108

"It's Okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Vanessa said softly.

Hayley glanced up at her. "Thank you." She whispered quietly. Soon, they heard hurried footsteps approaching them and Hayley quickly looked up, it was Riccardo. She quickly rose from her chair and ran towards him.

"Riccardo, you're here."

"Yes, I drove down here as soon as I got your call." He said, leading her to seat down opposite Vanessa who he had not seen yet.

Vanessa on the other hand was surprised to see Riccardo there. Then it hit her like a tidal wave, Riccardo had accompanied these two women the last time she was at the hospital.

So, definitely he was their friend.

"Take a deep breath." He said, trying to calm Hayley.

"What happened?" He asked.

Hayley did as he said, then went ahead to tell him all that had happened.

"Don't worry, we'll get to the root of all these." He assured her.

"The doctor hasn't come out yet?" He asked.

"No." Hayley shooked her head, tears already brimming at the corners of her eyes again.

"Don't worry, Leila is a strong woman. She'll be fine." Riccardo assured.

"Why is Lucas not here yet?" He asked himself in a mutter, as he glanced at the entrance of the hallway.

He fished out his phone to dial his number but someone called his name.

"Mr. Gonzalez you're here." Diego said, walking into the waiting area.

"Diego, what are you doing here?" Riccardo asked surprised.

"Ms. Rodriguez happened to be at the scene, so we helped rush the patient here." Diego explained calmly.

"Ms Rodriguez." Riccardo muttered lowly, looking around the waiting area till his eyes landed on Vanessa who was seating opposite where he and Hayley sat.

"Van... Sorry, I mean Ms Rodriguez, thank you for bringing the patient here."

Vanessa waved it off. "You don't need to thank me."

Just then, Lucas ran into the waiting area with a hurried pace, his eyes landed on Vanessa before immediately moving to Riccardo and Hayley who stood up to go meet him.

The door to the ICU opened and the doctor and the nurses walked out. Riccardo, Lucas and Hayley quickly ran to meet him, while Vanessa stood and followed behind them.

"How is she doing, doctor?" Lucas asked.

"Thankfully, she was brought here on time and she's currently out of danger." The doctor explained and Hayley sighed in relief.

"Can we see her now?" Hayley asked.

"You can after we've moved her to a room."

"Who is her family member here?" The doctor asked.

"I am." Lucas said.

"Please, come with me." The doctor said.

He walked away and Lucas quickly followed behind him. That was when Vanessa realized that Lucas was Leila's husband. Was that why he invited her to the unveiling ceremony? On behalf of her?

Well, that was in the past now and she didn't want to worry about it.

As she glanced up at the ICU, she saw the nurses wheeling Leila out and towards a VIP section of the hospital.

The nurses returned later to inform them that they can see Leila.

Hayley was the first to make her way towards the room. She must have been worried sick for her friend.

Riccardo followed closely behind her and Vanessa told Diego to go get her car ready because she'd be leaving soon.

When she reached the room, Leila was already awake and was now speaking with Hayley.

Vanessa glanced at Riccardo across the room. He was staring at Leila with a relieved look, that made Vanessa wonder what was going through his mind.

As she stared at him, her mind suddenly went to the threatning messages she had been receiving and how Riccardo how helped her.

What if whoever was sending her all of these messages had plans of seeing her hospitalized or worse: dead.

Vanessa shivered at the thought. She might have to hire more guards and a secret agent sooner or later.

She felt her phone Vibrate in her Pocket and she brought it out and stared at the Caller ID.

It was Emily that was calling. She picked the call and quickly stepped out of Leila's room to take it.

"Hey, Emily what's up?" Vanessa asked as she placed the phone on her ear.

"Emma just wants to know when you'll be back, she wants to you bake some Cup cakes for her." Emily said quietly.

"Tell her that I'd be back very soon. What is she doing by the way?" Vanessa asked.

"She's taking a nap." Emily said from the other end.

"How about Ethan?" Vanessa asked.

"He's playing some video games."

"Tell him to go to bed, now." Vanessa said.

" I will."

"Alright then, take care. Don't forget to lock the door till I'm back." Vanessa ordered.

"Yes, Ma. I did that already."

"Good. I'll see you soon." Vanessa said before hanging up. She put her phone back into her pocket before walking back into the room.

Hayley had finished speaking with Leila, so Vanessa walked towards her bed with a light smile.

"Thank you, Ms. Rodriguez. Hayley told me that you helped bring me here." Leila said quietly.

"It's alright. I'm glad that you're fine now."

"Just be more careful next time." She added.

"Thank you, I will."

"Take good care of yourself." Vanessa said.

Leila nodded her head. "About the promotional event, I'm sorry that you'd have to reschedule it." Leila said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"It's okay. We can do it again when you're fine."

"Thank you so much, Ms. Rodriguez." Leila smiled.

"You're welcome. I'll take my leave now." Vanessa said, then began making her Way out of the room.

Just as she walked towards the end of the hallway, she heard someone yelling her name. She turned around to see Riccardo behind her.

"Hey. Thank you for your help today." He said.

Vanessa tilted her head with a slight smirk dancing across her lips. "I guess I'm not invisible anymore." She stated sarcastically.

"What?" Riccardo asked stunned.

He then recalled that he hadn't noticed Vanessa when he walked into the waiting area.

"I'm sorry." He quickly apologized.