Chapter 166

Chapter 166

"Suction! Flick the soles!" Roy grabbed the baby and cleared the airway, then flicked the infant's soles twice.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

"Waaah!!!" A loud cry rang out in the operating room.

The entire medical team breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's alive!" A nurse said with immense joy, wiping away tears.

The baby's skin quickly changed from blue-purple to pink. He waved his little fists with eyes closed, his tiny face scrunched up.

After the baby was cleaned up, the nurse placed him on the scale.

"It's a handsome baby boy! Six pounds! Very healthy!"

The nurse carefully examined the little boy.

His eyes and nose bridge were exactly like Matthew's.

But those soft lips and delicate chin looked just like Elizabeth, who was still unconscious.

"Quick, take him out to show the family." Roy didn't look up, continuing to suture.

The operating room door slid open .

John immediately jumped up, staring intently at the nurse coming out.

The nurse held a bundle in her arms.

"John, Elizabeth and the baby are safe. It's a boy."

John reached out with trembling hands, stiffly taking the soft little child into his arms.

He looked down at that little face so similar to both Matthew and Elizabeth, and tears flooded out, covering his face.

He cried like a fool in the hallway, holding the baby.

"Like... so alike..." he mumbled incoherently.

Just then, urgent footsteps came from the end of the hallway.

Matthew rushed in, eyes bloodshot, looking like he was about to collapse.

"Mr. Moore!" John stepped forward, handing over the bundle in his arms. "It's a boy, very healthy!"

Matthew's steps stopped. His gaze swept over that wrinkled little face, then he rushed toward the ICU.

It was already crowded with doctors.

Seeing Matthew stumbling in, everyone instinctively stepped aside to clear a path.

Elizabeth lay quietly on the hospital bed, her chest rising and falling weakly, as if it might stop completely at any second.

On the monitor screen beside the bed, the numbers representing vital signs were sliding down bit by bit. The harsh green light reflected in Matthew's eyes, making his temples throb with pain.

"Mr. Moore..." Roy's tone was heavy. "Ms. Winters' vital signs continue to decline. We've initiated the highest level emergency protocol, but you should prepare yourself for the worst."

Matthew walked to the bedside, trembling as he grasped Elizabeth's hand.

Her hand was still soft but ice cold. Matthew's burning palm covered it, but he couldn't warm it up no matter he did.

"Elizabeth." Matthew slowly bent down, his voice shaking uncontrollably. "I'm back."

Matthew gently caressed her cheek, his eyes full of regret and pain. "Am I useless? I've hurt you again and again, and I still can't protect you..."

"You're doing this on purpose to punish me, deliberately scaring me like this, right?"

"I was wrong, I was really wrong... Don't go, please, don't leave me alone..."

Matthew murmured . The commanding presence he usually had in the business world was completely gone, leaving only helplessness.

Matthew gripped Elizabeth's hand tightly, calling her name over and over, his tone as devout as a believer praying for a miracle.

"Elizabeth, you really know how to torture me, how to push me into an abyss of no return..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the monitor suddenly let out a piercing alarm. The numbers on the screen plummeted, instantly approaching zero.

"Patient's heart rate dropping rapidly! Prepare external defibrillation!"

"Epinephrine hydrochloride 1mg, rapid IV push!"

Roy and the nurses immediately crowded around, skillfully operating the equipment, forcibly pushing Matthew aside.

Matthew watched helplessly as Roy placed the defibrillator pads on Elizabeth's chest, watched her frail body being hit by the current, bouncing up heavily again and again. His heart hurt so much he could barely breathe.

"Move! Everyone move!" Matthew roared, eyes bloodshot, lunging forward like a madman, but John held him back firmly from behind.

"Mr. Moore, please calm down! Roy is doing everything he can. You'll disturb them like this!" John said, eyes red, gripping Matthew's arm tightly, afraid he'd do something rash.

Just then, Matthew clearly saw Elizabeth's hand move slightly.

Was it an illusion?

Matthew held his breath, staring intently at her hand, a faint glimmer of hope igniting in his eyes.

Then her eyelids trembled slightly, as if she was using all her strength to try to open them, but ultimately couldn't, and then there was no more movement.

The waveform on the monitor completely flatlined.

"Beep..."

A long, monotonous alarm sound echoed endlessly in the room.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Only the alarm and the doctors' and nurses' rapid breathing remained in the room.

Matthew stared at that flat line. His mind went blank, all thoughts drained away, leaving only endless desolation.

Matthew wanted to check her breathing, to feel her pulse, but found his hands shaking uncontrollably.

"Did I give you permission to die?" A howl of extreme pain broke through Matthew's clenched teeth.

Matthew could no longer support himself. His legs gave way, and he fell heavily to his knees along the bedside.

Matthew slowly lowered his head, leaning close to Elizabeth's ear. "Elizabeth, listen. Don't think you can just shake me off like this... No matter where you go, heaven or hell, I'll drag you back and never let go again."

"Heaven or hell, I'll go with you. We'll never be apart again."

Matthew suddenly became calm. He quietly looked at Elizabeth's face, accepting what was about to happen.

Matthew knew that the only light in his life was about to go out completely.

From now on, his world would be left with only endless darkness, never a glimmer of light again.

Matthew's will to live, all his attachment to this world, also completely dissipated into the rain with that long alarm sound.

What was there to fear about death?

Did she think dying would let her escape him? That she could leave him all alone in this cold world?

The piercing alarm continued to sound.

"Charge the defibrillator! 200 joules!"

Roy gripped the defibrillator paddles, pressing them against Elizabeth's pale chest.