Chapter 266: In Emergency Rescue

Sophia closed her eyes briefly. Looking at James's face growing paler by the second, her thoughts spiraled into chaos. She couldn't even pin down what she was feeling.

The guests had already been cleared to the far side of the hall.

The entire banquet space was in disarray, the air thick with tension and hushed whispers.

Nathan came rushing over. Taking in the scene, his expression darkened immediately. He arranged for people to lock down the entire convention center, ordering strict checks at all entrances and exits to make sure none of Sullivan's people had slipped through.

In less than ten minutes, the wail of an ambulance siren grew louder, finally stopping at the convention center entrance.

The paramedics rushed in with a stretcher, gave James a quick assessment and emergency treatment, then lifted him onto it.

"Family? Someone needs to ride with us to the hospital!" one of the paramedics called out.

Sophia didn't hesitate. She followed them out immediately.

"Sophia!" Clara caught up, her eyes wide with worry. "I'll come with you!"

"Clara, go back with Ms. Wells. It's not safe here." Sophia glanced back at her and shook her head. "I'm enough at the hospital. Listen to me."

Without waiting for Clara to protest, she climbed into the ambulance after the paramedics.

The ambulance doors slammed shut, the siren blared to life, and the vehicle tore off toward the hospital.

Inside, the paramedics worked on James, monitoring his vitals closely.

James lay on the stretcher. Seeing Sophia sitting nearby with tension written all over her face, he couldn't help but speak. "Sophia, don't worry. I'm okay."

"When he came at me with that thing, I twisted to the side, so not much of it got in. Otherwise I would've gone down a long time ago and never made it to this ambulance."

Sophia closed her eyes again. She didn't look at him. Didn't answer.

Her mind was a tangled mess, a thousand thoughts crashing into each other.

She didn't even know why she'd followed him into this ambulance.

She was supposed to hate James down to her bones.

In her past life, he was the one who'd locked her in the Smith family villa, cut off all her ties to the outside world, forced her to watch helplessly as the Brown Group collapsed, watch her only sister Clara die right in front of her, and in the end, she herself had died in misery.

She didn't know how many times she'd sworn to herself that in this life, she would make James pay, make him suffer through every bit of pain she'd endured in her past life.

But just now, this man she'd hated across two lifetimes had thrown himself in front of her, taking that deadly needle meant for her.

If he hadn't lunged forward in that moment, given Christopher's distance and speed, she would've had nowhere to go.

That needle would've gone straight into her neck, and the person lying on this stretcher would be her.

She might even be dead already.

Sophia felt a tightness in her chest, her heart in terrible turmoil. She couldn't make sense of what she was feeling.

She even felt a flicker of regret—regret for getting in this ambulance, regret for showing even a hint of concern in front of him.

She should hate him. Should want him gone from her world for good.

She scrambled for excuses in her mind.

It had to be because he'd just saved her life.

She had basic principles, at least—she wouldn't turn her back on someone who'd just taken a bullet for her.

That had to be it.

Sophia repeated this to herself over and over, trying desperately to make herself believe it.

James looked at her tense profile, feeling like his heart was being slowly immersed in warm water.

He knew Sophia would never admit it out loud, but she still had feelings for him.

Otherwise she wouldn't be this shaken. Wouldn't have jumped into the ambulance without a second thought.

Wouldn't have screamed his name with that raw desperation in her voice when the needle went in.

No matter how much she pretended to despise him, no matter how cold she tried to be, she couldn't fool him.

James felt warmth spreading through his chest. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.

"Shut up." Sophia's eyes snapped open. She shot him an icy look, her voice completely flat. "James, if you want to live a little longer, shut up. I don't want to hear you talk."

The paramedic beside them immediately chimed in, "The patient can't get worked up right now. An elevated heart rate will make the toxin spread faster through his system. Try to stay quiet and keep your breathing steady."

James immediately closed his mouth. He stopped talking, just lay there quietly on the stretcher, but his gaze never left Sophia's face for a second, as if he wanted to burn her image into his memory.

The ambulance raced through the streets and soon screeched to a stop at the entrance of Northbridge City Hospital. The paramedics immediately wheeled the stretcher out, jogging the whole way, and rushed James into the emergency operating room.

The red light above the OR doors flicked on, sealing off the inside from the outside world.

Sophia stood at the entrance. Staring at that glowing red light, she felt the strength draining from her body bit by bit, finally leaning slowly against the wall behind her.

Before long, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Primrose came running up, holding Clara's hand.

"Sophia!" Primrose stopped in front of her. Seeing her pale face, she frowned deeply. "How is he? Is James okay?"

Sophia shook her head slightly, her voice coming out hoarse. "He's already in surgery. We don't know anything yet."

"Sophia, don't worry. James is going to be fine." Clara reached out and took her hand. The girl's palm was warm. She gave Sophia's arm a gentle shake, her voice soft and comforting. "He's tough. He'll pull through."

Sophia didn't speak. She just patted the back of Clara's hand lightly.

A few more minutes passed, and more hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor.

Mark came jogging up. Seeing Sophia standing outside the operating room, he stopped immediately, bowing slightly. "Ms. Brown."

Sophia looked up at him. "Serenity—did you call her?"

"Already done, Ms. Brown." Mark nodded immediately, his voice tight with suppressed urgency. "She's on her way. Should be here any minute."

Sophia let out a quiet breath and nodded. She turned to Clara. "Clara, you should go back with Ms. Wells."

"I'm not going back. Sophia, I want to stay here with you." Clara immediately shook her head, her eyes full of stubborn determination.

"Come on, just do this for me, okay?" Sophia looked at her with a tired, helpless smile. "When Serenity gets here, she's definitely going to have some words for me."

"Let me deal with that on my own. If you stay, you'll just end up feeling awful for no reason."

"But Serenity's such a sweetheart—she might not even blame you." Clara couldn't help but press her lips together. "This wasn't your fault to begin with. That psycho came out of nowhere, and James threw himself in front on his own. It has nothing to do with you."

"Alright, that's enough." Sophia reached out and ruffled her hair.

She turned to Primrose, her tone carrying a clear request. "Ms. Wells, could you please take Clara back for me? I'm enough here. If there's any news, I'll call you."