Chapter 457: The Stratagem of Self-Injury
At the hospital, Angelina arrived first and pulled Amara aside to ask about the situation.
"Self-harm? No way. The person she hit is in bad shape—their leg might be done for."
"Impossible?" Angelina felt something was off about this whole thing. Selene had been at the company for half a month without seeing William, and now with this car accident, wouldn't William have to come check on her? Could this be some kind of scheme to gain sympathy?
"No way. Have you ever seen someone use a sympathy scheme that requires cosmetic stitches on their face? Highly unlikely."
Amara had asked a colleague last night, who said Selene would need at least five stitches on her face, minimum.
Soon after, William's call came in. Angelina walked toward the hospital room, and just as she reached the door, she heard William and Zephyr exchanging pleasantries.
After the greetings ended, William said in a low voice, "It's truly regrettable that this happened. Ms. Peterson, I'm giving you some time off. Stay home and rest properly, and come back to the company after you've recovered."
"That's not necessary. I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with me, Mr. Brown. Thank you for your concern."
The moment William finished speaking, Selene immediately jumped in. She had come to the company to get close to William - if she was sent home like this, where would that leave her reputation?
Hearing this, Zephyr couldn't help but laugh. "Mr. Brown, you see... Selene is determined to become a lawyer. She finally got a suitable internship opportunity - she won't let it slip away!"
"I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with her either. Forget the rest - just transfer her to a less demanding department! She's my only daughter, and I can't bear to see her suffer."
Outside, Angelina raised an eyebrow at these words. Transfer to a less demanding department? This was about getting her close to William!
The implication was practically spelling out that the tenth floor was too far from William's office.
"Come here..." Angelina beckoned to Finn and whispered something in his ear.
Finn looked shocked at what he heard.
"Mr. Peterson, Mr. Brown." Angelina pushed the door open at just the right moment, interrupting their conversation.
Selene had just thought this might work out when Angelina appeared out of nowhere.
"Ms. Peterson, how are your injuries?" Angelina walked into the room and looked at Selene with concern.
"Just minor injuries, won't affect my work."
"That's good. Make sure to take good care of yourself these days, don't..."
"Mr. Brown, a large group of reporters has gathered downstairs," Finn burst through the door in a panic while they were talking.
"Someone posted last night's video online, and the victim's family contacted reporters for interviews." Selene had hit someone last night, and the victim had lost a leg. Zephyr would definitely try to settle things with money, but if he handled it, wouldn't that give her a chance to leave the tenth floor?
What a brilliant move by Angelina! By making this blow-up, Zephyr definitely wouldn't want Selene appearing in public - forget the top floor, she might not even come to the company at all.
Brilliant!
This was a perfect underhanded move that completely dealt with the problem.
Zephyr's face went pale when he heard the news. "Transfer to another hospital!"
"Mr. Peterson."
"Sophia, what are you doing here?" Selene was surprised to see her here.
That day, Sophia rushed over wearing a light green coat, her hair disheveled - clearly she had hurried here.
"I saw the news. I happened to be back home recently, so I came to check on you. How are you?"
With a room full of people, Sophia acted as if she didn't see anyone else and went straight to Selene.
Her face full of concern, she looked Selene over anxiously from head to toe.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
"Mr. Peterson, Mrs. Peterson."
Only after hearing Selene say she was fine did Sophia glance at the others in the room.
"Mr. Brown." When Sophia's gaze fell on William, Angelina actually saw hidden restraint in her eyes.
Hatred? Or desire?
...
"Why is Kurt's daughter getting involved in this?" In the black Bentley, Angelina started muttering strangely as soon as she got in the car.
"Good friends? Then her timing is a bit too perfect, isn't it? She shows up right after something happens? If I remember correctly, doesn't Kurt's daughter go to school in Regal City?"
"Coming from Regal City would take at least three to five hours, right? How long has it been?"
"Does she have a private jet at her age?"
After yesterday's heavy rain, the temperature had dropped sharply. Leaving the hospital, Angelina was so cold she kept rubbing her hands.
"This weather is just like all these women in Emerald City eyeing Mr. Brown - really strange."
"Look into it!" William, who had been sitting in silence, spoke coldly.
At nine o'clock, Thalia woke from a nap.
After changing clothes and going downstairs, the house was empty - everyone had gone about their business, leaving her as the idle one.
She felt a bit uncomfortable with it for a moment.
"Mrs. Brown, good morning!"
"Mr. Brown said before leaving this morning that you should have breakfast when you wake up, and he'll come back to take you to Mistwood Hill after handling some business."
John left?
Before Thalia's confusion could settle, the sound of an engine came from the courtyard. Three cars had left, but only two returned - the other had taken Angelina to the company.
"Why are you back? Not busy today?"
In the early morning, a light drizzle was still falling intermittently. William came in covered in cold air. The man entered, took off his coat, and handed it to a servant, then took Thalia's hand and went into the dining room.
"Busy, but I was worried you'd be uncomfortable staying alone, so I came back to take you to Mistwood Hill."
Thalia felt warmth in her heart hearing this.
Looking at the man's tall figure, she felt mixed emotions. "I don't think I've ever made a special effort to consider your feelings when doing something."
"Thalia, you're someone who corrects mistakes once you realize them - I've always known that. Although not considering my perspective isn't exactly wrong, I know that once you're aware of it, you'll change."
William pulled out a chair and signaled the servant to bring breakfast. Thalia raised an eyebrow. "I feel like you're manipulating my emotions."
"Am I?"
"Aren't you?" Thalia asked back.
...
"Sophia, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you had exams recently? Won't this delay you?"
In the hospital room, Selene looked somewhat surprised at Sophia, who was sitting by the bed peeling fruit for her.
"My mom hasn't been feeling well these past few days. I thought I'd come back to see her over the weekend. I didn't expect to hear you'd had an accident, so I came to check on you. You know, you're my only friend in Emerald City - if something happened to you, what would I do?" As Sophia said this, her fruit-peeling movements slowed.
"You really..."
Before Selene could finish, the door was suddenly pushed open.
Two rough-looking women burst in and, without caring that Selene was lying in a hospital bed, pulled her right off it, shouting, "It's you, isn't it? You're the one who hit my son with your car! Just because you have money, you think you're so great?"
"Give me back my son's leg!"