Chapter 15
Nathan frowned slightly as he saw Amelia’s name on his phone. Vivian noticed the incoming call, and something unreadable flickered in her eyes.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” Vivian asked innocently.[]
Nathan hesitated. Vivian had just shown him the paparazzi photos of her arriving at Harrison Industries, and now Amelia was calling.
Probably calling to bitch him out.]
Nathan’s frown deepened, and he hit decline.]
But within seconds, his phone started buzzing again.]
Amelia. Again.
His irritation spiked.
“You’re not taking it?” Vivian asked.
Nathan declined the call again and put Amelia’s number on Do Not Disturb.
“It’s not important,” he said flatly.[]
Vivian opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, then closed it. She nodded hesitantly, looking troubled.[]
But when she looked down, triumph flashed in her eyes.
She’d done this on purpose. Told Nathan about the video announcement, shown him the paparazzi photos, reminded him multiple times about the online drama. She knew he’d never answer Amelia’s calls after that.
“Let’s get out of here,” Nathan said, grabbing his jacket and helping Vivian to her feet.[]
They took the executive elevator down from the top floor together.
While paparazzi were photographing them leaving Harrison Industries together, Amelia was being wheeled out of an ambulance on the other side of the city.
The gurney raced toward the emergency room, blood from Amelia’s forehead staining the white sheets.
Amelia drifted in and out of consciousness, catching glimpses of harsh fluorescent lights rushing overhead.
She could hear chaos around her–voices, footsteps, and a female police officer sounding frantic.]
“Called her husband twice, both went straight to voicemail. What do we do now?”
“Should we try again?”
“What if he still doesn’t answer?”
“Fuck it, you see how mangled that car door is? We can see the head injury, but who knows what internal damage there might be!”
“Treat first, keep calling!”
“Copy that!”
More shouting, some kind of argument happening at the hospital.[]
Amelia slipped between consciousness and blackness, breathing in the sharp smell of disinfectant
She heard them arguing about something, then Harper’s familiar voice cutting through everything
Chapter 15
Harper was screaming something. Amelia was wheeled into the trauma bay.
Then everything went dark again.[]
Harper was losing her fucking mind.
Seeing Amelia covered in blood being rushed into emergency surgery made her sick with terror.[]
Thank God this was Mount Sinai. Thank God she was working late tonight. Thank God she’d happened to walk by when she heard the commotion.[]
They’d been debating how to treat Amelia. In an emergency like this, nobody knew she was pregnant.[]
Except Harper knew Amelia’s exact situation.[]
And thank God her father was the hospital director–her authority actually meant something here.]]
Otherwise, Amelia could’ve been in serious trouble.]
Harper walked over to the female officer who was holding Amelia’s phone, trying to reach family members. She showed her medical ID and explained she was both a doctor and Amelia’s best friend.[] she
The phone screen showed dozens of missed calls. Harper’s rage intensified.[]
Buzz.
7
Her own phone vibrated with a breaking news alert:
#NathanVivianLeaving TogetherSpotted]
Great. Not answering calls because he’s busy with his mistress.]
Harper immediately called Nathan.]
First call: no answer.
Second call: he picked up on the last ring.
“What do you want?” Nathan’s ice–cold voice came through.
“What do I want?” Harper exploded. “Why the fuck aren’t you answering Amelia’s calls?”
In his Aston Martin, Nathan’s frown deepened. He confirmed it was Harper calling, making his voice even colder. “Did Amelia tell you to call me?”
J
“No!” Harper’s voice was pure fury. “I’m calling because I want to!“]
Nathan hit a red light and checked his Do Not Disturb settings. Dozens of missed calls from Amelia.[]
Right. As if Amelia hadn’t put Harper up to this.
The light turned green. Nathan accelerated smoothly, his mood completely calm.
Ever since Vivian had arrived at Harrison Industries, the calls hadn’t stopped.[]
What was Amelia’s game? He could figure it out easily enough.[]
“Get to Mount Sinai right fucking now!” Harper commanded.]
“Not happening,” Nathan said coldly.[]
Amelia was probably crying to Harper like she always did. This time she’d gone even further–actually getting Harper to harass him.]
Ever since he’d asked for the divorce, Amelia’s tantrums had been getting worse and worse.
“She was hit by a car.“[]
Chapter 15
Harper’s voice went from furious to deadly quiet, ending with: “Nathan, if you have any heart left, get here now.“]
SCREECH.
Nathan slammed the brakes. The car stopped dead.[]
The driver behind him started honking and cursing. Nathan gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white, listening to the dial tone as Harper hung
- up.
In the passenger seat, Vivian had listened to everything. Her phone screen lit up briefly with a text message.]
She glanced at it, put her phone away, then turned to Nathan with fake concern.[]
“Oh my God, is she okay? We need to get to the hospital right now!“]
Vivian looked genuinely panicked. “This could be really serious!“[]
“Thank God she’s at Mount Sinai–I heard Harper is her best friend, at least she has someone there to help her.“[]
“Nathan, we have to go! She called you dozens of times–it must be urgent!“]
Vivian was on the verge of tears.]
But when she looked down, her eyes were calculating.
A car accident meant serious injuries.
But conveniently, Amelia ended up at the hospital where her best friend worked–and that best friend’s father was the director.
Plus Amelia apparently had time to call Nathan dozens of times.]
Vivian was making it sound like she was worried, but really she was implying this was all an act Amelia and Harper had staged together.
Of course, she’d never let Nathan see through her performance.[]
She started crying “genuine” tears.
“I want to be with you, but if something happened to her, I’d feel guilty for the rest of my life…“]
. While crying, she suddenly turned away and started retching. When she turned back, there was “blood” at the corner of her mouth.
Seeing Nathan’s concerned expression, Vivian hid the small blood capsule back in her purse and shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. Just get to the
J hospital.”
Nathan’s jaw was clenched tight.[]
He started the car and made a U–turn toward Mount Sinai.]
