The Secret Revealed

"Bravo!"

Chris clapped his hands loudly. He was very happy to hear the good news delivered by John. After the failure, it was time to launch a second attack. He was very confident that this time he would not fail again.

"I want you to keep an eye on the girl. That way I can be sure when the time is right to kidnap the girl," Chris ordered firmly.

"Yes, boss. I will carry out your orders well. This time I promise not to let you down again," John replied with great confidence.

John immediately left Chris's room. He walked to a special room that was his and his friends' headquarters. There he planned to deliver Chris's orders.

"The boss has asked us to get ready. When the time comes we'll make our move and bring the girl here," John told his friends.

"You don't have to worry. We will carry out the order well," one of them said.

"Don't let our actions this time not live up to expectations," John warned.

"Take it easy. We will work well and give our all. So that the young master is satisfied and happy," chimed in another.

John said no more. He left the place immediately as he had other things to do. He was going to the hospital to keep an eye on things there.

***

Joe sat in the waiting room in front of the operating room. Briana's surgery had been going on for over three hours. But until now the operation had not ended yet. It seemed like the doctor needed a long time to repair Briana's damaged heart. Resigned to the situation, Joe decided to keep waiting.

Towards midnight the door to the operating room was wide open. The doctor walked quickly over to Joe. He flashed a big, friendly smile.

"The operation went very smoothly. Now you don't have to worry about Briana's condition anymore," the doctor said with confidence. "We will take her to the observation room. Once her condition is stabilized she will be taken to the infirmary. There you can wait for her."

"Thank you, Doctor. I really appreciate the doctor's efforts to cure Briana's illness," said Joe.

"You don't have to say that. It's my duty to cure the patient," the doctor concluded and hurriedly left Joe.

An hour later Joe was in Briana's room. The girl was still lying weak and unconscious. The doctor asked him to patiently wait until Briana woke up. Joe seemed to have no other choice but to follow the doctor's request.

It wasn't long before Jo saw Briana's fingers moving. She smiled widely after knowing that. She hurriedly called the nurse on duty to check on Briana's current condition.

"Joe ...." Briana called with a groan. Her voice sounded very weak.

Joe approached Briana. "Don't talk yet. I've called the nurse to check on you."

Briana blinked her eyes a few times. She flashed a faint smile, obeying Joe's request. Besides, she also felt that her strength was still weak.

Joe shifted his position slightly away from Briana as a nurse came into the room. The nurse checked Briana's condition carefully. After that she wrote a note on a piece of paper.

"There is nothing to worry about. Her heart is working normally," the nurse said and then left the two of them after performing her duties.

"Did you hear what the nurse said? From now on you don't need to worry. Your heart condition is fine," Joe said enthusiastically with a big smile. He couldn't hide the happiness he was feeling.

Briana could only nod. She couldn't say anything. Now she was surrounded by happiness. It was just that she couldn't express it in words.

***

"Are you waiting for something?"

Angela walked slowly into Chris' room. She saw Chris walking back and forth. She hadn't seen Chris since yesterday. Even though they live in the same house. Chris was avoiding school.

"I'm waiting for some good news from John," Chris replied casually.

"What news is that if I may know?" asked Angela.

Chris pulled the corners of his lips up. He stared intently at Angela. Angela's request reminded him of the secret Angela had been hiding from him.

"I didn't want to tell you. You have no right to ask anyway," Chris snapped, blatantly showing his annoyance with his girlfriend.

The look on Angela's face changed instantly. Her eyes were wide and she showed deep sadness. Even though Chris was often rude to her, she didn't think he would say something like that to her. Chris had managed to hurt her feelings.

"I'm just worried about you," Angela said after gaining control of her emotions. She didn't want to look sad in front of Chris.

"You should be worried about yourself," Chris snapped fiercely. "You never know how long you're going to be here."

Angela's mouth dropped open. Chris's words were cutting and sharp. This time Chris had really gone too far.

"Are-you going to kick me- out of here?" Angela asked stammeringly.

"That depends on you," Chris replied enigmatically. "Especially after I found out that you've been keeping a secret from me."

"I wasn't keeping any secrets. Don't you already know everything that happened to me?" Angela challenged Chris back.

Chris snorted, then smiled sarcastically. "I just realized I made a mistake."

"Believe me I'm not hiding anything from you," Angela pleaded pleadingly.

"It's too late for you to ask me to trust you," Chris retorted. "I just found out that you have a daughter that you've been hiding from me."

Angela immediately dropped to the floor. Chris finally learned the truth. She regretted not having told him before. Maybe things wouldn't have been this bad. Maybe Chris wouldn't hate her as much as he does now.

"You'd better get out of here," Chris ordered in a tight voice. He was trying to contain his emotions. For the time being he would put Angela's problems aside. But once Briana's problem was resolved, he would make a decision about Angela's future.

"Let me explain everything," Angela pleaded once she was on her feet. "Things are not as you imagined. I may be guilty, but give me a chance to explain myself to you."

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I don't need it," Chris snapped fiercely.

Their argument finally came to a halt as John entered the room with hurried steps. John glanced briefly at Angela. Then he walked over to Chris, and looked him straight in the eye.

"It's time for us to go on the offensive, Boss," John announced.

"Don't waste any time. We're going to make our move now."

Chris walked out of the room without looking at Angela. Right now there were important things to do. Especially if it wasn't getting Briana out of that hospital.