Chapter 115
Caroline glanced down at the supplementary clauses.
Arthur had indeed added more conditions: a villa in Windy Hill Mansion, plus five percent of the Windsor Group's shares. To save Heidi, he had truly thought of everything.
And this was how he saw her—a gold digger.
The driver moved quickly. Half an hour later, the Pagani stopped at the hospital entrance.
Caroline's last visit here had been for cancer chemotherapy. After her professor and senior colleague developed a special treatment in their lab, she'd never returned.
Walking into the hospital again, she felt sudden, twisting pain in her abdomen, nearly robbing her of consciousness. Yet her expression remained unchanged as she entered with a straight spine, like a cold pine on a snowy mountain.
Arthur pulled strings to let Caroline skip the blood screening, going straight to blood type testing. When they confirmed she was AB-negative, his eyes visibly lit with excitement.
"Arrange the blood donation now."
The nurse hesitated for a moment. Caroline's name sounded familiar, as if she'd heard it many times before, but couldn't quite place it.
Under Arthur's murderous gaze, she didn't dwell on it. After Caroline registered, she proceeded to donate blood.
But Caroline's body was already weak. Before they'd even drawn 200 milliliters, waves of intense dizziness washed over her, and the pain in her abdomen grew increasingly severe.
"Wait... wait a moment," Caroline's voice was weak, her lips completely drained of color. "Just wait a bit."
The nurse, preoccupied with Heidi hemorrhaging in surgery, didn't notice Caroline's condition. Seeing that she wanted to stop after less than 200 milliliters, the nurse became agitated.
"Ms. Hamilton, that's not possible! The patient is bleeding out in surgery and desperately needs blood. If we stop now, it's like condemning someone to death!"
Moreover, with the Windsor Group CEO's overwhelming presence nearby, she didn't dare stop. She was even slightly irritated by what seemed like Caroline's delicacy. "Even teenagers can donate a full pint in one go. You've barely given a hundred milliliters—nowhere near enough to make you faint."
But Caroline truly felt she couldn't continue. She didn't want to die saving Heidi.
"Nurse, I really don't feel well. Could we pause for a moment?" As she spoke, she lifted her head slightly.
Her bloodless face and pale lips made her look so haggard and weak that she seemed on the verge of passing out completely.
The nurse was startled by her appearance and quickly reduced the flow rate. "Your face is so pale! Are you feeling unwell? If so, you shouldn't be donating blood, ma'am."
Naomi arrived at that moment. Upon learning that Heidi was hemorrhaging in surgery and Caroline happened to have the matching blood type, she let out a cold laugh, her face showing nothing but irritation toward her biological daughter.
"What are you pretending? Making such a fuss over a little blood? Heidi saved Arthur's life at the ribbon-cutting ceremony!" She spat the words like venom. "If not for Heidi, Arthur would be dead now. You owe her this—you should be repaying her."
With that, Naomi turned to the nurse, who was clearly stunned. "Don't mind her. She's just acting. The woman in surgery is her sister, and she doesn't want to save her. That's why she's pretending to be weak, but she's actually perfectly fine."
The nurse wasn't entirely convinced. "But ma'am, she really does look terrible." Like she might faint any second.
"What are you afraid of?" Naomi grabbed the nurse's hand. "Isn't your duty to save lives? My daughter is lying in surgery; what if her operation is delayed?"
The nurse hesitated, but finally cowered under Naomi's severe gaze. With trembling hands, she reached toward Caroline.
"I'm... I'm sorry..."
Caroline smiled weakly, not blaming her. Even strangers showed her kindness, yet her own mother seemed determined to push her toward death.
These were her so-called family members. All of them wished she would die.
Caroline bit her lip hard. The brief moment of recovery vanished as the nurse continued drawing blood. She grew weaker, her consciousness gradually blurring.
As she neared unconsciousness, she saw Arthur approaching her with what appeared to be an anxious expression.
She moved her lips, but before she could speak, she heard her mother Naomi's complaints.
"Arthur, why are you here? Has Heidi's condition stabilized?"
Noticing Arthur looking at Caroline, she quickly interjected. "Arthur, don't worry about her. She's just acting. Not even 200 milliliters drawn and she's acting like she's dying? She used to donate 400 milliliters in college—why can't she manage now?"
Naomi's voice grew sharper. "She's deliberately putting on a show to get your attention. We should ignore her and keep drawing!"
Arthur's cold eyes fell on Caroline, devoid of any warmth. "Continue—unless she's dead."
Caroline pressed her lips together, a trace of crimson blood seeping through. Her breathing grew faint, and her delicate veins could no longer yield a single drop of blood.
The nurse tried many methods but couldn't draw more blood. Even changing positions and reinserting the needle didn't work.
Looking up, the nurse saw Caroline's face had turned pale to the point of near-unconsciousness, with a bluish tinge.
This was a sign of imminent collapse. She was frightened by Caroline's condition and looked at her with sympathy.
"Mr. Windsor, this lady's condition isn't good. If we continue drawing blood, we might risk her life..."
"Continue," Arthur said coldly.
A self-mocking smile crossed Caroline's face as she watched the sweating nurse searching for another vein.
Just before she lost consciousness, she thought she saw concern in Arthur's eyes as he looked at her.
A hallucination, surely? Arthur believed she was faking—how could he possibly be worried about her? Even if she died right in front of him, he probably wouldn't care.
In the hospital room, warm sunlight streamed through the window. The noisy commotion around her made her head ache.
In her hazy state, Caroline thought she heard Layla and Logan crying.
"Mommy, you lost so much blood. Are you going to die?"
Caroline's lips moved slightly. Recognizing Layla's voice, she wanted to comfort her, to tell her not to cry, that she was fine.
But when she opened her eyes, there was no one beside her.
Instead, the hospital bed next to hers was surrounded by people. Her husband, her children, her mother—all looking at the person in the bed with worried eyes.
"Thank goodness for the doctor's skill. Otherwise, Heidi would certainly have been in danger."
"But Ms. White got hurt. Daddy should have protected her well; it's all his fault," Logan said, sitting on the edge of the bed.