Chapter 232
After getting the address, my mom and I rushed to the hospital as fast as we could.
By the time we arrived, my dad was already in the operating room.
Staring at that blood-red surgery light, my mom couldn't hold back a sob. "Cindy, your dad... he won't leave us both behind, will he?"
"He won't." My hands trembling, I held her tight and sat down on a chair by the corridor. "Dad's always been kind to everyone. Heaven will protect him."
I was comforting my mom, but also comforting myself.
"Dr. Wood, you're finally here!"
Dr. Wood?
Hearing that title, I instinctively looked toward the corridor.
Brady's expression was ice-cold as he removed his coat, handing it to the nurse who'd come to receive him. "What's his condition?"
I suddenly remembered Teddy saying Leopold had gone to pick up my dad. My dad had been in a car accident—so what about Leopold?
Had he also been in the car with my dad?
Then he...
"Mom, wait here for me."
I hurriedly stood up and walked quickly toward Brady.
As soon as I got close, I heard the nurse speaking.
"The patient's condition isn't optimistic. When he arrived, he was covered in blood, had multiple fractures, and was unconscious. During surgery, the patient even experienced a brief cardiac arrest. That's why the director called you over in the middle of the night to fight death for him."
"According to the paramedics at the scene, this car was hit by a cargo truck traveling at full speed. The young man in the driver's seat deliberately concentrated the impact force on his own side to protect the person in the passenger seat."
My heart contracted violently. I could barely breathe.
"Lucinda, when did you get here?" Brady noticed me.
I walked over quickly, my voice coming out strained. "The patient you're talking about—is it Leopold?"
When I said Leopold's name, my voice shook so badly it broke.
"Yes." Brady's breath deepened, but he still tried to reassure me gently. "But don't worry. I won't let anything happen to him."
He was Silverlight City's most renowned surgeon. Of course, I trusted him.
But both Leopold and my dad were in operating rooms, their lives hanging in the balance. I couldn't help being worried.
After Brady headed to the second operating room, I returned to sit beside my mom.
The moment I sat down, the nurse who'd been talking to Brady approached me with a stack of documents.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Percy's family member? These documents need to be signed."
I was about to agree when I remembered that Leopold and I weren't married.
My heart wrenched painfully.
A belated agony swept through my nerves. "I'm not."
"But Dr. Wood told me to find you. The patient's life hangs by a thread. Please prioritize his well-being and sign quickly so surgery can begin sooner."
The nurse thought I was unwilling and tried to persuade me.
I wanted to explain, but my throat felt painfully constricted. I couldn't get words out.
"I'll sign!"
Just then, Amelia rushed over and took the documents without another word, signing them.
"The patients in both operating rooms are your family members, so please go downstairs to handle payment."
"I'll go." My mom had just stood up when I pressed her back down. "Mom, Amelia and I will go together."
After we'd completed the payment, Amelia pulled me outside to ask about the details of the accident.
I repeated what the nurse had told me.
"Leopold always has bodyguards secretly protecting him when he goes out. How could something happen this time?" Amelia still couldn't believe it.
At this mention, my breathing hitched. "Maybe... it was because of me."
"How is this related to you?"
"Leopold had planned to come to Bayview Villas after handling company business, but he made a detour to pick up my dad. That's when the accident happened."
Amelia immediately comforted me. "Cindy, this isn't your fault. On my way here, I already had Teddy investigate. We'll definitely have answers tonight."
Hearing her not only refrain from blaming me, but deliberately console me made me feel even worse.
"Amelia, don't tell your grandparents yet. Wait until Leopold's surgery is over."
"That's what I was thinking too. Grandpa and Grandma's health couldn't withstand such a shock."
After talking, we returned together to wait outside the operating room.
The empty corridor seemed to have hit pause.
Night wind carrying the scent of disinfectant swept through, raising weak, mournful sounds in the vacant hallway.
I counted the cracks between floor tiles, trying to distract myself.
But unknown fear followed like a shadow.
This was the first time I truly realized how fragile and unpredictable life was.
Before fate's overwhelming power, people seemed so incredibly small.
Just then, sounds came from my dad's operating room.
My mom and I quickly rushed over.
"Doctor, how's my husband?"
The doctor removed his mask and smiled. "Don't worry, family. The patient has passed the critical period. He'll be transferred to a regular ward shortly."
My mom immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
"Thank you, doctor." I quickly expressed gratitude, then said to my mom, "Mom, you go take care of Dad first. Amelia and I will keep waiting for Leopold."
"Alright. If there's news about Leo, make sure to tell me."
My mom went with the nurses to my dad's room.
After they'd gone far enough, I returned to sit beside Amelia.
Those few blazing red words—"Surgery in Progress"—stabbed viciously into my eyes.
"Amelia, Leopold will be okay, right?"
Amelia gripped my hand tightly, giving me support. "Yes. He can't bear to leave you. He definitely won't abandon you."
My throat burned hot, my nose stinging with pain.
The next second, memories surged like a tide into my heart.
My time with Leopold played scene by scene like a movie in my mind.
From when he realized the incident three years ago was a misunderstanding, to when he brought me back from Gravenford Kingdom, to his meticulous care, to last night's passionate entanglement...
Finally, all that remained were the nurse's earlier words—that Leopold had deliberately made his side take the full impact of the speeding cargo truck to protect my dad.
I bit my lip, praying silently.
'Leopold, you must be safe.'
The light in the second operating room stayed on until early the next morning.
The blood-red surgery light finally went out.
"Amelia, the surgery's over."
I woke Amelia, who'd been resting against my shoulder.
She opened her eyes and pulled me as she rushed over.
The doors of the second operating room slid open on both sides.
Led by Brady, the doctors emerged together.
"Brady, how's Leopold?" Amelia asked urgently.
I also stared straight at Brady.
Brady removed his mask and smiled at us. "Leopold's been successfully resuscitated. Though he has multiple fractures and two sutured wounds, fortunately, there's no life-threatening danger. We'll send him to intensive care for observation overnight. If there are no issues after he wakes, he can be transferred to a regular ward."
The tension that had wound my nerves to breaking finally loosened at this moment.
As long as his life wasn't in danger.
"Thank you."
Brady waved dismissively. "Don't be so formal. Leopold's my friend. I'd have fought with everything I had to save him anyway."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Amelia saw Brady off.
I continued waiting at the door.
Soon, nurses wheeled Leopold out.
Seeing Leopold's face covered in injuries, his entire body wrapped in bandages, looking severely wounded, my tears immediately spilled over. I followed closely behind the nurses, step by step.
Only after Leopold had been settled into intensive care did I turn to leave.
"Cindy, where's Leo? How is he?"
The moment I turned around, I saw Donovan, his face full of anxiety, sitting in a wheelchair being pushed over by the butler.