Chapter 552

Chapter 552

The doctor said, "The patient's condition has stabilized. We'll transfer her to a regular room for overnight observation."

Elsie immediately followed, bending down to feel her daughter's temperature, then carefully tucking in the corners of the blanket with movements so gentle it was as if she were handling a priceless treasure.

After everything was settled, she and Aline walked out of the hospital room together.

Standing at the end of the corridor, Elsie finally spoke, her voice carrying an unprecedented determination.

"I'm sending Luna away."

Aline froze for a moment, then understood what she meant.

"Where to?"

"Abroad." Elsie looked out at the night through the window. "I've contacted Amy. She can be here the day after tomorrow at least. I'll have her take Luna to Europe for a while. Once I've cleaned up everything here, I'll bring her back."

Amy Allen was a close friend she'd met abroad, a life-and-death companion, and one of the few people in the world who knew all of her and Luna's secrets.

"That's good." Aline agreed without hesitation. "The current situation is too dangerous for the child. Ronald, Missy, and that person hiding in the shadows... none of us can guarantee her complete safety."

Having Luna leave this troubled place was the best choice.

"Don't worry about the company." Aline patted her shoulder. "If the sky falls, I'll hold it up. Mr. Sullivan has already softened his stance. We're not short of new opportunities."

Elsie nodded, but the exhaustion in her eyes didn't diminish one bit.

She could handle the crisis in her career, but the debt she owed her daughter cut her heart like a knife.

The next morning, Luna's fever broke.

She opened her eyes and saw Elsie asleep by the bedside, and Aline with dark circles under her eyes. Being sensible, she didn't make a sound.

Elsie was awakened by her slight movement and immediately sat up straight.

"Luna, how do you feel? Is anything still bothering you?"

Luna shook her head and apologized in a small voice, "Mommy, I'm sorry. I ate the snacks from the fridge without asking, and that's why you and Aunt Aline were worried."

Seeing her daughter looking so well-behaved, Elsie's heart ached even more.

She gently stroked her daughter's hair and said, "It's my fault. I didn't take good care of you."

But Luna suddenly remembered something and looked up.

"Mommy, can I still play with Elsy?"

At the mention of Elsy, Elsie's expression froze for a moment.

She didn't know how to explain the grudges and conflicts of the adult world to a child, but Aline crouched down and looked at Luna very seriously.

"Luna, let me tell you. Your mom and that Mr. York are competitors because of work, and his family has been very mean to your mom."

She explained in a way a child could understand, keeping it as simple as possible.

"So, until they apologize to your mom, we can't interact with their family for now. Luna, you've always been so understanding and well-liked. Can't you be patient for your mom's sake?"

Luna nodded as if she half-understood, then reached out her little hands and hugged Elsie's neck.

"Don't be sad, Mommy. If they're mean to you, we don't need them. I'll be good and won't cause you any trouble."

Luna's innocent words were like a small hammer, striking heavily on Elsie's heart.

She hugged her daughter tightly, her eyes burning with tears.

Just then, there was a knock on the hospital room door.

Aline went to open it, and the person standing outside surprised her.

It was Bruce.

He had changed into clean clothes. The gauze on his forehead hadn't been removed yet, his face was still pale, but his spirits were much better.

"I... I heard Elsie was here." Bruce's gaze moved past Aline to land on Elsie in the room, his tone full of concern. "Are you okay? I heard from the nurse that you didn't sleep all night."

His memory was still stuck in the world from five years ago where Elsie was his only focus.

He saw Luna on the hospital bed and froze.

"This..."

"Bruce," Elsie immediately stood up, interrupting him. "Let's talk outside."

At the end of the hospital corridor, a window was open a crack, and cold wind squeezed through the gap, making their skin feel tight.

Elsie and Bruce stood there, half a step apart.

"Five years ago, I didn't die." Elsie's voice was flat, as if narrating someone else's past. "After that car accident, I changed my identity and went abroad."

Bruce's body stiffened. He wanted to ask why, wanted to ask how she'd spent these five years, but his throat felt stuffed with cotton, unable to squeeze out a single word.

"I used the name Olivia Glover. For certain reasons, I couldn't reveal that I was still alive." Elsie continued. Her profile under the corridor's harsh white light made her features appear especially clear. "Coming back this time was also to investigate what happened back then."

She paused and looked at the gauze on his forehead.

"You helped me investigate Maggie Glover's accident report, and they found out. This attack—I got you involved."

Word by word, without extra emotion, just stating facts.

But these words falling on Bruce's ears were like thunderclaps exploding one after another.

He remembered now—he went to check the files, he thought that report was suspicious... and then, everything went blank.

So he was attacked while doing something for her.

Overwhelming guilt and self-blame instantly drowned him.

"Elsie," he stepped forward, his voice terribly hoarse. "I'm sorry. I didn't protect you. Not five years ago, and not now."

If only he'd been more resolute back then, if he hadn't retreated under family pressure, if he could have discovered all this earlier...

"Let the past stay in the past." Elsie interrupted his self-blame. "I'll find the best neurologist to help restore your memory. You don't need to think about anything. Just focus on recovering."

"No, I can't," Bruce spoke urgently. "I can still help you!"

His memory was still stuck at that age when he treasured her above all else. Now that she was back, how could he possibly stand by and do nothing?

Elsie looked at him, at those eyes filled with a stubbornness and pain she couldn't understand.

She was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Bruce, thank you."

"But I'm not the Elsie from five years ago anymore. My heart now has no room for anything else, and I don't want to like anyone again."

Her words were light, but like the sharpest knife, precisely cutting off all the hopes he hadn't voiced.

"From now on, we're just friends."

The color drained completely from Bruce's face.

He looked at her, his lips moving, finally forming only a bitter curve.

Friends.

That's fine.

As long as he could still be by her side.

He was about to say something when, from the other end of the corridor, a blinding white light suddenly flashed!

The sound of a camera shutter was especially jarring in the quiet corridor.

Elsie and Aline reacted almost simultaneously, looking toward the source of the sound.