When Deanna returned to the hospital, it was already evening, and she looked utterly disheveled.
Samantha had been frantically searching for her and had even prepared for the worst. She had arranged for Old Hughes to be brought over. If Deanna couldn't be found, Old Hughes would give medical treatment to Lance instead. Fortunately, Deanna came back.
"What on earth happened?" Samantha couldn't help but ask as she looked at the bedraggled Deanna.
Deanna's voice was hoarse as she replied, "Let me clean up first. I'll tell you everything after I finish today's treatment."
Hearing this, Samantha didn't refuse and had someone take Deanna to freshen up.
Later, Deanna, now tidied up, went straight to the ward. Braylon was already waiting inside. Seeing the pale-faced Deanna enter, he wanted to express his concern, but before he could speak, Deanna asked, "Is the medicine ready?"
"It's prepared and kept warm in the kitchen."
Indeed, the VIP ward came with a kitchen. Deanna nodded and walked to the bedside, opening a cloth bag containing golden needles. She instructed, "Help him sit up."
Braylon nodded and helped the unconscious Lance sit up. Deanna held a golden needle but couldn't bring herself to use it because her hand was trembling uncontrollably. There was a three to four-centimeter wound on her palm, not bleeding but infected and swollen.
"Your hand..." Braylon looked at Deanna's hand in astonishment.
Deanna frowned and endured the pain in her hand, saying softly, "It's nothing." She then focused and began the acupuncture. Seeing this, Braylon refrained from speaking further to avoid disturbing her.
The treatment took nearly two hours. After putting away the last needle, Deanna felt dizzy but managed to steady herself by holding onto the bedside table.
Braylon noticed her condition and asked worriedly, "Dr. Deanna, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but I'll need you to handle the rest. I need to go to the medical office," Deanna replied with a frown. Supporting herself had inadvertently aggravated her palm wound, causing intense pain.
Outside, Samantha saw Deanna looking even weaker than before and quickly went to support her. "How are you?"
"I'm okay, but I need to go to the medical office to treat my wound. Could you find a nurse to help me over?" Deanna didn't want to trouble Samantha.
Samantha didn't think much of it and personally helped Deanna to the medical office. Her opinion of Deanna changed, though this didn't mean she accepted Deanna as her daughter-in-law. She felt gratitude and guilt instead. After all, Deanna's ordeal today was due to her son.
Later, as Deanna finished treating her wound, Samantha couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "What exactly happened?"
"I think we might have miscalculated. The other side knew they couldn't deal with Mr. Mercer directly, so they targeted me instead. Fortunately, they didn't kill me outright but tried to drown me in the sea for revenge," Deanna explained softly about what had happened during the day.
She spoke lightly, but Samantha listened in horror, unsure of what to say.
At that moment, Bella arrived with the two children. "Aunt Samantha, I heard Dr. Deanna has been found."
As she spoke, she saw Deanna sitting next to Samantha and felt a flash of anger in her eyes. Damn it, why is this woman still alive? How could she be so lucky?
The two children rushed over excitedly, expressing their concern. "Mommy, Grannie said you were kidnapped. Are you hurt?" "Mommy, you scared me and my brother."
By the end of their words, both children had tears in their eyes. Seeing this, Deanna quickly comforted them.
Watching the warm scene of mother and children, Samantha finally felt relieved after a day of anxiety. Once the children calmed down, she arranged for someone to take them home.
Perhaps due to the day's fright, everyone went straight to their rooms to rest upon returning to the villa. In a daze, Samantha felt like she had forgotten something but couldn't recall what it was and eventually gave up trying to remember as she fell asleep.
...
At the Valencia family villa in Cloudmere, Logan had been confronting Alonso and his son all night. Without concrete evidence, he couldn't do anything against them. Alonso certainly wouldn't admit his involvement.
"Mr. Mercer," Alonso said again, "if you can provide evidence that I harmed Mr. Mercer, I'll go with you without a word. But if you can't, please leave immediately or we'll call the police!"
"Mr. Mercer's life is uncertain now. If you end up in jail again, the stability of Mercer Group will be jeopardized once more. That wouldn't be good news for Mr. Mercer," Alonso's son added.
Logan's face darkened with anger. "Threatening me? Do you think the Mercer family is afraid?"