Chapter 198
The doctor emerged, pulling down his mask. Under everyone's tense gaze, he announced the good news: "The patient is stable. The baby survived too, though we'll need to monitor them for a while."
Briana let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She followed the nurse as they wheeled Lorelei into the ICU. Before stepping inside, she shot Josephine a venomous glare. "You should be grateful she's okay. If she weren't, I wouldn't let this slide."
Once everyone had gone, only Gideon and Josephine remained in the corridor.
Josephine turned to leave.
Gideon blocked her path. "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"You claim you don't care at all." Gideon's gaze bore into her, as if he could see straight through to her thoughts. "If you don't care, why pull something like this?"
Josephine frowned. "What kind of logic is that? First of all, I didn't—"
Before she could finish, Briana rushed out of the room. "Gideon, Lorelei's awake!"
Gideon glanced at Josephine, then turned toward the room.
Josephine tried to use the distraction to slip away, but Briana grabbed her wrist and hauled her toward the doorway. "You're the one responsible for all this. You think you can just run away? I'm telling you right now, that's not happening."
Briana dragged Josephine into the room.
Inside, Gideon stood by the bed. Lorelei lay there, her face ghostly pale.
The moment she saw Josephine, terror flashed across her features. She clutched the blanket and shrank back against the headboard, though there was nowhere left to go. "I'm sorry… this is all my fault. I know you've always hated me, but please don't hurt me… I won't upset you again, I promise…"
Briana's heart twisted. She gripped Lorelei's hand, her eyes blazing as she glared at Josephine. "Look what you've done to her! You're getting bolder by the day. Pushing someone down the stairs, trying to kill her—what won't you do next? Today it's her. Tomorrow, will it be me?"
Lorelei's face drained of color. She trembled. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry… It's all my fault…"
She looked utterly terrified.
Fury surged through Briana. She turned on Gideon. "This is the 'good wife' you refused to divorce. She's attacking people in broad daylight now! We can't let this slide. We need to call the police and have her locked up. You can't protect her anymore."
Gideon frowned. "Isn't that a bit extreme?"
"Extreme? Look at what she's done to this poor girl!" Briana's voice shook with anger. "This kind of behavior is beyond the pale. It's attempted murder. If we hadn't found her in time, if the doctors hadn't saved her, we'd be looking at two deaths. She's a would-be killer!"
Briana pulled out her phone to call the police, but Lorelei stopped her.
"What are you doing?" Briana looked bewildered. She was doing all this for her, and Lorelei wasn't even grateful?
But Lorelei shook her head. "I know you mean well, but I don't want to pursue this anymore. I don't want more people to suffer because of me…"
She glanced cautiously at Josephine before letting her gaze settle on Gideon with undisguised adoration. "Let's just drop it. I won't hold anyone responsible. I'm sure Ms. Kennedy didn't mean it. There must be some misunderstanding…"
Briana looked exasperated. "You're too kind for your own good. The caretaker saw her push you with her own eyes!"
Speak of the devil—the caretaker pushed open the door just then. Hearing the conversation, she quickly chimed in. "Yes, I saw everything myself. I'm not lying!"
Josephine had been silently watching this performance. She could guess what they were trying to pull. But she wasn't playing along. She fixed the caretaker with a steady stare. "You're sure that's what you saw?"
"Of course I'm sure!"
"Good." Josephine gave a slight nod and pulled out her phone. "Then let's call the police and check the surveillance footage. I'm pretty sure there are cameras in the stairwell. The truth will come out soon enough."
The caretaker's expression flickered.
Lorelei coughed weakly. "Ms. Kennedy, you really don't need to go this far. I'm not going to press charges. I don't blame you at all…"
"Enough, stop talking. Look how vicious and shameless she is. Your kindness is wasted on her." Briana's tone dripped with sarcasm. She turned to Gideon. "Don't you have anything to say about this?"
"Did you do it?" Gideon looked at Josephine.
Josephine's voice was flat. "No."
"Then you can go."
No one expected those words from Gideon. Briana stood frozen, shock and rage buzzing through her skull. For a moment, she couldn't find the words to argue.
Lorelei forced a smile, breaking the silence. "Let's do as Mr. Getty suggests. I never intended to pursue this anyway. I'm sure Ms. Kennedy didn't mean any harm."
They wanted to let it go. But Josephine wasn't having it. Did they think she was an idiot? If she went along with this charade today, tomorrow there'd be rumors everywhere that Josephine had deliberately pushed someone down the stairs. "Hold on. I think we should let the police handle this. You say you won't press charges now, but what if you suddenly 'remember' later that I pushed you and decide to report it? What if the footage happens to develop a problem by then? I'd have no way to defend myself."
Lorelei's face stiffened. "How can you think that? I swear to God, every word I said came from the heart. I'm not trying to put on an act…"
She pressed a hand to her stomach, her expression pained.
Briana immediately grew anxious about the baby. "Is your stomach hurting?"
"A little…"
"I'll get the doctor right now!" Briana rushed out.
Before long, the doctor and nurses arrived for another round of thorough examinations. Josephine gradually found herself edged out of the room. Gideon also stepped outside, standing off to one side to take a phone call.
Josephine had no interest in his conversation. She wasn't about to let this go. She decided to check the surveillance footage herself. Having the evidence in her own hands would be the safest bet.
But when she reached the security office, she got an answer she hadn't expected.
"That section of footage was deleted," the security guard said.
"When?" Josephine asked.
"I don't know. The footage was still there half an hour ago. I just went to the bathroom, and when I came back, it was gone."
Josephine considered this. "Where's the bathroom? Is it far?"
"Not far at all. I was only gone long enough to take a leak—less than five minutes."
The guard looked helpless. He'd been the only one on duty today. In the time it took him to use the restroom, the footage had vanished. It didn't seem humanly possible.
While he was spiraling into thoughts of unexplained phenomena, Josephine asked another question. "You were the only one on duty today?"
"Yeah. My coworker wasn't feeling well, so I told him to head home."
"When did he leave?"
The guard paused, then answered honestly. "About twenty minutes ago, I think… I wasn't really watching the clock. He said he'd eaten something bad at lunch and wasn't feeling well, so I let him go rest."
Josephine nodded. "Thank you."
She left the security office and returned to the hospital room. The doctor and nurses had already gone. Briana sat by the bed, fussing over Lorelei with tender concern.
Gideon stood to the side, idly scrolling through his phone.
The caretaker spotted Josephine first. "Ms. Hughes, she's back. Should we call the police?"
Briana immediately spoke up. "Of course we should! This is attempted murder! It's a crime!"
"Haven't you had enough of this?" Gideon's voice cut through coldly, putting an end to the theatrics. He looked at Josephine, something unreadable flickering in the depths of his eyes. His voice dropped. "I'll walk you out."