Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Isabel winced as Thea gripped her wrist tightly, her face contorting in fear as she took a couple of steps back.

"You're hurting me," she whispered, her voice trembling as she looked at Thea with wide, frightened eyes.

Ignoring her plea, Thea advanced, cornering her against the shelves. "Is your mother Adeline? Where is she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

With that, Isabel suddenly bit down hard on Thea's wrist, causing Thea to cry out in pain.

As Thea's grip loosened, Isabel shoved her and quickly ran away.

Patricia had just finished paying when she heard a scream behind her, followed by the sound of something falling to the ground.

She turned around quickly to see Thea on the floor, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain, her face pale as a sheet.

Patricia rushed over to check on Thea, asking the store staff to call an ambulance.

Thea was sweating profusely from the pain.

The ambulance arrived quickly, and Thea was curled up on the stretcher, her hands clutching her abdomen tightly, cold sweat dripping down her face and soaking her hair.

Patricia sat in the seat next to her, holding Thea's hand tightly.

Thea's pale lips moved slightly, "Patricia..."

"Don't worry, everything will be okay," Patricia reassured her, her voice calm but with an undercurrent of urgency. "We're almost at the hospital. Don't be scared."

Thea nodded, biting her lip hard, unable to speak from the pain, clinging to Patricia's hand.

As soon as the ambulance stopped at the hospital entrance, nurses rushed over with a gurney, wheeling Thea into the emergency room.

Patricia followed, pulling out her phone to call Alvin.

It took two tries before Alvin answered, his voice slurred and mixed with loud music.

"Patricia... what's up?"

"Alvin," Patricia lowered her voice, not wanting Thea to hear, "Thea fell. I sent you the address. Get here now."

As she mentioned Alvin's name, Thea was wheeled into the emergency room, and the nurses blocked Patricia from entering.

On the other end, Alvin seemed to sober up instantly, shocked. "I'm on my way!"

Alvin hung up, and Patricia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before sending a text to Charles. Then she turned and walked to the emergency room waiting area.

She had just sat down when a nurse came out.

"The doctor is doing an ultrasound and fetal heart monitoring. We'll let you know as soon as we have the results."

About twenty minutes later, the nurse opened the door and let Patricia into the emergency room.

When she entered, Thea was leaning against the headboard, still looking pale and unfocused.

"The results aren't out yet. How are you feeling?" Patricia pulled up a chair and sat by the bed. "Did something happen while I was paying?"

Thinking of the little girl she had seen in the store, Thea's body trembled slightly, and she instinctively clutched the blanket tighter, avoiding Patricia's gaze.

"N-nothing... I just came out of the restroom, and my stomach suddenly hurt, and I accidentally fell."

"Accidentally fell?"

Patricia frowned, clearly not believing her.

Thea had been extremely careful since she got pregnant, always saying she wanted to use this baby to save her marriage with Alvin. She was so cautious that she would look three times before taking a step. How could she have fallen accidentally?

Thea's body trembled slightly, her hands clutching the blanket tighter. "N-nothing triggered it... I just suddenly had a stomachache, maybe from walking around the store too long."

Thea knew her excuse was flimsy, but she couldn't think of a better one.

Seeing that little girl had made her think Adeline was back, a miniature version of Adeline.

She glanced at Patricia, who was looking at her with concern, making Thea feel even more guilty.

She had been trying to make up for what she had done to Patricia, and their relationship had just started to improve. Now, this little girl had appeared out of nowhere.

If Patricia found out that Adeline was someone Charles could never forget, she would definitely fight with Charles and possibly divorce him.

She couldn't afford to offend Charles, but she didn't want to lose Patricia either.

Patricia's suspicion grew as she watched Thea.

The more Thea hid, the more Patricia felt something was off.

She knew Thea wasn't good at keeping secrets, but this time she wouldn't say anything. Patricia decided to hold off on questioning her, focusing on keeping Thea calm.

Protecting her baby was the priority; there would be time to ask questions later.

Just then, the door opened, and a mix of cheap perfume and hospital disinfectant wafted in.

Patricia wrinkled her nose as Alvin walked in, wearing a wrinkled suit and looking disheveled.

Patricia's face darkened as she stood in front of Thea. "Why are you so late, and what is that smell on you?"

Alvin froze, sniffing his clothes, his face turning red and white as he stammered, "I was at a business meeting... a client's date accidentally got perfume on me..."

"Business meeting?" Thea peeked out from behind Patricia, glaring at Alvin. "I didn't hear about any meeting today. Alvin, I ended up in the hospital, and you still had time for a meeting!"

Alvin, a playboy who knew nothing about business meetings, especially since he had no position at the Anderson Group!

"What kind of client gets perfume on you?" Thea spat, holding back her disgust. "Why don't you wait until I'm dead to come see me!"

Alvin's face flushed with embarrassment as he scratched his head in frustration. "I'm here now, aren't I? You're fine, aren't you?"

"Of course, you want me to be unwell. You can't wait for something to happen to me so you can bring your mistress in!"

"Are you crazy?"

Alvin suppressed his anger, ignoring Thea's provocation, and turned to Patricia. "Patricia, what did the doctor say? Is the baby okay?"

"The results aren't out yet. The doctor is still checking," Patricia said coldly. "Stay with her. I'll go order some food."

It was their marital issue, and Patricia didn't want to get too involved.

But Thea's attitude suggested she was hiding something. No matter what, Patricia needed to keep Thea calm and ask her later.

Thea was touched by Patricia's protective attitude, tears welling up as she clung to Patricia's hand, calling out, "Patricia."

"Patricia, you should stay. I'm not needed here," Alvin said, scratching his head, clearly not wanting to stay. Seeing Patricia about to leave, he quickly added, "I'll go order food. I have something to do later, so I'll have it delivered."

The door opened again, and Charles walked in, wearing a black suit and looking tired, clearly having just arrived from a flight.

His sharp eyes scanned the room, first landing on Thea, then on Alvin. When he smelled the perfume on Alvin, his gaze turned icy.

Alvin, seeing Charles, looked relieved and quickly stood up. "Charles, you're here... I'll go order food."

He started to leave.

"Stop."