Chapter 241: One Corpse, Two Lives 2
"Mr. Smith—"
The person speaking was the doctor who had been performing surgery on Mia.
His uniform was burned to shreds, hanging raggedly on his body.
His face and hands had multiple burns—the injuries were serious.
"Where's Mia?"
James recognized the doctor and grabbed his hand, a glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes.
If the doctor who was operating on Mia had made it out, then Mia must have made it out too.
Even though his burned wound was being gripped, the doctor didn't struggle or cry out in pain.
"Mr. Smith, I'm so sorry. The fire spread too fast. Ms. Wilson had already been put under general anesthesia and was in the operating room. I didn't have time to get her out..."
The spark of hope in James's eyes was extinguished.
He couldn't hear what else the surgeon said after that.
In that moment, James stared at the blazing fire in the distance. Everything around him became meaningless. All he could think about was Mia lying on the operating table under anesthesia.
Which meant Mia couldn't possibly escape the fire on her own. She was still in the operating room.
He had to save her.
James forgot that he couldn't walk. Looking at the operating room with its growing flames, he desperately tried to rush into the fire.
His legs couldn't support him. His body, trying to stand up with too much force, pitched forward.
James crashed heavily to the ground.
"Mr. Smith..."
Seeing this, the doctor immediately crouched down to help James up.
James's hostile eyes swept over the doctor, and he raised his hand to push him away. "Get away!"
He no longer had the right to blame anyone. The one responsible for all of this was himself.
James's eyes were bloodshot red as he lay sprawled on the ground.
He was gripped by overwhelming panic.
He didn't care about his current state.
He didn't care about the strange looks others were giving him.
None of that mattered.
All he could see was the operating room seven or eight feet away from him.
Mia was still inside.
Mia couldn't die.
He had to save her.
The doctor was frightened by James's expression and didn't dare approach again.
He stood there, watching this important man of such high status.
For the sake of saving a woman who couldn't possibly be saved anymore, James had abandoned all his dignity and pride.
"Mia—"
Unable to stand up.
James used all his strength to drag his powerless legs, crawling with difficulty toward the operating room.
As he crawled, he roared desperately, "Mia!"
His eyes staring at the flames grew redder and redder!
It was impossible to tell if it was from the reflection of the fire or from his inner despair.
His eyes were full of regret and self-blame!
He was wrong. He knew he was wrong.
He shouldn't have forced Mia.
He shouldn't have been so domineering.
He shouldn't have imposed what he thought was good on Mia, making decisions for her!
If he hadn't forced her to come here to terminate the pregnancy, this accident wouldn't have happened to Mia.
She had begged him so much—why couldn't he have softened his heart one more time!
Why did he have to be so heartless!
It was all his fault!
He really knew he was wrong!
God, don't be so cruel.
I know I was wrong.
If you want to punish someone, punish me, just don't let anything happen to Mia.
As long as Mia is okay, you can punish me however you want.
James's scratched legs dragged across the ground, leaving a long trail of blood, the flesh mangled.
The fire was out of control for the moment. The scene was chaotic as medical staff evacuated patients and their families from the floor.
Only James moved in the opposite direction from everyone fleeing, insisting on crawling toward the operating room door.
In the panic to escape the fire, many people didn't notice James crawling on the ground.
He was trampled by people frantically trying to escape, foot after foot stepping on his body and hands.
But he didn't care and kept crawling forward.
Some people saw him and thought he had fallen, wanting to help him up.
But he refused.
Seeing that he insisted on staying to die, and afraid the fire would spread to them, they tried once to pull him up, and when that failed, they just left James and fled.
James's eyes remained fixed on the operating room entrance.
Getting closer and closer.
The fire was too strong. The closer he got, the more intense the burning sensation.
His face and upper body clearly felt the pain of being burned.
His sweat evaporated.
The burning pain grew more and more obvious.
James acted as if he couldn't feel the pain. All he could think about was saving Mia.
He had to go in and save Mia.
Finally, he crawled to the door. His hand touched it, and flames burned the back of his hand.
His skin turned red from the fire, quickly becoming swollen. His skin couldn't withstand the high temperature and was burned.
His palm pressed against the ground, burned so badly he could clearly smell the scorched flesh.
He didn't pull back. He kept crawling inside!
"Mr. Smith, don't!"
The security guards from downstairs were a step behind James and missed him. By the time they took another elevator down and back up again.
As soon as they got off the elevator, they saw James crawling on the ground.
Seeing that he had already crawled into the operating room.
They rushed over in alarm and dragged James, whose hair had already been singed by the fire, back out.
"Mr. Smith—"
Just as they were about to help James up.
He pushed them away, his voice hoarse, roaring in a broken voice, "Get away!"
No one could stop him.
He had to go in and save Mia!
The bodyguards didn't let go.
"Let go of me!"
James's eyes were bloodshot red. When he looked at the two bodyguards, it was as if his eyes were bleeding.
He raised his hand to push away their attempts to support him.
"Mr. Smith, you can't go in. The fire is too big..."
James couldn't hear what the bodyguards were saying at all. He pushed their hands away again. "Get lost!"
Seeing that he wouldn't listen and insisted on going in.
The two bodyguards exchanged glances.
With no other choice, they took advantage of James's distraction and struck him hard on the back of his neck. "Mr. Smith, forgive us."
James, who was struggling to break free, felt a pain in his neck.
His vision went black, and his body slumped down softly.
James's wheelchair had been knocked somewhere by the fleeing people.
The two bodyguards supported the unconscious James and quickly left the floor.
...
"Mia—"
James wasn't unconscious for long. He suddenly woke up in a cold sweat.
He opened his eyes and saw the white ceiling.
Memories flooded back into his mind.
He had forcibly sent Mia into the operating room.
The operating room caught fire.
Mia was still inside!
James's heart was torn apart violently.
Mia—
"Mr. Smith, let me help you. Your hands are injured."
The bodyguard who had been keeping watch saw James trying to get up using his bandaged hands and immediately stepped forward to help.
"Take me upstairs."
He knew he was still in the hospital.
James's hoarse voice gave the order.
"Yes!"
They had only wanted to get James away temporarily.
They were people Carl had assigned to James. They took orders from James, but they also had to keep him safe.
They couldn't just watch James get hurt, or they wouldn't be able to answer to Carl.
The two men helped James back into his wheelchair and pushed him upstairs.
Upstairs, the firefighters had just arrived and put out the fire.
They were doing cleanup work.
As soon as James appeared, he saw a stretcher being carried out from the operating room where Mia had been. On it was a charred body, which they set on the ground.
Then they turned and went back inside to continue searching.
James looked at the stretcher in the distance, and all the blood in his body froze instantly.
He moved his wheelchair, rushing over quickly.
As soon as he got close, his body lunged toward the stretcher.
His knees hit the ground hard.
Kneeling in front of the stretcher, he looked at the charred corpse.
It was a female body.
The build and figure looked a lot like Mia.
But—
No!
James kept murmuring: "No, no, it can't be..."
This isn't Mia!
This definitely isn't Mia!
The one who was wrong was him, not Mia!
The one who should die was him, not Mia!
Mia wouldn't die!
James, unwilling to face reality, murmured while trying to back away.
His lips trembled, his body shaking almost imperceptibly.
He didn't want to accept that Mia had really died in this fire.
He didn't want to accept that one wrong decision had cost him the love of his life forever.
Until a familiar object caught his eye.
He moved his body slightly with difficulty, then suddenly lunged forward again.
He saw a necklace around the neck of the charred body.
The pendant on the necklace was a ring!
It was their unique wedding ring!
After the divorce, she had taken it off and never wore it again.
Even though their relationship had warmed up quickly afterward, he had tested the waters, but Mia had only glanced at him coolly and hadn't agreed to put the ring back on.
Both he and Mia knew that if Mia was willing to wear this ring again, it would mean she was willing to give him another chance.
At the time, she refused because she hadn't planned to.
But now this ring was around Mia's neck.
When she had put it back on was all too obvious.
After his car accident, when she appeared before him again, had she already decided to get back together with him?
But what had he done?
He had pushed her away again and again.
In the end, he had personally pushed Mia into hell.
It was him—
He had killed Mia and their child!
'James, I won't forgive you even in death!'
Mia's last words to him as she was forcibly pushed into the operating room echoed in his mind.
Over and over, repeating endlessly.
James gripped the ring tightly with one hand and pressed hard against his chest with the other, his five fingers slowly tightening.
His fingers were burned, and now using too much force, blood seeped out from the wounds bit by bit, staining the bandages red.
The pain in his fingers reached his heart.
Looking at the charred body before him, James's mouth opened slightly, the pain tearing his heart and lungs apart!
His heart hurt so much!
It was as if someone had forcibly ripped it out of his chest.
James let out a grief-stricken sob.
Trembling, he reached out his arms and carefully gathered the charred body from the ground into his embrace.
He buried his handsome face in her scorched neck. The heat from the corpse hadn't yet dissipated.
When his face touched it, it burned the skin on his face. Scalding tears poured from his eyes.
"Mia, I'm sorry—"
"I'm so sorry."
"Please, don't leave me."
"I know I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. Can you forgive me one more time? Just one last time! Don't be so cruel and leave me, don't—I really can't live without you!"
Full of regret.
Full of self-blame and guilt.
James knelt there, holding the charred body tightly, crying silently until his heart broke, wishing he could die.
But Mia, held in his arms, could never hear him again.
He had lost her!
Really lost her!
The pain reached its peak, the regret reached its peak.
A sweetness rose in his throat.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood!