Chapter 168
The bedroom was pitch black.
The landlady tapped the switch on the wall, and the light bulb on the ceiling instantly blazed bright.
Martin looked around the room. The place was decent—much better than the outside of the building suggested.
The bedding was messy, but there was no one there.
Martin checked the bathroom, the kitchen, the closet, behind the curtains—everywhere.
Where was Victoria?
Martin's face darkened.
"Where is Ms. Gonzalez?" Brian asked the landlady, clearly displeased.
The landlady looked confused, "I don't know. Half an hour ago, she was still here. That gentleman even brought her food."
Martin immediately noticed a black backpack on the cabinet.
This backpack, no doubt, was Victoria's!
He walked over and unzipped it. Inside was a cup—one Martin had bought for her, which she often carried to drink water.
The landlady wasn't lying. Victoria had really been staying here.
Brian saw a sticky note on the table. After a glance, he peeled it off and handed it to Martin, "Mr. Collins, this is Mrs. Collins's handwriting. She's already left!"
Martin took it and scanned it quickly.
The handwriting on the note was as delicate as she was: "Landlady, I had to leave on short notice. You can keep the deposit."
Victoria knew he was coming, so she ran away ahead of time.
But who tipped her off?
Martin glanced at Brian, who quickly waved his hands in explanation, "Mr. Collins, I never tipped off Mrs. Collins."
After leaving the farmhouse, Martin sat in the Bentley, propping his chin with one hand, laughing bitterly in anger. He thought, 'Victoria, you think you can get away? Just wait—I will find you!'
At that very moment, Victoria had just returned to Emerald City. Aaron was driving her to the hospital where Hayden was.
Because Aaron had told her that Hayden had passed away, and the farewell ceremony would be held tomorrow.
Back then, she had been pushed into the river by Mia and rescued by Aaron. She had miscarried, and for the past few days, she'd thrown away her phone, cut off all contact with the outside world, and rented a small place to recover.
She never expected Aaron to tell her that Hayden had died.
That's why she rushed back immediately!
Victoria cried the whole way. She thought of Hayden, who had loved her so deeply, her beloved family.
She had endured so much suffering just to help Hayden get better, to give Aria someone to rely on in the future!
But fate was cruel—Hayden had still died!
Tears streamed down Victoria's face, "Mr. Hill, can you go faster? I'm worried that if I'm too late, I won't be able to see him."
Martin was a real scumbag, especially ruthless.
She was afraid that if she arrived too late, she might not even get to see Hayden's body.
Aaron handed her a handkerchief, "Wipe your tears."
"Thank you." Victoria took it with a sob and wiped her face.
She had survived, but Hayden had died.
Aaron pressed down on the gas pedal. What should have been a twenty-minute drive took only ten.
The car pulled up at the hospital entrance.
Victoria kept saying thank you, then hurriedly unbuckled her seatbelt. Aaron looked at her with concern, "Do you need me to go up with you?"
Victoria worried that Martin might be upstairs and didn't want to cause more trouble.
It wasn't that she was afraid of Martin causing problems—she just didn't want to drag Aaron into it!
"No need, Mr. Hill. I can't thank you enough. Once I've dealt with my affairs, I'll thank you properly. You go take care of your business."
"Alright." Aaron didn't insist, though his eyes showed a trace of sympathy.
Victoria got out of the car, closed the door, and ran toward the hospital entrance.
She ran fast, urgently.
But she still missed the elevator.
Tears streamed down her face in frustration.
Hayden had ended up like this because of her, had died so quickly because of her.
How was Aria doing now?
Victoria had only miscarried a few days ago. Her body was still weak, and when her heart ached, the wound pulled painfully, as if a pair of hands were yanking at it viciously.
Finally, the elevator arrived.
Victoria rushed into the elevator and frantically pressed the floor button.
Her nose stung unbearably, and her throat felt like it held a lump of lead—she couldn't swallow it or spit it out.
Tears fell uncontrollably. She had been crying for hours.
Victoria knew that what was done was done, that the situation had already happened, that crying was useless and wouldn't change anything.
But she still couldn't control it. She was so useless!
All she could do was cry.
From crying so much, her lower eyelids were soaked and hurt terribly, as if countless steel needles were piercing her skin, making her whole body tremble with pain.
The elevator ride was only a few dozen seconds, but to Victoria, it felt like a century.
The elevator doors suddenly opened.
Victoria shot out like an arrow, running down the long corridor.
Three bodyguards stood at the door of the hospital room.
All three were shocked to see Victoria, "Mrs. Collins, you're back?"
Victoria ignored them and rushed straight into the room.
One bodyguard urged, "Mrs. Collins is back—quick, call Mr. Collins!"
One of the bodyguards pulled out his phone and dialed Martin's number.
Martin had just boarded his private jet, his face dark as a storm.
He answered the bodyguard's call expressionlessly, "Speak."
"Mr. Collins, Mrs. Collins is back!" the bodyguard said excitedly.
Martin laughed coldly, "She's back?"
"Yes, Mrs. Collins is in Mr. Gonzalez's room right now! She's crying hard and seems really upset!" the bodyguard said worriedly.
Martin gave a few cold instructions. The bodyguard acknowledged them, and Martin hung up.
The private jet slowly took off, soaring into the clouds. Martin drained his glass of liquor in one gulp.
He knew it—how could she really not care about Hayden's life or death?
How ridiculous. Among her reasons for coming back, he wasn't one of them!
Victoria, who once loved him so much, was now so heartless. She must have transferred her affection for him to Aaron.
At Emerald City Hospital, in Hayden's room, Aria held Victoria, both crying their hearts out. She told Victoria everything that had happened over the past few days.
Only then did Victoria understand—Hayden had only had his medication stopped. The death was just a ploy by Martin to draw her out!
"Victoria, call Martin quickly! He said your father would only continue treatment if you showed up! Your father has received several critical condition notices—he can't hold on much longer!" Aria's focus was entirely on Hayden's condition, overlooking the question of what had happened to Victoria.
Victoria pressed her lips together. "I lost my phone."
It must have fallen into the lake when Mia was beating her.
She had been avoiding reality this whole time, so she hadn't bought a new phone or replaced her SIM card. Otherwise, she would have shown up earlier.
"Use mine!" Aria quickly pulled out her phone, found Martin's number, dialed it, and handed it to Victoria, "You talk to him. He only cares about you now—he doesn't care about me at all."