As Shawn Rosewood drove to the hospital, different thoughts ran through his mind as he tried to process all that he had just learned from Alfred and Diana.
Although he wasn't very close to his younger brother, Henry, he knew Henry to a large degree and he doubted that Henry would have let his wife go so easily.
For all of Henry's life, he had only wanted one thing- and that was to be acknowledged by them as a Rosewood since he was a bastard.
He had done all he could for Shawn to accept him and treat him as his brother and sotis Shawn thought he did too much in his quest for acceptance.
Although the public didn't know it since the Rosewood family had kept it a secret, Henry was his half-brother- a result of a sordid affair.
Growing up, Henry had always been the family's black sheep, a reminder of his father's infidelity, and Shawn had never truly bonded with Henry because his mother had made it clear she wanted him to have nothing to do with Henry.
He was the son of a gold-digging whore who had wanted to reap where she did not sow, and his mother had gotten rid of her imdiately after she birthed Henry since she didn't want any rumors of an affair or for anything to tarnish the Rosewood family na.
Henry knew very well how much the Rosewood family hated the idea of divorce, so it didn't make sense that he would divorce Vanessa and marry soone else regardless of the circumstances.
Or was it that he had been truly in love with this Diana lady and she had led him to do that? Shawn mused thoughtfully.
Thinking about Diana, his brows pulled together in a frown. Sothing about her didn't sit well with him and he couldn't even point out what it was.
Shawn sighed deeply as his thoughts drifted back to Henry once again. First, they said he had been missing for days, and now an accident. Where had he been all this while then? Was it that he had been involved in the accident days ago but no one had been there to rescue him until now? Or was there sothing else at play here? Shawn mused.
Whatever the situation was, Henry was still a Rosewood, and family ant everything to Shawn. He intended to uncover the truth. If there was foul play involved, he would get to the bottom of it.
Once Shawn arrived at the hospital, he strode to the reception desk, his presence commanding imdiate attention.
"I want to see whoever is in charge here and the doctor attending to Henry Rosewood," Shawn demanded, his voice brooking no argunt.
The receptionist, a young woman with wide eyes, nodded quickly and picked up the phone. Within minutes, a middle-aged doctor with kind eyes and a weary expression appeared, his white coat flapping as he approached.
Recognizing Shawn, he greeted him politely as he led him to a private office. Inside the office, he gestured for Shawn to sit. "Mr. Rosewood, I'm Dr. Collins. Your brother was brought in a while ago. We are doing everything we can for him."
Shawn's gaze was piercing. "How is he? Is it serious?"
The doctor sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair. "Your brother was unconscious and reeking of alcohol when he was brought in. It appears he was driving under the influence. We're running tests to check his blood for alcohol and drugs while we try to resuscitate him."
Shawn leaned forward, "Don't bother with the drug test. He'd never go near drugs," Henry said confidently.
"I see. By the way, do you know if he has any allergies? I'd like to have his dical history," the doctor said.
"Henry is allergic to opioids. So, whatever you do, do not give him opioids. I will have him transferred to the family clinic after you stabilize him," Shawn said, rembering the one ti Henry had almost died because of a morphine tablet.
"Is that the only thing he is allergic to?" The doctor asked, and Shawn's eyes narrowed.
"To the best of my knowledge, yes. Why do you ask?"
The doctor's brow furrowed. "He seed to have had an allergic reaction. The signs were there when he was brought in. To be safe, we need to check if he took any drugs."
Suspicion gnawed at Shawn. "Fine. Do the test. But call the mont the results are out and he's out of the ergency room."
Dr. Collins nodded. "Of course, Mr. Rosewood. We'll keep you updated."
As Shawn left the office, his mind raced with questions. Outside, he found the lawyer waiting by the side. Shawn approached him, his eyes cold and calculating.
"Exactly what is going on, Alfred? Is that lady telling the truth about her relationship with Henry?"
Alfred's face was grave. "It's the truth. Henry was processing a divorce and planned to introduce Diana to you and the family."
"How does that make sense? Henry knows very well that my mother would never approve of that, and all his life he has lived wanting her approval. Was he really ing to let of Vanessa or did he have other plans?" Shawn asked and Alfred sighed.
"I don't know if he had any other plans. But I know he wanted to keep the divorce hush. And I just found out where he was found. It was an abandoned asylum he purchased a couple of weeks ago," Alfred said Shawn raised a brow.
"Henry bought an abandoned asylum?" He asked, trying to connect the dots.
What were the chances that he announced on television that his perfectly sane wife was insane, and now he was divorcing her and buying an abandoned asylum?
"Yes."
"Where is Vanessa now?" Shawn asked with interest.
"She's with her parents. She moved out two weeks ago," Alfred explained.
Shawn's jaw tightened. "Don't say a word to my mother yet. Tell Diana to not let the word of Henry's accident out. We can't let this get out."
Alfred nodded solemnly. "Understood."
As Shawn got into his car, he contemplated going to see Mia or going back to Henry's and then decided to go see Mia.
He arrived there twenty minutes later, and Maria was startled when she opened the door and saw him.
"Hello, Mrs Lawson. I'm sorry to stop by unannounced. I'd like to see Vanessa," he said with a polite smile.
Maria nodded, her mouth dry, "You're welco. Please co in," she said, her mind racing as she ushered him into the living room.
Her husband wasn't ho and she wasn't sure what Henry's brother wanted with Mia. Having
him in the house made her uncomfortable.
"Can I ask if anything is wrong?" she asked politely.
Shawn smiled, "Nothing is wrong. I heard about the divorce and I want to hear from
Vanessa," he said easily and she nodded.
"She will join you shortly," Maria said and went to Mia's room to get her.
As Mia walked down the stairs to et Shawn, her heart raced. In the duration is her marriage
to Henry, she had t Shawn less than a handful of tis and she wasn't sure what he wanted
with her.
Was it about Henry? Did he find out sothing? She mused.
The mont she walked into the living room, Shawn rose and smiled at her pleasantly, "Hello, Vanessa. I'm sure you are surprised to see ," he said and she nodded.
"Please sit down. You're welco. Can I offer you sothing to drink?" she asked, but Shawn
shook his head.
"Your ti is all I require," he said, gesturing for her to sit down and she sat down across
from him.
Mia's mom stood close by, not wanting to leave Mia alone with any mber of the Rosewood family, and as if noticing this Shawn glanced at her and gave her a polite nod.
"How have you been? I'm sorry I've been too busy to pay attention to you," he said and she
shook her head.
"It's fine. I'm fine too. Can I ask why you're here?" she asked curiously.
"I recently learned you're divorcing Henry. I was surprised to hear that considering the fact that you only just returned. Can I ask what is really going on?" He asked and Mia held his gaze.
"Do you want to know the truth? Or would you prefer an answer that suits you?" Mia asked and Shawn frowned slightly.
"What do you an by an answer that suits ?" He asked, confused by her response.
Mia shrugged, "With all due respect Mr. Rosewood..."
"Shawn. Call Shawn, Vanessa. We are family after all," he cut in.
"Family?" Mia asked with a snort, "No, we are not. We weren't even when I was married to
your brother talk more about now," she said and Shawn nodded.
"I understand your sentints. Still, I'd rather you address as Shawn," he insisted.
Mia sighed, "I wasn't involved in any accident as Henry claid," she said and Shawn
nodded.
"I figured," he said, urging her to carry on.
"I ran away because your brother was making my life a living hell," she said and Shawn's
brows pulled together.
"What do you an?"
Without another word she rose, and her mother frowned wondering what she was up to as she turned her back to Shawn and raised her shirt.
Shawn's eyes widened in disbelief and then darkened with anger when he saw the scars on her
back.
"Henry did this to ," Mia said as she turned back to face him, "For years I endured him
until I couldn't anymore."
"Henry inflicted those wounds on you?" Shawn asked, not wanting to believe it.
"This is the least of what I suffered in the hands of your brother. This is rely physical evidence," Mia said as she sat down.
"Why didn't you co to or our mother?"
"Co to you? And make things worse for myself? Even my own parents didn't do anything
about it, so who am I to expect the Rosewood family to take my side over one of theirs?" She asked and Shawn's frown deepened.
"It has nothing to do with taking sides. Hitting a woman is unacceptable and no one would support Henry after seeing that," He said reasonably.
"Well, it's all in the past now. All I want is for the divorce to be finalized so I can move on with
my life. I wish him well with his new family," she said, and Shawn raised a brow.
"New family? You know about his mistress?" He asked and she nodded.
"Yes. Diana, God bless her. She's the only reason Henry agreed to let go. She's pregnant
with his child...." "Wait. Hold on. How do you know all this?" Shawn asked suspiciously.
"She's been living in the house with him. Your brother is in love with her. He put her in charge
of everything and even put under her care too," Mia said with a shake of her head.
"So, it's true? He wants to marry her?" Shawn asked and Mia nodded.
"If I may ask, why did you return from wherever you were hiding?" Shawn asked and Mia
shrugged.
"I wanted to stop hiding. I wanted a divorce. I reached out to him asking for a divorce and he ca to get ," she explained.
"When last did you see Henry?" Shawn asked curiously.
"He was here so days ago," Mia said, not bothering to lie since there was a possibility that
there were witnesses who had seen them together, and Harry had told her what to say if
anyone ca to interrogate her.
"Where?"
"Here. He ca here to get . He said he wanted to take back ho," Mia said and
Shawn frowned.
"After you both agreed to the divorce?" He asked and Mia nodded.
"I take it you didn't go with him."
"I didn't have a choice. I left with him. He threatened and my family," she said and Shawn
frowned.
"So, how are you back here? What happened?"
"He didn't take ho. He was taking to sowhere else. I have no idea where he was
taking . But it was sowhere far away and I got scared. I started to cry out for help, and
thankfully so passerby saved from him," Mia said, shuddering at the mory of what had truly happened.
Listening to her tale, Shawn believed her. It made sense, "Do you have soone to confirm
your story?"
"My parents..."
"Apart from your parents," he said and Mia frowned.
"No, I don't. Why? Did sothing happen?" she asked, feigning confusion.
"Is there a way I can reach the stranger who saved you?" He asked, not answering her
question.
"No. I didn't think to take his number or anything. I was too startled and could barely talk to even my parents," Mia said and Shawn sighed.
"Henry was involved in an accident," he said and watched Mia's expression.
Mia didn't bother to act surprised or touched, "I guess there is a God after all. No offense. I
know he is your brother, but I'm really not interested," she said flatly.
"I understand," Shawn said with a sigh.
"I'm really sorry about all you had to go through. I wish you had co to . I wish I reached
out to you and checked on you. I'm sorry." He said, and Mia sighed deeply.
"Like I said, it's all in the past. All I want is for the divorce to be processed so I can leave," she
said and Shawn nodded as he rose.
"I need to leave now. Be good," he said to her and gave her nod before heading for the door.
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