Seeing her friend in distress, Deanna embraced her, soothingly saying, "It's okay, Mr. Grant will be fine."
"But the nurse came out and told me, told me..."
Julia choked up, unable to finish her sentence.
Even so, Deanna knew what she wanted to say. While gently patting her back, she continued to comfort her, "No, no, look at Mr. Grant, he was shot multiple times and still managed to make it to the hospital breathing; he will be fine!"
It was unclear whether Deanna's assured tone comforted Julia or if Julia was simply exhausted from crying, but she gradually calmed down.
At that moment, the doors of the emergency room suddenly opened from the inside, and the doctor came out with a nurse.
Also emerging was Lionel, who had just been stabilized and was temporarily out of danger.
"Doctor, how is my friend doing?"
Deanna and Julia were momentarily stunned before they quickly surrounded the doctor, bombarding him with questions while observing Lionel on the hospital bed.
Lionel's condition was quite dire. His breathing was weak under an oxygen mask, his chest barely moving, and his complexion was ashen like that of a dying man.
Julia watched, feeling a pain she had never experienced before.
In her memory, Lionel had always been vibrant and gentlemanly in front of her, with infuriatingly meticulous cleanliness and compulsions, but he had never looked so frail.
Tears fell again from Julia's eyes as she sobbed and murmured to the unconscious Lionel on the bed, "Lionel, I want to eat the pasta you make. You said whenever I wanted it, you'd make it right away. I want it now."
However, Lionel did not respond, lying motionless on the bed.
Although surprised by Julia's revelation of their time spent together, Deanna held her friend and comforted her.
"Julia, don't be sad. The doctor just said they've removed all the bullets. As long as Mr. Grant gets through these next three days, there won't be any danger to his life. You need to stay strong; Mr. Grant will need your care then."
"You're right. This guy has no family here; who else but me can take care of him? I need to stay strong."
Unaware that her emotions betrayed her feelings for Lionel, Julia wiped the tears from her face and followed the nurses as they moved Lionel to the ICU.
Deanna initially wanted to follow but was stopped by the doctor.
The doctor, who knew Deanna, stepped forward and pulled a blood-stained gauze from his coat pocket. "Miss Jones, during the surgery, the patient woke up once. He seemed to want to say something but was too injured to speak, so I had him write it down. However, it seems he didn't finish writing before he passed out again."
"Thank you, doctor."
Deanna quickly took the gauze and thanked him.
The doctor nodded and walked away.
Soon only Deanna and Shannon were left in the hallway.
She unfolded the gauze given by the doctor; it was covered in bloodstains, but she still found something resembling handwriting in the middle of it - the letters "Br."
At the sight of this incomplete trace, Deanna's expression became inscrutable.
However, she quickly composed herself and turned to Shannon, saying, "Let's go see if Julia needs any help."
There wasn't any help needed; it was just that Julia was still very upset.
Deanna inevitably had to comfort her again.
The two of them stayed outside the ICU.
After some time had passed, Brent hurriedly ran over from outside.
"Miss, I heard Mr. Grant was resuscitated."
Brent looked excitedly at Deanna.
Deanna looked back at him and nodded, "Yes, he was resuscitated. The doctor said that as long as he gets through these three days, he'll be past the critical period."
"That's great; Mr. Grant really is lucky."
Brent seemed thrilled for Lionel.
But Deanna, who had been observing him, noticed a hint of disappointment flash deep in his eyes.
Deanna quickly hid her emotions and then smiled brightly, "Yes, Mr. Grant is lucky to have survived. Moreover, he even provided us with clues about those who broke into the lab. Look, this is the blood writing Mr. Grant gave to the doctor when he briefly regained consciousness during treatment. We'll send it to the police station later. Based on the clues from the police's scene investigation, we should be able to solve the case quickly."
Almost upon hearing this, Brent's expression cracked.
"Mr. Grant woke up once?"
He seemed incredulous and repeated the question.
Deanna nodded. "That's what the doctor said; it must be true. Brent, why do you seem reluctant for Mr. Grant to wake up?"
As she spoke, Julia, who had been standing nearby with a frown, also turned her gaze towards Brent.
Faced with their stares, Brent forced himself to perk up and defended himself. "Why wouldn't I be happy if Mr. Grant is saved? I couldn't be more relieved!"