Chapter 147
The syringe was aimed at my hand, but his hands were shaking. He couldn't get it into my vein for the longest time.
Suddenly, the clinic's shabby door was kicked open.
"Police, freeze!"
Andrew rushed in first, followed by several officers.
Andrew took two quick steps forward, grabbed the man, yanked him off me, and threw him aside.
"Sophia, are you okay?" He helped me up, untied my restraints, and checked me for injuries.
I shook my head. "I'm fine. Go check on Liliana."
The police quickly got Amelia and the other man under control and untied the ropes on Liliana.
As soon as Liliana was free, she threw herself at me, crying uncontrollably. "Sophia, I was so scared. Are you hurt?"
"If something happened to you, I could never forgive myself."
"I'm fine, don't be scared." I patted her back to comfort her. Truth was, I was shaking with fear myself, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want Liliana to feel guilty.
"Are either of you hurt? Should we call an ambulance?" an officer asked with concern.
"No need, I'm fine." I shook my head and looked at Amelia, who was handcuffed by the police but still struggling and cursing.
Her eyes were red and swollen, her face covered in snot and tears, looking completely disheveled, yet she kept cursing at me.
"Sophia, you bitch, I hope you die a horrible death!"
The officer scolded her. "Shut up!"
I watched as Amelia was taken to the police car.
Liliana held my arm and said bitterly, "I refuse to believe this evil woman can escape the law this time."
Andrew said gently, "Sophia, you should still see a doctor, just to be safe."
I thought about it and nodded.
Just then, my phone rang. It was James.
I hesitated, then answered.
"Sophia," his voice sounded urgent, "I heard Amelia escaped, and the police are looking for her."
"She's already been caught." I cut him off, my tone calm. "She kidnapped Liliana to lure me there, and tried to hurt my baby."
There was dead silence on the other end, then James's voice came through, suppressing his rage. "Where are you and Liliana now? Are you hurt? I'm coming right over!"
"No need," I said. "We're not really hurt. We don't need you to come."
"I need to see you both." His tone left no room for argument.
I ignored him and hung up.
Andrew stayed with Liliana and me at the hospital for checkups. The doctor said I had stressed the pregnancy and needed to stay in the hospital for a few days.
Liliana was fine, though.
She felt very guilty. "Sophia, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
"If I hadn't been careless and gotten caught, you wouldn't have almost gotten hurt trying to save me." Liliana wiped her tears as she spoke.
"But I'm fine, aren't I?" I wiped her tears with amusement. "The way you're acting, people might think I bullied you or something."
"I can't help it." Liliana pouted pitifully.
There was a knock on the hospital room door.
"Who is it?" Liliana, still teary-eyed, went to open it. "James, what are you doing here?"
James didn't answer and rushed in.
His hair was messy, his breathing rapid. His eyes immediately locked onto me. Seeing me sitting on the bed in a hospital gown, his eyes filled with guilt.
"Sophia, I'm sorry, I..." He walked over quickly, wanting to touch me but not daring to, his voice hoarse. "I failed to protect you."
When Liliana saw him, she got angry and jumped up to stand in front of me. "James, how dare you show up here! This is all your fault! If you hadn't kept covering for Amelia, how would she dare to try to kill someone?"
"I..." James tried to explain.
"You what? Amelia said you got drunk and said you hated Sophia's baby, and she tried to hurt Sophia to please you." Liliana demanded loudly.
James's face turned pale instantly. He looked at me sharply and denied urgently, "No, I never said anything like that!"
I spoke wearily, cutting off his weak defense. "Whether you said it or not doesn't matter at all."
I looked directly into his eyes, my gaze cold. "James, the fact is that Amelia tried to hurt my baby."
James clenched his fists and said desperately in a low voice, "Sophia, you can't do this. What Amelia did, you can't blame me for it. I was wronged."
I snorted coldly. "Didn't you clean up her messes time and time again? Making her think someone had her back, so she kept pushing the limits again and again."
He seemed to use all his strength and said hoarsely, "No more. I won't deal with her anymore. This time, I'll make sure she gets the punishment she deserves."
"You'd better remember what you said today." Liliana huffed, but her expression softened a bit.
Just then, the hospital room door was pushed open again.
Indigo walked in with a cane, supported by Nolan.
Her face was dark.
"Grandma!" Liliana quickly went to help her.
Indigo ignored her. Her sharp gaze shot directly at James, and she pounded her cane heavily on the floor. "James, get on your knees!"
James's body stiffened. Facing the furious Indigo, he said nothing, pressed his lips together, and slowly knelt on the cold floor.
"Grandma, don't be angry..." I got up to try to calm her down.
Indigo had finally recovered her health. I didn't want her to have problems because of this.
"Sophia, sit down and rest. I'll handle this." Indigo patted my hand, signaling me to sit.
She walked up to James, her voice trembling with anger. "Look at all the terrible things you've done."
"For that evil-minded Amelia, you've hurt Sophia's heart again and again, making her suffer. Now Amelia's gone even crazier and almost killed her and the baby. Even Liliana got dragged into this. Are you trying to destroy the entire Smith family?"
James kept his head down. "Grandma, I know I was wrong. I was confused before..."
"Confused? You're blind and stupid!" Indigo was so angry that she kept tapping her cane on the floor. "You say she saved your life? Yes, she did help you back then, but the Smith family has paid back what we owed her long ago."
"The Smith family has taken good care of her all these years, never lacking anything. But what did she do?"
"She took it all for granted. Fine, that's not the problem. But she should never, ever have interfered in your marriage with Sophia, making Sophia suffer for so many years."
"She saved your life, so we owed her one. But doesn't she owe us? Your brother died trying to save her back then."
Indigo's tears streamed down. "The Smith family already paid her back with a life. Isn't that enough?"
James lowered his head in silence.