Chapter 51: Fierce Protection
The shriek of sirens grew closer, and the ambulance skidded to a stop outside, its lights temporarily blinding.
Medics quickly placed Director Worth on a stretcher. Evelyn and Sophie immediately hopped into the back.
Inside, the steady beep, beep of medical monitors mixed with the hiss of the oxygen mask. The Director's face, normally so warm with smiles, was now pale and etched with pain.
At the hospital, the red light above the emergency room door was on.
Evelyn leaned against the wall, sliding down until she was curled up on the floor, her face buried in her knees.
It was all her fault.
If not for her humiliating marriage and those people’s spiteful comments, how would the Director have become so sick?
"Don't do this, Evelyn." Sophie sat next to her, patting her back gently. "This isn't your fault. Do you hear me? The ones at fault are those jerks, it's Damian, and it’s that wretched Sienna!"
After an agonizing wait, the emergency room door opened. A tired-looking doctor stepped out and removed his mask.
"The patient is stable for now," the doctor said, making Evelyn look up sharply. "But her heart is very delicate. She must not be subjected to any more stress. She needs to be hospitalized for observation."
The sudden relief nearly made Evelyn collapse.
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a message from an unknown number, but she recognized the profile picture: the owner of the coffee shop next to their studio.
[Evelyn? A couple of guys who looked like bad news just went into your studio. They were sneaking around, seemed like they were searching through your things. I didn’t want to get involved, but you should probably go check.]
No!
"What's wrong?" Sophie asked, noticing her distress.
"The studio!" Evelyn cried. "We have to go back now!"
They locked eyes, then rushed out of the hospital like madwomen.
The studio door lock was fine, but when they pushed the door open, the sight inside made their hearts sink. The final review drafts, which had been neatly stacked on the workbench, were now scattered everywhere. Papers covered the floor, marked with dirty shoe prints—a blatant act of disrespect.
"Fuck these animals!" Sophie swore, raging.
Evelyn felt a crushing weight in her chest. She rushed over, gathering the abused sketches, her fingers shaking.
Luckily, the most important items—the fabric samples and the half-finished product—had been locked away in the innermost storage cabinet to keep them dry. After checking and confirming that the core materials were safe, they finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Before they could recover, Evelyn’s phone rang again. It was the hospital.
"Is this Miss Evelyn? Director Worth is awake."
"We'll be right there!" Evelyn hung up and dragged Sophie back toward the hospital.
However, when they arrived at the hospital room door, breathless, they saw Sienna directing two nurses to move belongings out of the room.
"Careful! This is an aroma diffuser my aunt brought from Italy. You break it, you pay for it!"
A well-dressed, middle-aged woman was casually sitting on the hospital bed—the very bed they had arranged for Director Worth.
"What do you think you're doing?" Evelyn's voice was raw with anger.
Sienna turned around. "Oh, you're here. My aunt isn't feeling well and needs to rest for a check-up. I saw this room had a nice view, very quiet, so I had her move in."
"As for Director Worth... she's so old, she's practically on her way out. What difference does a room make? The hallway is just as good."
"What did you say?!" Evelyn shoved the nurse aside and stormed into the room.
She ignored Sienna, her gaze falling on the temporary folding bed in the hallway. Director Worth lay on the narrow bed, covered by only a thin blanket, shivering uncontrollably from the draft.
"This is the Director's room!" Evelyn shouted at Sienna. "You have no right to take it!"
The woman on the bed jumped at the scream, then immediately coughed twice, clutching her chest and looking incredibly frail.
Sienna instantly rushed to support her aunt, then turned to the head nurse who had arrived, her voice sharp and aggressive. "How dare you! Can't you see my aunt needs rest? I've already cleared this with your hospital director! Get that old woman out of here so she doesn't disturb my aunt!"
The head nurse looked uncomfortable. "But, Miss Sienna, Director Worth was admitted to this room first..."
"So what? My aunt is staying here now!"
As they argued, a steady, familiar sound of footsteps approached.
Damian arrived.
He glanced at the chaotic scene, his brow tightening, but he walked straight up to Evelyn without hesitation.
A faint, ridiculous hope flickered in Evelyn’s heart.
However, his next words completely crushed her last illusion.
"Evelyn, are you done making a scene?"
"Sienna’s aunt is ill. What’s the big deal about giving up a room? I'll make other arrangements for the Director. Stop embarrassing yourself here."
Evelyn stared at him in disbelief, the pain so intense she could barely breathe.
"Embarrassing myself?" she whispered, repeating his words. "Damian, look at her! The Director just came out of the ER! The doctor said she can't have any more stress! How could you... how could you treat her like this?"
Her voice was thick with suppressed tears.
Damian shoved her impatiently, so forcefully that Evelyn stumbled back two steps, nearly hitting the wall.