but each time only for a few hours before quickly returning to keep her company.

At this moment, Maria's complexion made her look more like a patient than Willow herself.

"Grandma," Willow's eyes were full of concern. The prolonged unconsciousness had made her voice very hoarse.

Maria gently stroked her hair. "Shh, sweetheart, don't talk. I'm taking you away right now."

Willow vaguely felt something was wrong, but had no extra energy to think about it.

Her body was protesting discomfort everywhere. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, much less what had happened during that time.

Before falling asleep again, Willow looked around the hospital room and didn't see Sterling, feeling another wave of unease.

Why wasn't he here?

Even Matthew was here, so where had Sterling gone?

What exactly had happened while she was unconscious?

Meanwhile.

In the high-rise apartment.

Outside was pitch black, but the study in the apartment was brightly lit.

Sterling sat at his desk, absentmindedly working on his computer.

Luke was curled up at his feet, sleeping soundly.

Suddenly, Sterling felt a palpitation and unconsciously stopped what he was doing.

At the same time, Luke opened his eyes, stood up from the floor, shook his head, and barked twice at Sterling.

Sterling frowned and looked down at him. "You felt it too?"

Luke couldn't understand what he was saying, only anxiously turning in circles on the floor, constantly scratching at it with his paws.

Sterling glanced at the sky outside that hadn't yet brightened, then checked the time and pulled out his phone to call the hospital.

The other end answered almost immediately.

"Has she woken up?" Sterling asked in a low voice.

The voice replied, "The family hasn't come to find me. Probably not yet."

Then the person said to Sterling, "If you're worried, should I have someone go check?"

Sterling thought for a moment. "Yes, please."

The doctor found a nurse and, under the guise of making rounds, went to the hospital room.

A few minutes later, the doctor's voice came through the phone. "No."

When the nurse went over, the reactions of both family members didn't suggest that Willow had ever woken up.

Sterling's brow furrowed slightly. "I see."

After hanging up, watching the gradually brightening sky, he still felt a sense of unease.

As soon as dawn broke, Henry received his call.

"Bring Adeline and go to the hospital now." Sterling was already sitting in his car.

Henry was also getting dressed, planning to go to the hospital.

He had suddenly woken up in the middle of the night, feeling something wasn't quite right, worried that something had happened with Willow.

However, hearing Sterling so naturally tell him to pick up Adeline, Henry couldn't help but complain. "We're only engaged, not married. Am I her chauffeur?"

Sterling hung up directly.

Henry clicked his tongue and called Adeline.

After explaining the situation, Adeline didn't say much and quickly agreed, indicating she would rush over as soon as possible.

The three of them each left from their homes.

Sterling and Henry arrived at the hospital at almost the same time.

The two went straight up to the hospital room.

When they reached the door, both felt something odd simultaneously.

Sterling stepped forward and knocked.

They waited for a while. There was no sound from inside.

"What's going on?" Henry frowned. "Is Mrs. Spencer still not awake? What about Mr. Scott? At least one of them should be keeping watch, right?"

He looked through the glass in the door. There wasn't a single person inside.

A nurse happened to come up for rounds.

The two followed the nurse inside.

The hospital room was completely empty.

The bed where Willow had been lying had already been made up. There was no sign of Willow.

"Where is she?" Sterling's expression darkened immediately.

Beside him, Henry's face also looked terrible.

Willow was still ill. If something else happened to her, how would he explain it to his parents at home?