Chapter 352 Luring Für Elise out (Part 1)

Chapter 352 Luring Für Elise out (Part 1)
Royal Cherry Blossom Hospital
Laura burst into the emergency wing, heart pounding, only to find David and the others waiting outside the surgery doors. David caught sight of her and waved her over with a grave expression.
“Laura, over here.”
She hurried over, her voice shaking.
“How is James?”
David glanced toward the closed doors, jaw tight.
“We don’t know yet. The doctors haven’t come out. But… it doesn’t look good.”
The color drained from Laura’s face. She stumbled a step back, clutching her chest.
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me—James is already…”
“Don’t panic,” Michael said quickly, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder. “The doctors are still trying. Come sit down. We’ll know more soon.”
Laura nodded stiffly, knowing panic would help nothing. She followed Michael to a chair nearby and sat down like a puppet with its strings cut.
Time dragged on like torture.
Then finally—the light above the emergency room flicked off.
Everyone froze.
Laura shot up and ran to the door just as the doctor stepped out, his face unreadable.
“Who is the patient’s family member?”
“I am!” Laura cried. “I’m his wife. Doctor, how is he?!”
The doctor shook his head. His voice was steady, almost detached.
“The patient has sustained critical head trauma. Multiple internal organs are hemorrhaging due to the impact. We’ve done all we can. But—he may not make it through the next twenty-four hours.”
Laura staggered backward. David caught her before she hit the ground. Her lips quivered as if they no longer remembered how to form words.
“S-Say that again… He…”
“He may not survive the next twenty-four hours,” the doctor repeated. “You should inform his family to come see him one last time.”
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving behind a hallway full of stunned silence.
Grace and Anna broke into sobs, nearly collapsing into their husbands’ arms. Maria’s wails echoed painfully down the corridor.
Laura, in contrast, didn’t shed a tear. She stood like a statue, eyes vacant, staring at nothing.
David gently approached, voice laced with concern.
“Laura… are you okay?”
“Twenty-four hours…” she whispered, her voice hollow. “No. That can’t be. He promised… he said he’d stay with me forever. This has to be him. He did this…”
Her eyes narrowed. She grabbed her phone, but before she could dial, it started ringing.
She checked the caller ID—then darted to the end of the hallway and answered.
Her voice was full of venom.
“You’ve already done this much to James—what more do you want?!”
A pause on the other end. Then the man replied,
“I didn’t do it. James—”
“He’s fine!” Laura cut him off coldly. “Just a few scrapes. You didn’t kill him. But once he recovers, I’ll tell him everything you did. I don’t care how many people you’ve killed.”
The man didn’t respond right away. When he spoke again, his tone was oddly calm.
“I told you—I didn’t do it. I had plans for James, yes. But if I were behind this, I wouldn’t deny it. Don’t lie to me. The doctor said he won’t make it through the night.”
Laura froze.
“How do you know that? Did you bug the hospital? Did you plant something on me?!”
“You’re just realizing that now?” the man said wearily. “So it’s true—James really won’t survive the next twenty-four hours?”
“You heard it yourself,” Laura hissed. “And you’re still asking?! You don’t need to do anything else. He’s about to meet Will. But I hope you’re ready—because Will’s going to be stunned when he finds out James never betrayed him. You’ve killed the wrong man.”
“I told you—I didn’t do it.”
“If not you, then who?!” Laura shouted, barely holding herself together. “James has been driving for years and never once had an accident. Why now? Why today? If you didn’t kill him, then how did this happen? I swear—I’ll go to the police. I’ll make sure they arrest you!”
She hung up without waiting for a reply and threw the phone against the wall.
David and the others rushed over, alarmed by the sound.
David lowered his voice.
“Laura… with James like this, do you think we should call his parents?”
Laura wiped her tear-streaked face, her expression empty.
“Yes. We have to.”
James’ parents arrived not long after, barely able to walk through their sobs once they saw their son lying unconscious in the ICU.
By midnight, the doctor announced they were ceasing treatment. There was nothing more they could do. All they could do now… was wait.
The news hit everyone like a thunderclap.
Maria wailed so hard she fainted twice. The entire waiting area felt like a funeral.
With special permission from the doctor, Laura had entered the ICU to stay with James.
She stood at his bedside, watching the slow rise and fall of the blanket over his chest. His head was swathed in gauze, and his face was nearly unrecognizable.
She whispered softly, as if speaking to a ghost.
“So this is it? Alright. If you die… then I won’t be alone. I’ll be with you.”
The machines had been removed. The doctors had left. The ICU was still—deathly still.
On the other side of the glass, the others huddled together, watching Laura through tear-blurred eyes.
Time passed—slow, cruel minutes ticking by. By 1 a.m., everyone outside was too drained to stand. They collapsed into chairs, faces buried in their hands, lost in grief.
Inside, Laura stayed right where she was—fingers gently brushing James’ hand, refusing to let go.
The room was so quiet, it hurt. A silence that pressed down on everyone’s chest, suffocating. Like time itself had paused… waiting for death to finish its work.