Chapter 259
Caroline lifted her head. The driver's sinister expression made her entire body tense.
"I've already called the police," she said. "Take me back now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened."
"I've also sent my location to the police. Whoever's behind this might walk away clean, but if you get caught, there's no way you'll escape punishment."
She didn't have many enemies. Heidi and her associates were already in prison. The only person capable of pulling something like this was Richard—no one else.
When the driver remained silent, she softened her tone.
"Whatever Richard Morris is paying you, I can match it. Take me back, and I'll pretend I never saw you today."
"Whatever's between Richard and me doesn't need to drag a stranger like you into it and land you in prison."
The driver pulled over to the side of the road. Caroline let out a quiet breath of relief and was about to get out when the driver beat her to it, yanking open the back door.
"If you want to leave me here, that's fine. I can call a friend to pick me up. You can go—I won't mention you to anyone."
She offered the suggestion earnestly, but the driver just stared at her, his eyes ice-cold.
Caroline's stomach dropped.
Sure enough, the next second, the driver snatched her phone right out of her hands.
The man's strength was overwhelming. Caught off guard, the phone flew from her grip as the driver flung it aside. Her expression shifted, and she instinctively reached out to grab it.
But the driver had already shoved her hard, pushing her entire body back onto the seat. The pain from the earlier violent collision hadn't even faded, and now, treated so roughly again, Caroline's head slammed into the edge of the car seat once more.
For a moment, not only did her head feel like it was splitting apart, but she also struggled to catch her breath.
The driver didn't care about any of that. After confirming she had nothing else on her, he slammed the door shut and, before Caroline could recover, started the car again, preparing to drive off.
Caroline bit down hard on her tongue, ignoring the throbbing pain at the back of her head. She yanked open the door and, without caring that the driver was already accelerating, threw herself out of the moving vehicle.
Her body hit the ground and rolled several times. The fabric of her clothes tore, and her skin burned with raw, stinging pain.
She'd jumped so suddenly that the driver didn't react in time.
By the time he realized Caroline had bailed out and slammed on the brakes, preparing to turn back and grab her, another car came barreling up from behind, ramming straight into the side of his vehicle. It didn't stop there—it kept pushing, forcing his car into the ditch alongside the road.
The driver was still trapped in the driver's seat, with no time to get out. The impact made his heart lurch violently. He was completely dazed, as if the shock had knocked the breath right out of him.
Once Arthur confirmed the vehicle couldn't get back on the road, he finally got out of his car, ran to Caroline's side, and scooped her up in his arms.
"Are you out of your mind? Who the hell taught you to jump out of a moving car?"
He'd been chasing close behind, and when he saw Caroline throw herself out of that car, his heart had damn near stopped.
Caroline stared at him, momentarily stunned. "Why is it you?"
Wasn't Alton supposed to be her emergency contact? How had Arthur found her here?
"Why shouldn't it be me? Even if you don't value your own life, you should think about the two kids. They're so young—they can't lose their mother!"
Arthur's face was dark as he tore into her.
The security detail's car pulled up behind them. The driver had been trying to make a move toward Caroline, but Arthur's bodyguards immediately surrounded him, catching him red-handed.
Arthur carried Caroline to the other car. Without giving her any say in the matter, he barked out, "To the hospital."
Caroline wasn't really injured—just scrapes from when her clothes had torn during the jump. There was some blood, which made it look worse than it actually was. It didn't hurt that much, honestly.
She shook her head. "These are just surface wounds. I don't need—"
Before she could finish, Arthur's icy glare cut her off, and she fell silent.
Arthur was clearly furious.
"If you're injured, you go to a doctor. End of discussion."
"Or has that little company of yours already burned through all your money, leaving you unable to afford even a hospital visit?"
Caroline shook her head. "That's not what I meant."
She was already divorced from Arthur. She didn't want to trouble him anymore—it always made her feel like she owed him something.
Arthur's tone was cold, his attitude unyielding. "Then you'll go to the hospital and keep your mouth shut."
"The card I gave you in the divorce settlement has twenty million dollars on it. If that's not enough, I'll add more. And from now on, I'll have my secretary deposit money into it every month—consider it spousal support. You don't need to worry about running out of money."
Caroline's lips parted slightly. She thought she must have heard him wrong.
"Who gives their ex-wife spousal support? You're the one raising both kids..."
By all rights, she should be the one paying him child support for the two kids.
"You spent all those years as a stay-at-home mom taking care of the kids. This support is what you deserve."
Arthur's stance was unusually firm.
Caroline shook her head. "Fine, I'll go to the hospital. But forget the support. I'm perfectly capable of working and supporting myself. I don't need you taking care of me."
She wasn't a child who couldn't take care of herself. There was no way she'd reached the point of needing her ex-husband's financial support.
Arthur glanced at her but said nothing.
After examining her, the doctor agreed with Caroline's assessment.
"Just some minor scrapes. Use some standard antiseptic spray, keep the wounds dry, and they'll heal in a few days."
Caroline knew perfectly well. She nodded at Arthur. "I'm a doctor myself. I know my own condition."
After the doctor finished, Arthur's tightly drawn expression finally eased a bit. He nodded.
"Change into these clothes. I'll take you home."
At some point, he'd prepared a fresh set of clothes—perfectly sized for Caroline.
They were casual and comfortable too, loose enough that they wouldn't constantly brush against her wounds. Actually quite comfortable.
Caroline thanked him. "How much were they? I'll transfer you the money."
"Don't worry about the money. If you really want to thank me, spend more time with the kids."
Knowing Caroline's personality, Arthur didn't just refuse outright—instead, he made a different request.
Caroline fell silent for a moment before nodding. "I will."
It wasn't until they reached her place that Caroline finally remembered something that had been bothering her.
"So, wasn't Alton supposed to be my emergency contact? Why were you the one who showed up?"
She'd already asked once when she first saw Arthur, but he hadn't answered then. Now, the more she thought about it, the more off it seemed. She stared him down, waiting for an explanation.
Arthur looked away. "The kids grabbed your phone that day when I had dinner at your place and changed it themselves. It has nothing to do with me."
Caroline was so exasperated that she almost laughed. Did the kids change her emergency contact on their own? Yeah, right—did he think she was born yesterday?
Her expression toward Arthur immediately soured.