Chapter 145 Do You Know Who Amelia Is!
Everyone saw it happen.
Shards of crystal from the shattered chandelier lay scattered across the polished floor, glittering under the emergency light like broken ice. Zander stood directly beneath where the fixture had hung moments ago, blood spilling between the fingers pressed to his neck.
A jagged fragment had sliced deep across the side of his throat. The crimson flow was relentless.
Worse… Zander was a hemophiliac.
For anyone else, it would have been a painful but manageable injury. For him, it was potentially lethal.
The Martinez family froze in place, shock holding them still.
"Zander!" Tobias's voice cracked, sharp with panic. He lunged forward.
Chris, usually composed to the point of detachment, was already moving. He forced his breathing steady, pulled a white handkerchief from his trouser pocket, and pressed it hard against the wound.
It was useless. The cut was too deep, and they had nothing on hand to properly stem the bleeding. In seconds, the fabric was soaked through, scarlet blooming across its surface. Someone inhaled sharply, the sound brittle in the chaos.
"Where's the light? Why hasn't anyone brought it yet?" Kevin's voice trembled as he pulled out his phone, fingers dialing emergency services.
"Zander, stay with me. The ambulance is on its way. You're going to be fine."
No one could tell if he was trying to reassure Zander… or himself.
The room was a storm of movement and noise.
Dorian and Asher knew exactly what Zander's condition meant. Their hearts pounded, but fear kept them rooted where they stood.
Only Yvette—an outsider—seemed confused.
From her perspective, it was just a cut on the neck. Why all the drama?
Her own face had been scratched in the chaos. She was an actress, her career built on her looks, and yet no one was paying her the slightest attention.
She turned toward Rachel, ready to complain, but stopped when she saw Rachel's expression. Rachel's eyes were locked on Zander, wide with shock.
"What's wrong? Did you get hurt too?" Yvette asked.
Rachel's lips trembled. She didn't seem to hear her. Her voice came low and uneven. "I forgot… I forgot about Zander's illness."
"I didn't mean to hurt him… I swear I didn't. It was an accident. It wasn't my fault."
Her words were barely audible, tangled in guilt.
Jenny dropped to her knees beside Zander.
"How could that damn chandelier just explode like that?" Her voice was raw, stripped of the elegance she wore like armor.
"Zander, don't be afraid! The ambulance is coming. I won't let anything happen to you."
Among her five sons, Zander had always been the brightest, the one she was proudest of. A brilliant mind housed in a fragile body… he had always been her most guarded treasure.
Orla arrived at last with the emergency lamp, flooding the room with harsh white light.
Zander's face was ghost-pale, lips drained of color. Blood still poured from the wound, a steady, merciless stream. Jenny's chest tightened until she could barely breathe.
It was Friday night. The ambulance would take at least twenty minutes to reach them from the city. She didn't dare think about whether he could hold on that long.
She was on the edge of breaking when a slender hand reached past her toward Zander.
"Let me see him." The voice was calm, but carried a steel edge that brooked no refusal.
Jenny looked up and saw Amelia. Her anger surged instantly.
"See him? See what? See how badly my son is hurt?" Her tone was sharp enough to cut.
"You filthy little stray, stay away from my son! Just because you've been in the Martinez mansion for a few days doesn't mean you belong here!"
"The child of a whore will always be a bastard! Keep your dirty hands off him and get out!"
"Mom, what are you saying?" Kevin's face went hard.
He had thought his mother had at least tolerated Amelia's presence. He hadn't expected her to still harbor this much venom. And in front of outsiders, the words were suffocating.
Amelia's expression didn't change. She started to reach forward, but Zander's uninjured left hand closed around hers.
His grip was cold and tight.
"Amelia." His voice shook.
The night he'd burned with fever, she had stayed by his side until morning, carrying him through hours he'd thought would break him. That warmth had been something entirely new to him.
He was afraid she would retreat under the weight of his mother's insults. So he held on.
But she didn't move away.
Amelia's fingers tightened around his. She lifted her gaze to Kevin, her voice steady. "I can save him. Let me take him to my room."
Kevin nodded without hesitation.
In the next heartbeat, Amelia scooped Zander into her arms and turned toward the hallway.
Jenny stared, stunned.
She couldn't process how a slight, delicate-looking girl could lift her son so easily.
She couldn't accept that her eldest would hand Zander over to her without question.
"Kevin, have you lost your mind? You're letting her take Zander away? She'll kill him!" Jenny's voice was almost a scream.
Kevin's patience snapped. He caught his mother's wrist in a hard grip, his words cutting.
"Mom, you look down on her, but do you even know who she is?"
"She's the last and most important apprentice of Master Royce. Even Francis—the most renowned physician in River City—addresses her as Ms. Martinez with respect."
"If she says she can save Zander, she has a way. If you keep standing in her way and something happens to him, the one who kills him will be you."