Chapter 18: There Is a Bomb in the Ward
Esme watched as everyone gathered around Catherine, fussing over her with concern. She felt both angry and jealous.
She was also a daughter of the Windsor family - why didn't she get this kind of treatment?
Catherine was examined from head to toe by the whole family.
Bethany looked at Esme, who was still standing there, and waved her hand dismissively: "Esme, Catherine's back now, you can go."
Esme swallowed the tears welling up in her eyes and left reluctantly.
This was all Catherine's fault!
Why did she have to come back and take everything away from her?
Esme rushed straight to Lila's hospital room. As soon as she entered, she threw herself beside Lila and started crying.
"Grandma, what did I do wrong? I saw Catherine get kidnapped and rushed back to tell Mom and Dad. I even broke my phone, but they didn't believe me and sent me away!"
Lila opened her eyes, a sharp gleam in her alert gaze.
"You're saying Catherine was kidnapped?"
"Yes, and I saw those kidnappers touching her inappropriately and even taking off her clothes."
Disgust and excitement flashed in Lila's eyes!
She frowned and spoke slowly: "The Windsor family doesn't want someone who's been tainted. Esme, remember this - you are the Windsor family's only granddaughter, understand?"
Esme was thrilled!
"But what about Mom and Dad..."
"I'm not dead yet. I still have the final say in the Windsor family."
Lila patted Esme's hand, her face wrinkling into a smile. "You need to secure the engagement with the Howard family. Once you marry into that family, you'll forever be the Windsor family's only daughter!"
Esme's eyes lit up!
Right, the engagement between the Windsor family and the Howard family!
She had grown up in the Windsor family, trained in every way to be a proper daughter of a prestigious family. Once Alexander saw her, he would surely know she was the most suitable match for him.
Catherine was just a girl from the countryside - what right did she have to compete?
Once she married Alexander, both the Windsor family and the Howard family would be hers!
"Grandma, I'll work hard. I'll go visit Felix right away! Once Felix likes me, Alexander will know I'm the best choice. I won't let you down."
Lila smiled with satisfaction.
Esme had been gentle, sweet, and considerate since childhood. As for Juniper and Catherine, neither was worthy of being her granddaughter!
Bright Heal Hospital
As soon as Catherine entered the hospital, she received an encrypted call from the island at The Azure Ocean.
"Boss, a new batch of assassins has arrived. Something feels off this time. Phantom Crew has been making some big moves lately. Word is they've connected with Eli from the dark web over at Sunhaven Isles."
Eli - the drug lord operating in the darkest corners of the dark web!
He controlled the largest poppy fields and mercenary groups around Sunhaven Isles, topped Interpol's most wanted list, and had always been a mysterious figure.
Catherine frowned slightly: "No wonder Phantom Crew is so aggressive. Looks like they want to expand their market in Stellara. Use my account to contact Interpol and give them this information for free."
"Yes."
As she put away her phone, her message notification started flashing.
Nightfall: "Eli and Phantom Crew have joined forces. Some medical staff at Bright Heal Hospital have been bought off. Be careful."
Why was he telling her all this?
Was he addicted to sending her information?
Getting this kind of intelligence required using the most core resources of their respective organizations. The fact that Nightfall just handed over what he'd found made Catherine feel a bit flustered.
As soon as she walked into the hospital room, Catherine heard Marcus's loud voice: "Don't you dare take back that move! Stop playing dead and get up!"
"Grandpa."
Marcus was holding some chess pieces. When he turned and saw Catherine, his face lit up with joy.
"Come, come, Catherine! This is Felix Howard."
"Hello, Mr. Howard."
When Felix saw Catherine, his headache and backache instantly disappeared. He sat up in bed right away, his eyes shining as he looked at Catherine.
Beautiful features, elegant and poised, graceful in manner - and most importantly, she had an extraordinary presence.
"Good, good, very good! I've finally met my grandson's wife."
Catherine fell silent.
Grandson's wife?
She lowered her eyes, her lashes trembling slightly. The dust particles in the air seemed to freeze before her. The next second, Catherine looked up at Marcus seriously.
"Something's wrong with this room. It wasn't like this when I came yesterday."
Marcus was a bit surprised, but since Catherine said so, he chose to trust her unconditionally.
"You investigate, I'll cover for you. Come on, Felix, let's keep playing."
Felix had no mind for chess now. His eyes were full of his future granddaughter-in-law, practically glued to Catherine.
He was so satisfied!
Felix had some reservations about Esme before - she was pretty, sure, but she lacked substance and wasn't quite qualified to be Alexander's wife.
As for Juniper, Felix liked her too, but thinking about the quiet Juniper standing next to the taciturn Alexander gave him a headache.
Catherine was perfect, absolutely perfect!
Catherine carefully searched the room, not missing a single corner.
She had once worked with Interpol to catch an arms dealer using her uncanny profiling abilities, earning her the title of honorary ally from Interpol.
Tapping the floor with her knuckles, Catherine's brow furrowed.
"Something's wrong here."
Marcus put down his chess pieces and got out of bed, putting on his coat.
One floorboard was clearly hollow. When they lifted it, they found a bomb hidden underneath!
The countdown on the bomb showed only two minutes left!
Marcus turned pale with shock. He grabbed Catherine and tried to push her out: "Go quickly! If there's a bomb here, it's not safe outside either. Catherine, my life doesn't matter, but nothing can happen to you!"
Felix had also been through serious situations and nodded: "Right, Catherine, you go. We'll protect you!"
Catherine remained silent.
Did she say she was leaving?
"I can defuse this bomb. Let me handle it."
Marcus didn't hesitate and immediately handed over the situation to Catherine.
Catherine crouched down, picked up small scissors from the room, held her breath, and began examining the bomb.
She'd defused bombs plenty of times before. The bomb in front of her was a standard BLU-3/B, a type of aerial bomb with very high destructive power in a small area.
This modified pineapple bomb was powerful enough to level the entire Bright Heal Hospital!
Cotton padding was placed under the bomb. Catherine lifted the bomb directly, turned the tail end toward her, reached in to remove the T-shaped safety pin, and the tail fins immediately spread open. The scissors in her hand quickly inserted into the compression hole.
"Done."
Marcus could barely contain his smile!
"Good, good, excellent!"
Felix was equally pleased. Before he could say what he wanted to say, he clutched his chest and collapsed!
Marcus was startled. Just as he reached for the call button, he saw Catherine frown, looking at him seriously and earnestly.
"The medical staff outside aren't safe. We can't hand Felix over to them."
Marcus was a man who had weathered many storms and understood this principle.
He was just panicking because he saw Felix collapse.
Catherine spoke calmly and steadily: "I can treat Felix's condition."