Chapter 210 I Can’t Lose Him
Everything about this felt weird.
Something was definitely wrong!
Lucas took the phone from my hand. "Bella was with me this afternoon. She never called you. We only found out Marcus was missing when you called us in the evening."
Thinking back now, that call wasn't from Gale at all!
My blood ran cold in an instant.
Everyone present wasn't stupid—they quickly caught on. "It's a trap! Let's go!"
Marcus didn't have time to find clothes for himself, but he immediately grabbed a bathrobe for Jacqueline.
Jacqueline had been through many crises growing up. Without a word, she wrapped the bathrobe around her waist, at least covering the marks on her legs.
We rushed downstairs. It was peak tourist hours, and someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Catch them! They're getting away!"
Then a car crashed through the glass windows, charging inside. Screams erupted everywhere, but the driver kept his foot on the gas, heading straight for us.
I stared at the driver's face. "It's you!"
"Miracle Surgeon, I finally found you. Go to hell!"
This crazy guy was Maximus Reynolds from the Reynolds family. Years ago, his father got seriously sick and begged Doyle to save him, but his father didn't trust Doyle and tried to lock him up as his personal doctor.
Doyle refused to treat someone like that. Later, they found another doctor, and supposedly the father lived another six months. But that doctor had said, "If Doyle had helped, Mr. Reynolds could have lived at least three more years."
Because of that one sentence, the Reynolds family saw Doyle and me as enemies and repeatedly tried to harm us.
Everyone in this family seemed crazy. Doyle chose to go into hiding precisely to avoid them.
"Watch out!" Lucas pulled me into his arms and dragged me back.
Marcus protected Jacqueline while the others covered us and fought back.
Gunshots mixed with curses and crying. Following the cries, I saw two kids around five or six years old. I ordered sharply, "Go upstairs! Too many people in the lobby—innocent people could get hurt!"
Lucas glanced at the kids and decisively grabbed my arm to help me up. "Let's go!"
"Don't split up, and don't go back to the tenth floor—there's definitely a trap there!" I turned and shot a hitman. An idea formed. "There's a ballroom on the second floor. Let's go there!"
The ballroom was large with three fixed exits—one main door and two side doors. We guarded the doors, taking down enemies one by one until we completely turned the situation around.
Half an hour later, the counterattack ended. Marcus caught Maximus and beat him half to death.
"How did you know I was here?" Marcus interrogated him, wanting to know the whole truth about this trap.
Maximus sneered but refused to say anything. He used his remaining strength to glare at me, his gloomy eyes full of malice.
"Keep staring and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Marcus punched Maximus in the head.
Maximus's head jerked to the side. He spat out blood but still stared straight at me. "You can save people but deliberately don't—you don't deserve to be doctors!"
Lucas clenched his fist and walked toward him. I grabbed Lucas and shook my head. "The more you engage with him, the more worked up he gets. Ignore him."
I walked to a corner to call Gale and Brian to explain what happened. Lucas had someone gag Maximus and stood guard beside me.
Suddenly, a bullet came whistling toward my chest!
I turned in shock and dodged to the side. Lucas's sharp eyes filled with panic. Without hesitation, he pulled me into his arms, pushed me to the ground, and used his unprotected back to shield me from the bullet.
It all happened in a fraction of a second.
The sound of tearing flesh was both crisp and dull. Blood splattered. The air seemed to thicken.
Hot blood gushed from Lucas's body, spraying onto my face and flowing down my neck.
"Lucas!"
I held Lucas tightly, my hands clutching his back. Near his heart, there was now a hole. Blood had soaked through his clothes, turning them dark.
"I'm fine." Lucas's face was pale. He tried to push himself up, but his arms shook like leaves in a cold wind.
He groaned and collapsed heavily on top of me, unable to support himself.
"Mr. Valeri." Alfred cried out in grief and ran over.
A tiny pistol fell from Maximus's sleeve. Marcus cursed and looked at him fiercely. Maximus burst into maniacal laughter.
"I heard your right hand is useless. I can't kill you, so I'll let you taste what it's like to watch someone important die in front of you while you're powerless!"
"Shut the hell up!" Marcus slapped Maximus unconscious.
I pressed hard on the wound on Lucas's back. The warm, sticky blood against my palm made me shake all over, as if I was back on that day five years ago I least wanted to face.
The bullet had penetrated deep into Lucas's chest, near his heart and lungs. Massive bleeding could kill him in my arms at any moment.
"Mrs. Valeri! What do we do?" Alfred asked me in panic. "Please save Mr. Valeri. You won't let him die, right?"
"Right, I won't let him die. Stop the bleeding—Phoenix Blood Balm—yes! Stop the bleeding first!" With Alfred's help, I crawled out from under Lucas, pulled out the medicine jar I carried with me, scooped out some ointment, and smeared it on Lucas's wound.
"Lucas! Don't close your eyes. Lucas, can you hear me?"
"I'm fine." Lucas forced his eyes open. He tried to lift his hand, but only his fingertips moved.
"I'm a bit tired. Want to sleep for a while."
"No!" I called loudly in his ear. "Lucas, you can't sleep!"
My tears dripped onto Lucas's face. His eyelashes trembled, but he couldn't open those cold yet affectionate eyes.
Fear engulfed me like a tsunami.
Was I going to watch another important person die in front of me?
No, I couldn't lose Lucas.
I couldn't lose anyone else.
Absolutely not!
"The nearest hospital is at least forty minutes away by car."
"People downstairs already called the police. The ambulance should come soon."
"No good—there's traffic!" Marcus held up Cole's phone. "Brian says traffic outside is chaotic. The ambulance is stuck!"
I growled, "Get my toolbox!"
"Coming!" Adrian had already sprinted to the car to get the medical kit.
"Move two long tables over here! Lift Lucas onto the table. Get some clean sheets and several floor lamps! And bring some strong alcohol!" My voice shook terribly as I directed everyone to set up a makeshift operating table in the ballroom.
Adrian and Alfred became my assistants.
"Alcohol, gauze, hemostatic clamps, suture needles, drainage strips."
"All ready!"
"Good." I took a deep breath and cut open Lucas's blood-soaked shirt. The small wound looked incredibly horrifying. My teeth chattered, my right hand went numb, but every cell in my brain seemed to scream at me not to back down.
I applied alcohol around the wound and began disinfecting. The cold sensation brought Lucas back to consciousness somewhat.
"Don't panic. I trust you." Lucas's voice was barely audible, but he forced himself to stay alert to comfort me. He even joked, "You're going to operate on me? Then I'll definitely survive."
My heart ached so much I wanted to cry, yet I gained infinite courage.
"I will save you. I will!"