Chapter 171

Chapter 171

She struggled to her feet and walked toward the light.

Every step left a bloody footprint behind her, but Shirley felt no pain. The hope of survival kept pushing her forward.

She would make it. She would work hard from now on.

She would be good to her parents, learn from Wendy, and stop being so reckless.

These thoughts kept running through her mind as she walked.

Then she heard Wendy calling her name in a panic behind her. Shirley turned around in a daze.

Tears spilled from her eyes, but her vision was already going blurry. As she collapsed, the last thing she saw was Wendy sprinting toward her.

When she came to, everything around her was white.

"You're awake. Are you still in pain anywhere? I'll go get the doctor." Wendy had dark circles under her eyes. She'd been at the hospital all night.

When Shirley had first been brought in, she'd already lost too much blood and was unconscious. The injury to her leg had hit a major artery, but they'd stopped the bleeding in time and her life was no longer in danger.

Shirley opened her mouth, only to find she couldn't make a sound.

"It's okay, everything's okay now. This is all my fault. You got kidnapped because of me." Wendy said, full of guilt.

Shirley shook her head hard. After coming so close to death, she suddenly saw how ridiculous everything she'd done before really was.

What was there to fight over? What was there to compete about?

Nothing mattered more than family.

"Thank you." Shirley's tears soaked into the pillow.

Lisa got the news and rushed over too.

John stood to the side, his face dark. This mother and daughter had already become useless to him, and now they'd stirred up a kidnapping that was damaging his reputation.

"If nothing's seriously wrong, go home. What's the point of hanging around a hospital."

Lisa punched John hard. "You jerk. Your daughter is lying here like this and that's what you say? Are you even human?"

"I said I didn't want to come, but you dragged me here, and now you're acting like this. What do you people want from me? I have things to deal with at the company. I don't have time for this."

With that, John turned and walked out.

They say men are fickle and cold. Lisa used to think that wasn't true, but after everything that had happened lately, she was starting to believe it more and more.

Lisa broke down crying. Shirley didn't say much, just a quiet, "Stop crying."

She'd seen too much of this lately. She was numb to it now.

All she wanted was to live her own life.

Wendy could see it wasn't her place to say anything. After all, this was someone else's family business.

Thinking about it all still felt surreal to Wendy. Her adoptive parents had cut ties with her, and yet somehow she'd managed to find her birth parents.

"Get some rest for now. Don't worry about work. Come in when you're better." Wendy left it at that and headed out.

Left alone in the room, Lisa sobbed and cried to Shirley, "What are we going to do? Your dad's done with us. How are we supposed to get by on our own?"

Shirley was fed up. "Can't you survive without a man? Would you please stop crying."

She didn't dislike Lisa. But everything Lisa had ever taught her was that a woman could only depend on a man, that you had to lean on a man to get by. She was only now realizing how wrong that was.

A woman could take care of herself.

Putting your fate in someone else's unreliable hands made no sense. Better to keep it firmly in your own.

Lisa went quiet, caught off guard by the outburst.

"Mom, we can do this on our own. Wendy already found me a job. We'll move out and get our own place. Why do we have to keep asking Dad for money?" Shirley explained patiently.

After Wendy had left, she'd also sent a message saying Charlie had been worried sick these past few days, waiting outside the ward for two days straight and still there now.

Shirley finally softened. She could see what Charlie was worth.

No matter how she'd treated him before, he hadn't given up. He'd stayed, steady and sure, and chosen her anyway.

Maybe Charlie really was the right person for her.

After leaving the hospital, Wendy headed to William's office.

She walked in to find him on the phone and waited quietly.

"I looked into it. Evelyn was behind this. I've already filed a police report and handed over a full set of evidence. She'll face the consequences."

"Got it." Wendy nodded.

What happened next was out of her hands.

William slowly walked toward her, a wicked smile on his face. "So, how are you going to thank me for this?"

Wendy watched him lean in until he was barely an inch away, and her face went red. "Why... why do you want something in return?" she stammered.

"You always pay someone for their help. I just don't want money." His warm breath brushed against her ear.

Wendy shivered and leaned back. "Then what do you want?"

"I want..." William moved close to her ear and dragged it out slowly, clearly enjoying himself. "I want you."

Wendy shoved him away in a panic. "What are you talking about? You're shameless."

He really would say anything these days.

William laughed, his voice warm and indulgent. "I wasn't done. Why are you so jumpy? I said I want you to come somewhere with me."

Wendy realized he'd been messing with her. She turned away and refused to look at him.

William gently turned her back around and asked sincerely, "Please. Just come with me."

"Fine, I guess." Wendy fought back a smile.

On the other side, Christopher learned his daughter had landed herself in massive trouble. He'd immediately set out to pull strings behind the scenes, but William stood firmly in his way, leaving Christopher with very little room to maneuver.

He'd burned through nearly everything he had just to get Evelyn out on bail.

"I'm not accepting this. I'm going to find William." Evelyn refused to budge.

She'd only made a small mistake, and it hadn't even worked. Why should she have to run?

Christopher was beside himself with rage. "If you want to stay here and rot in a cell, that's your choice. I've given you a way out. Whether you take it is up to you."

Every mess Evelyn had made before, he'd paid to clean up. This time, with William involved, it had taken everything he had just to get her out temporarily.

He hadn't expected his own daughter to be this impossible.

If he waited any longer, William would come after him too. He couldn't let Evelyn keep making things worse.

Evelyn finally grasped how serious things were. She started crying. "Fine, I'll accept the bail. But you have to make sure I have money. Otherwise I'm not cooperating."

Even now, all Evelyn could think about was money. That alone was enough to break Christopher's heart completely.

He had drained every bit of cash he had to bail her out, even dipping into bank funds he shouldn't have touched. And still Evelyn only cared about herself.

If anyone caught wind of what he'd done, the shareholders would vote him out without a second thought. Evelyn had never once asked about any of that. Her whole life, all she'd ever done was ask for money.

The thought hit him like a wave, and Christopher collapsed.

"Dad!" Evelyn's eyes went wide. Startled, she scrambled to call for an ambulance.

If something happened to Christopher, she'd have no money left.