Chapter 213

Chapter 213

Zander felt terrible inside. What did it mean for Elise to stand up for Matthew at a time like this? It meant Elise still loved Matthew!

Matthew looked at Elise, "thank you for believing in me!"

A blush appeared on Elise's face, "I'm just telling the truth!"

Before long, the doctor Chris had called joined in the effort to save the children.

Time ticked by, and at one in the morning, the door to the intensive care unit finally opened.

Elise, Matthew, Zander, and the other parents all rushed forward.

"Doctor, how is my child?"

The doctor removed his mask, his expression relaxed, "parents, don't worry. All the children in the ICU are now out of danger, and their vomiting and headache symptoms have improved a lot."

"However, we still need to observe them for a few days. If the children are okay, they can be discharged!"

"The other children being treated in regular wards also don't have major problems. After staying overnight for observation, they can be discharged tomorrow!"

Elise and Matthew finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Elise, let me watch over the child tonight!" Matthew said, looking at Elise.

Zander said angrily, "what right do you have to watch over Atticus? If it weren't for you, who knows if this would have even happened! The farther you stay from Atticus, the safer Atticus will be!"

Matthew looked coldly at Zander, "speaking of rights, you have even less right to be by Atticus's side!"

"Enough!" Elise didn't want the two of them to start arguing again. After thinking for a moment, "Mr. Moore, don't you need to go with the police to investigate at the kindergarten? Come back tomorrow. I'll watch over the child tonight."

Zander grabbed Elise's hand, his eyes full of concern, "let me do it instead!"

Elise smiled gratefully, "no need. It has to be me tonight. When Atticus wakes up, I'm definitely the one he'll want to see. If I'm not by his side, he'll cry."

Zander could only nod in agreement.

After that, the nurses moved the children from the ICU to regular wards. Atticus's face was pale, without a trace of color. Tears welled up in Elise's eyes, "Atticus, how are you feeling now?" Elise held Atticus's cold hand.

"My head hurts so much!" Atticus's voice was barely audible.

Matthew quickly comforted him, "it'll stop hurting soon! The doctors here are all great, you'll be fine!"

Atticus nodded.

Zander deliberately pushed Matthew aside, squeezing him out, "Atticus, what do you want to eat? Dad will go buy it for you," Zander said, standing beside Elise.

"I'm not hungry!" Atticus frowned tightly, looking a bit uncomfortable.

Just then, a police officer stood at the door and said softly, "Mr. Moore."

Seeing that Atticus was out of danger, Matthew felt much more at ease. He looked at Atticus with deep emotion, then walked out of the ward.

It was already past two in the morning. Matthew followed the police to the kindergarten kitchen. Principal Haven and several kitchen staff were all there, each person's face both serious and nervous, worried they might end up in jail because of this incident.

The police looked around the kitchen, "what did the children eat today?"

The kitchen staff pointed things out to the police one by one, "we always buy meat, vegetables, and grain from fixed suppliers. There's never been a problem!" the kitchen staff protested.

The police confirmed, "was everything you bought today the same as before?"

The kitchen staff nodded.

The forensic examiner collected samples, and one officer took the staff back to the police station first.

Meanwhile, another officer brought Matthew and Haven to Haven's office.

The police first asked Haven, "has anything been off with the kitchen workers lately? Do you think they might have had a grudge against the kindergarten and wanted revenge?"

Haven thought for a moment, "no, they all have good relationships with the kindergarten. Especially after Mr. Moore bought the kindergarten and increased their wages, they've been even more motivated. There's no reason for them to want revenge on the kindergarten!"

The police asked again, "could it have been done by a teacher?"

Haven shook her head, "even less likely! Our kindergarten teachers are all very professional, and the benefits here are good. They have no reason to complain."

The police questioned Haven and the teachers thoroughly but still had no leads. They could only say they'd stop here for now and continue investigating tomorrow.

Matthew's car left the kindergarten, originally heading toward the villa, but he suddenly called out, "Rhys, go to the hospital!"

"Yes!"

Rhys followed Matthew's instructions and drove to the hospital.

Matthew bought two bowls of hot porridge and walked to Atticus's ward. He saw Elise using a towel to wipe the face and neck of the sleeping Atticus.

"Are you tired?" Matthew placed the porridge on the cabinet and asked softly, "if you're tired, go back. I'll take the second half of the night!"

Elise looked at Matthew with mixed feelings and said in a low voice, "no need! You have so much going on at the company. You should go back and get some sleep!"

Matthew said with emotion, "no matter how much is going on at the company, it's not as important as my son!"

Elise looked at Matthew and was momentarily lost in thought. This Matthew before her, so full of compassion—where was there even a trace of his domineering side?

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Matthew asked.

Elise's ears burned, and she quickly lowered her head.

Matthew pointed at the porridge, "it's still hot. Eat it quickly! This bowl is for Atticus. When he wakes up, I'll feed it to him!"

Although Elise didn't remember things from when she was Amelia, her eating habits hadn't changed.

"How did you know I like porridge?" Elise's eyes lit up as she looked at the porridge.

Matthew smiled slightly, "because you are Amelia. How could I not know!"

Elise felt a bit dazed and stole another glance at Matthew, "did you care this much about Amelia before?"

Matthew's heart suddenly ached, and a flash of pain crossed his eyes.

After a while, he slowly spoke, "I was very cold to you before. Later, when I wanted to make it up to you, you weren't by my side anymore! Amelia, will you give me another chance?"

Matthew unconsciously grabbed Elise's hand. Elise trembled violently as if electrocuted, her heart pounding hard, "I'm Elise now, not Amelia anymore! Mr. Moore, I hope you can understand the facts!"

"Is that so?" Matthew's lips curved into a knowing smile. "A few days ago in the principal's office at the kindergarten, your body was telling me that you've always..."

"Enough, I'm going to get water!" Elise pulled her hand away from Matthew's, picked up the water kettle and rushed outside, hurrying as if fleeing.

Matthew watched her retreating figure and said in a low voice, "you don't have Zander in your heart. I can't let you spend your whole life with someone you don't love!"

Just then, Atticus suddenly let out a groan. Matthew quickly gathered his thoughts and rushed to the bedside, grabbing Atticus's hand, "Atticus, you're awake?"

Atticus looked around and, not seeing Elise, started crying, "where's Mom? I want Mom!"

Matthew quickly comforted him, "your mom went to get water. She'll be back soon! Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Atticus said, "my head hurts so much!"

"Let me rub it for you. It won't hurt after I rub it!"

Matthew reached out and massaged Atticus's temples and brow, his touch gentle. After a while, he asked, "does it still hurt?"

Atticus stared at Matthew curiously, "not as much? But why are you here?"