Chapter 127 Serious Psychological Injury
Everything had spiraled completely out of control, and the Wilson family had suffered terrible losses this time.
And all of this was because of Ava. It was Ava who had ruined his entire family.
Oscar was filled with rage.
His angry voice drew quite a crowd of onlookers.
He seemed to think that with so many people watching, the Thomas family wouldn't dare do anything to him, so he spoke more and more boldly.
"Ava, this is all your fault. You've destroyed our family. It's all because of you. You only lost a daughter, but look at everything we've lost. What our family has paid is more than enough to make up for your daughter's life!" Oscar shouted.
Joshua and Ava both looked up at the same time, their cold eyes sweeping toward Oscar.
Oscar didn't notice their icy stares at all and kept going.
"How dare you!"
A stern, angry roar rang out.
Victor sat in his wheelchair—no one knew when he'd arrived. His face was dark. "Harming the Thomas family's descendants—your entire family wouldn't be enough to pay for that, yet you still dare to act so arrogant here. Hayden, have someone throw them out."
Hayden clenched his fists. "Yes, Grandfather."
Oscar panicked. "Mr. Thomas, you can't be so heartless. This woman destroyed my family. Can't I even seek justice?"
"Justice?" Victor sneered, his powerful presence instantly radiating outward. "My great-granddaughter is still lying in that hospital bed barely alive. Who will give her justice? Who did she offend? Why should she suffer like this because of you? You want to settle accounts? The Thomas family is ready to go all the way with you."
Oscar was immediately silenced by Victor's intimidating presence.
Suddenly, a doctor's excited voice came from the hospital room.
"Ms. Davis, Cleo is awake!"
Ava froze. Everyone froze. All eyes turned toward the hospital room.
Ava was the first to rush in. "Cleo."
Cleo on the hospital bed had her eyes half-open. She blinked, her eyes moving slightly in their sockets before settling on Ava.
A glimmer of brightness instantly returned to Ava's eyes, and tears poured out. "Cleo, Cleo, it's me."
Ava was both shocked and overjoyed, quickly checking all the instrument readings.
Ava didn't know how to describe what she was feeling at that moment.
"Mr. Thomas, Ms. Davis, Cleo has passed the critical period." The doctor was also incredibly excited.
Joshua held Ava tight, the weight on his chest instantly lifting. "Thank God, thank God. Cleo is okay."
Ava hugged Joshua back just as tightly, crying. "Yes, Cleo is okay. Cleo is okay."
Outside the hospital room, Mia's eyes widened, her shoulders suddenly slumping.
The Wilson family had paid such a huge price.
And they hadn't managed to kill anyone.
So Katya died for nothing? The Wilson family mansion burned down for nothing!
Over the next few days, Ava stayed in the hospital room with Cleo as always. A week later, Cleo passed the observation period and could be moved to a regular room. The oxygen mask could also be removed from her face.
Everyone gathered around Cleo. Cleo's big bright eyes moved back and forth in their sockets, looking at everyone.
"Cleo, I'm your uncle."
"Cleo, I'm your grandmother."
"Cleo..."
"Cleo..."
Cleo just stared at them blankly without saying anything, her eyes unfamiliar.
"Cleo, do you want some water?" Ava asked gently.
Cleo's eyes turned to Ava and she nodded.
Ava brought warm water and helped Cleo drink. After a few sips, Cleo shook her head to indicate she'd had enough.
"Cleo, would you like me to tell you a story?" Finn leaned against Cleo's hospital bed.
Cleo blinked and slowly nodded.
Ava looked at Cleo with concern. While everyone was keeping Cleo company, Ava went out to find Cleo's attending physician.
"Cleo hasn't said a single word since waking up. What's going on?"
The attending physician adjusted his glasses and sighed slightly. "It's hard to say. The child may have been extremely frightened when she was kidnapped, and with such serious injuries, this has caused great psychological harm to such a young child, which is why she doesn't want to speak."
"Is this just temporary?" Ava frowned deeply.
"Hard to say. We need to observe for a while. You parents also need to spend more time with the child. That will help with her physical and mental recovery."
"I understand. Thank you, doctor." Ava nodded.
Just as she walked out of the doctor's office, she saw Hayden rushing out to find her. Ava quickly walked over. "What's wrong?"
"Ava, Cleo can't see you and won't stop crying. You need to go back quickly." Ava hurried back at a jog.
Cleo was surrounded by a group of people trying to comfort her, but she'd cried until her voice was hoarse. Her little face was red from crying, her eyes wet—she looked so pitiful. Ava's heart immediately tightened. She quickly picked up Cleo and soothed her. "Cleo, don't cry. Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Seeing Ava return, Cleo stopped crying. Her little hands held Ava tightly, as if she never wanted to let go.
Ava's heart ached. She tried asking, "Cleo, what's wrong? Can you tell me?"
Cleo nestled in Ava's arms, completely unwilling to speak.
Ava looked at everyone's worried faces, her own face full of concern.
After coaxing Cleo to sleep, Ava put her back on the bed. Ursa motioned for Ava to follow her out.
Ava followed Ursa outside.
Ursa didn't have as much anger toward Ava as before. She asked calmly, "What's going on with Cleo? She hasn't spoken a word since waking up."
Obviously everyone had noticed this about Cleo. Ava let out a heavy breath. "The doctor said Cleo was frightened and traumatized. She doesn't want to talk right now. She can only recover slowly."
Ursa frowned with concern. Just as Ava expected Ursa to blame her, she heard Ursa sigh softly. "Poor child. That damned Katya. I really misjudged her. How dare she harm a Thomas family child."
Ava said nothing.
"These days have been hard on you too. Now that Cleo is sleeping, I'll watch her here. Go back and rest. You can't keep going like this."
The rare caring tone left Ava somewhat surprised.
Seeing Ava looking at her, Ursa felt a bit embarrassed and avoided eye contact a couple times. "I'm not concerned about you. I'm just worried you won't have the energy to take care of the child later. Okay, stop standing there. Go back quickly."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me. I was too hasty before, too harsh with my words. You know I've always been someone who says what's on my mind. When I blamed you before, that was my mistake. I should thank you. Thank you for raising Finn and Cleo for the Thomas family..."
"Mom!" Suddenly a sharp voice rang out.
The two turned to see Joshua striding over quickly. He pulled Ava close, looking at Ursa warily. "What are you doing?"
Ursa was almost amused by Joshua's expression. "Joshua! I'm not going to eat her alive."
"Can't be sure." Joshua's face was cold.
Ursa was quite angry.
Joshua looked down at Ava, his eyes questioning.
Seeing this, Ava quickly said, "Mrs. Thomas didn't do anything. She was concerned about me and wanted me to go back and rest. You don't need to be nervous."
Only after hearing Ava's explanation did Joshua relax.
Ursa said indignantly, "You hear that? Stop acting like I'm going to eat her alive all the time. Okay, stop standing around. Take her back to rest. I'm worried that when Cleo wakes up, she'll pass out again."
Ursa turned and entered the hospital room, deliberately leaving space for the two of them.
Joshua thought Ursa was right. "I'll take you back to rest."
Ava glanced at the hospital room. Cleo wouldn't wake up for a while, so she nodded.
Joshua took Ava back to the apartment. Joshua was probably still dealing with company matters—he'd been on the phone the whole ride.
Ava noticed Joshua kept rubbing his temples, and the area under his tired eyes had turned dark, clearly signs of not resting for a long time.
These past days Joshua had been running between the hospital and the company, staying with her and comforting her. He'd definitely had very little rest.
Joshua personally tucked Ava in, speaking gently. "Get some sleep. I still have things to do, so I'm leaving. If you need to go to the hospital, don't go alone. Call me or have Hayden pick you up."
"Joshua."
Ava called out to Joshua in a daze.
Joshua looked back at her. "What is it?"
"Do you... do you want to sleep here for a while too?"