Chapter 197 The Killing Plot Reappears
Cold—that was the only sensation Cecilia could feel.
Endless salty seawater rushed at her from all directions, pressing against her eardrums and brutally flooding into her nose, bringing a suffocating feeling of drowning.
The air in her lungs was being squeezed out inch by inch, and a tearing pain came from inside her chest.
The burning memory of being consumed by flames in her past life hadn't yet faded, and now in this life, was she going to be buried in this bottomless dark ocean?
No!
A strong survival instinct instantly overwhelmed all her fear and despair.
Cecilia suddenly opened her eyes in the icy water. Before her was nothing but chaotic darkness.
She desperately twisted her bound body, using all her strength to break free from the rope that kept her from surviving.
Her wrists and ankles were soon rubbed raw and bloody by the rough rope, the seeping blood quickly washed away by the cold seawater, but she felt no pain.
She had only one thought in her mind.
Survive!
She must survive!
She hadn't yet taken revenge on Rufus, hadn't yet repaid the love Robert and Mabel had given her.
She couldn't just die here like this, without any answers.
Cecilia's consciousness began to drift, her limbs growing heavier, each movement draining what little strength she had left.
Just when she thought it was all over, a blinding beam of light pierced through the dark surface of the sea, shining straight down.
That column of light clearly illuminated her sinking body in the murky water.
"Over there! Quick!"
"Someone's in the water! Confirm the position!"
In the chaos, a figure broke through the water's surface, swimming toward her at an incredible speed.
Cecilia could no longer make out what it was. Her remaining consciousness could only see a blurry outline rapidly approaching.
A strong, powerful arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, stopping her from sinking further, then pulled her upward with force.
Finally, she broke through the water's surface.
Fresh air, heavy with a salty fishy smell, rushed into her lungs, making her cough violently, spitting out mouthfuls of cold seawater.
She hung limply on that person, without even the strength to lift her head.
Behind her, the kidnappers' curses and panicked fleeing sounds were completely drowned out by the approaching police sirens.
When her consciousness returned again, what filled her nose was the distinctive smell of hospital disinfectant—clear and cold.
Cecilia slowly opened her eyes.
What met her gaze was a white ceiling, and beside it, an IV bottle slowly dripping liquid.
She moved her fingers. The ropes on her hands and feet had been removed.
In their place were wounds wrapped in thick gauze. A dull pain came from her wrists.
"Awake?"
Cecilia turned her head and saw Stefan.
He sat in the chair beside the bed. His usually perfectly groomed hair was now somewhat messy, a few strands hanging over his forehead, covering the sharpness in his eyes but unable to hide the exhaustion and gloom piled between his brows.
His jawline was tense, and his whole body gave off an oppressive feeling like a storm was coming.
Stefan in this state was more unsettling than when he was strategizing with a calculating smile.
"How do you feel?" He leaned down and tucked in the corner of her blanket, his movements gentle.
Cecilia opened her mouth. Her throat was so dry she couldn't make a sound, only a weak breath of air.
Stefan immediately understood. He picked up the warm water from the side, dipped a clean cotton swab in it, and carefully moistened her cracked lips.
"The doctor said you choked on some seawater, and you were in a cold environment for a long time and got scared. Your body is very weak and needs rest."
"But fortunately, you were brought in on time. Nothing serious."
The cool sensation helped clear Cecilia's thoughts. She looked at his focused and somber profile, countless thoughts flashing through her mind.
She had been kidnapped, thrown into the sea, and then rescued by him.
It all happened too fast and was full of questions.
"How did you find the seaside?" Cecilia finally found her voice, terribly hoarse. "That place is very remote."
Stefan's gaze fell on her face, his eyes deep.
"I calculated the time."
He spoke flatly.
"From the hospital to the Hensley Group building, getting the documents, and returning—the whole process wouldn't take more than forty minutes."
"Fifty minutes after you left, I called you."
"No answer."
Just that one sentence made Cecilia instantly understand everything.
One unanswered call was the signal to sound the alarm.
"For kidnappers who want to make someone disappear quickly in Harmony City, the abandoned docks late at night are the most efficient choice."
"I had Garth immediately block all routes to the docks outside the city and sent people to search."
Cecilia fell silent.
No tracker, no extensive surveillance network—just Stefan's precise calculation of time, one unanswered call, and his calm judgment of the situation, and he had accomplished all this.
This kind of control that didn't rely on any external tools, purely from his mind, was far more alarming than any high-tech means.
"What about those people?" she continued to ask, her voice much steadier now.
"Two kidnappers committed suicide when they saw no escape. The rest ran away." A cold curve appeared at the corner of Stefan's mouth. "They won't get away."
"Even if I have to turn all of Harmony City upside down, I'll dig them out."
That meant... they still didn't know who was behind it!
Cecilia's heart skipped a beat for no reason.
"Get some good rest." Stefan seemed to see through her thoughts. "Leave the rest to me."
After speaking, he stood up, drew the hospital room curtains, and then left.
Cecilia also closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
This sleep wasn't peaceful. Her dreams were full of cold seawater and the flames from her past life, alternately swallowing her.
Cecilia woke up many times, until she finally lost all desire to sleep.
Just as she was thinking of finding something to do to distract herself, the hospital room door was gently pushed open.
A young woman in a nurse's uniform, Wren, walked in.
She wore a mask, showing only a pair of timid eyes. She looked barely over twenty, very nervous, like she had just started her internship.
"Ms. Martinez, you're awake? It's time to change your dressing." Wren's voice was very small and soft.
Cecilia nodded and cooperatively extended her arm.
Wren opened the treatment tray. On it were disinfectant cotton swabs, gauze, and... a syringe already filled with medication.
The liquid in the syringe was a cloudy pale yellow.
Cecilia's gaze fell on that syringe.
She remembered very clearly that in the evening, her attending physician Wyatt Hunt had come to check on her.
Wyatt had clearly said that she mainly had external injuries and a slight lung infection from choking on water, and only needed oral antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication along with the existing IV. That was all.
She didn't need any intramuscular injections at all.
This suddenly appearing injection seemed particularly jarring.
"Wait a minute."
Cecilia's voice wasn't loud, but it made Wren's body visibly stiffen.
"Ms. Martinez, what's wrong?" Wren kept her head down, not daring to look at her, the tray in her hands shaking slightly.
"Why is today's medication different from this afternoon's?"