Chapter 201 Is the Killer Anna?
The next afternoon, Cecilia was in much better spirits.
Stefan had gone to the office early that morning to handle urgent matters, but two bodyguards in black suits with stern expressions stood guard at the hospital room door.
Anyone attempting to approach would be politely but firmly stopped.
The meals delivered by nurses were refined and light, specially prepared by a top nutritionist.
Cecilia leaned against the bed, sipping soup in small mouthfuls while flipping through the latest issue of a design magazine.
Everything presented a sense of calm under tight protection.
Until the hospital room door was pushed open from outside.
The bodyguards at the door tried to stop the intruder, but only managed one syllable before being forced back by the visitor's icy stare.
That look carried the kind of authority that only comes from years in positions of power, making even the well-trained bodyguards instinctively step back half a pace.
Rufus walked in wearing a perfectly tailored dark gray custom suit, his posture upright.
He carried no gifts, only a thin leather document folder.
As he entered, the temperature in the entire space seemed to drop suddenly.
"Get out."
Cecilia put down her soup bowl without giving him an extra glance, her voice emotionless.
Rufus ignored her words.
He walked straight to the bedside and placed the document folder on the nightstand.
His gaze swept over the thick bandages wrapped around her arm, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily, something turbulent churning in the depths of his eyes.
"Look at this." His voice was somewhat hoarse. "After you see it, then decide whether you want me to leave."
Cecilia didn't move, just stared at him coldly.
"I promise, you'll be interested." Rufus added, his tone carrying absolute certainty.
After a standoff of more than ten seconds, Cecilia finally reached out with her uninjured left hand and took the document folder.
She wanted to see what tricks he was playing now.
Tearing open the seal, Cecilia pulled out a stack of documents.
Her eyes fell on the first document.
An art auction record. The woman who had posed as a nurse to attack Cecilia was named Wren. Wren, as the seller, had provided a worthless fake painting at an auction, which was then purchased by Anna's representative for tens of millions of dollars.
Cecilia turned to the second page.
An immigration record. Wren had obtained a short-term work visa as a "senior care specialist" through a headhunting company recommendation, assigned to a private nursing home in Harmony City. The founder of this headhunting company had been the human resources director at the Clark Group.
Cecilia looked at the third document.
A vehicle destruction record. The car with fake plates used for silencing witnesses was originally part of a batch of prop vehicles custom-made for "a certain film crew," which had been destroyed en masse as required after filming ended. The largest investor in that film was an entertainment company under the Clark Group.
Cecilia finished reading the documents page by page and silently placed them back on the nightstand.
Her heart sank completely.
Each piece of evidence perfectly avoided any direct criminal charges, hiding the murderous intent beneath the glamorous veneer of business, recruitment, and entertainment.
Buying a fake at an astronomical price was "an investment mistake"; hiring through a former employee's company was normal "talent referral"; using already "destroyed" prop vehicles was just someone exploiting a loophole.
Legally, Anna was as clean as a blank sheet of paper.
But when these clues were connected, they formed a crystal-clear picture of murder.
"Now, do you understand?" Rufus looked at Cecilia's cold face and spoke slowly.
"Stefan's fiancée wants you dead."
Cecilia finally looked up at him, her eyes showing none of the panic or anger Rufus had expected, only a bottomless calm.
"So what?" she asked.
Rufus was stunned.
"What do you mean, so what?"
"Rufus, you went through all this trouble, using your intelligence network to dig up these things." Cecilia's tone was flat, yet it made Rufus feel inexplicably panicked.
"You brought them to me—what are you trying to tell me?"
"Are you trying to tell me that you're more capable than Stefan, that you can find things he can't?"
"Or are you trying to tell me that you care about me more than he does, which is why you did all this?"
"Or..." Cecilia paused, a faint cold smile curving her lips, "are you trying to tell me that being with Stefan is dangerous, and only by staying with you would I be safe?"
Rufus's breathing hitched.
She had easily guessed all my thoughts.
"Do you think he would offend the Clark family for you?" Rufus's voice carried a hint of urgency from being seen through. "Don't be naive! The marriage between the Hensley family and the Clark family involves billions of dollars in business interests and strategic planning for decades to come. Between you and this grand scheme, which do you think he'll choose?"
"I'm not him." Rufus leaned forward slightly, trying to close the distance with Cecilia, his eyes showing a kind of crazy obsession.
"I don't have family burdens or any interests to weigh. In my world, there's only you."
"Stay with me, Amelia." Rufus was almost pleading, though his tone remained commanding. "I can give you absolute protection, no strings attached. I'll make Anna, and anyone who wants to harm you, pay a price they can't bear."
Cecilia laughed coldly.
"Save your disgusting speech!" She stuffed the documents back into the folder and casually tossed it back onto the nightstand.
The gesture was like discarding dirty garbage.
"Stefan and I just have an equal partnership. Our contract is clean and pure, unlike you—rotten and stinking from the inside out!"
"Get out!"
Rufus's face instantly turned ashen.
Just then, the hospital room door was pushed open again.
Stefan had returned. He was carrying an elegant food container, clearly having specially brought her dinner.
When Stefan saw Rufus standing in the room, the gentle smile on his face vanished instantly.
"Who let you in?"
Stefan set the food container down heavily on the table with a dull thud, his eyes frighteningly cold.
"I came to see her." Rufus straightened up, resuming his superior posture, confronting Stefan head-on.
"My person needs you to check on her?" Stefan walked to the bedside, naturally positioning himself between Cecilia and Rufus.
"Now, immediately, get out."
"Your person?" Rufus laughed mockingly. He glanced at the document folder on the nightstand. "Someone your own fiancée wants to kill?"
"Stefan, is this how you protect Amelia—letting her lie here waiting for the next knife to come?"
"Or did you know all along and were just weighing the pros and cons?"
Stefan's eyes suddenly became dangerous.
"My affairs don't need Mr. Chapman's concern." Stefan suddenly smiled, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. "As for Mr. Chapman, instead of wasting time here sowing discord, you'd better spend more time thinking about how to make up for those irreparable mistakes you caused with your own hands."
"Oh, right." Stefan leaned closer, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. "You can't make up for them."
"Everything you burned with your own hands will never come back."
This sentence completely shattered all of Rufus's pretense.
Rufus's body swayed, his face ashen.
"I'll be watching." Rufus struggled to maintain his last shred of dignity, his voice hoarse. "How you're going to deal with all this!"
After speaking, Rufus didn't linger. He turned and strode out of the hospital room.
My purpose has been achieved.
I've successfully planted the sharpest thorn between them.
In the room, the atmosphere was oppressively tense.