Snow Fitch arrived quickly with the children.
The two little ones had just fallen asleep not long ago, and although they didn’t cry or make a fuss when they were woken up, they burst into tears and rushed to their mother as soon as they arrived at the hospital.
Noah, being more sensible, had been worried about his brother. Seeing that his brother was safe and sitting next to their mother, he finally felt relieved and, holding his brother’s hand, guiltily said, "I’m sorry, I didn’t protect you well."
His brother pouted his lips, showing a pitiful and aggrieved look, but he didn’t bla his brother. Instead, he sensibly said, "You are only a few minutes older than , and not as strong as I am. How could you protect ? It should be protecting you, hmph."
Originally, everyone was tornted by the news that Christopher Hart’s life was hanging in the balance, and the atmosphere had been extrely oppressive. Hearing this, a few people couldn’t help but smile slightly, praising the good relationship between the brothers.
Although Emma Carter and George Hart were anxious and worried about their son, seeing their grandsons diverted their attention sowhat, and they stepped forward.
"Child... you, are you alright?" Emma Carter pulled Ethan close, suddenly rembering to care for her grandson.
Alia Garcia didn’t stop her, just giving her a faint look.
Standing in a mother’s shoes, she could understand Emma’s feelings at the mont, so she didn’t bother to dwell on past grievances.
If having the children with her could provide her so comfort, then let it be.
Hope snuggled in her mother’s arms, looked around, and asked in her cute, baby voice, "Mom, where’s Dad? Isn’t Dad with you?"
The girl’s innocent question imdiately plunged the recently eased atmosphere back into hell.
Holding back her pain and anxiety, Alia tenderly stroked her daughter’s face and tried to downplay it, "Dad got hurt while saving your second brother. The doctors are performing surgery on him."
Hope frowned, instinctively turning her head to look at the glowing red "surgery light," pausing for a few seconds before asking, "Is Dad seriously injured?"
The adults remained silent. Alia hugged her daughter, stayed silent for a good while, and then nodded slightly, "Serious..."
Hope’s eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes instantly reddened.
"Baby, Dad will be alright. He loves Hope so much, he will get better soon and play with you," Alia hurriedly consoled her daughter.
Whether the little girl took in those words, no one knew, but Noah understood them all.
Ignoring the so-called "grandmother’s" eager calls, Noah stayed by his mother’s side. Hearing her words, the little guy’s handso face visibly tensed as he asked his mother, "Could he... die?"
Alia’s heart skipped a beat, but before she could answer, Hope suddenly turned around and pushed him, "You’re talking nonsense! My dad won’t die! He won’t!"
Noah staggered from his sister’s push, almost falling, luckily Alia was quick to stabilize him.
"Hope..." She instinctively called out to her daughter, but seeing her daughter’s tear-stained face, she couldn’t bring herself to scold her.
Then looking at her eldest son, she saw that his eyes were red too.
She suddenly understood her son’s feelings.
The little guy was also very worried about that man; though he never admitted he was his dad, nor had he ever really called him dad, in his heart, he had already acknowledged him...
"He won’t. Let’s wish together for Dad, wish for him to get better soon, alright?" Alia, with tearful eyes, gathered both children into her arms, whispering softly.
Christopher, do you see this?
The children are all hoping for you to recover.
You have to hold on!
————
The group waited outside the operating room until past three in the morning when suddenly, the operating room lights went out.
Everyone was startled, looking up and rising to their feet.
The operating room doors opened, and a group of doctors ca out one after another.
Alia, who had been sitting for hours, suddenly stood up, her head spinning for a mont, and Snow Fitch rushed to support her, "How are you? Do you want a doctor to check you out?"
"It’s nothing, just stood up too quickly." She casually brushed it off and followed everyone to the surgeon.
Emma Carter inquired about the situation, and the lead surgeon spoke seriously, "The surgery was successful, but the patient fell from the seventh floor and suffered multiple severe injuries throughout his body, including brain trauma and excessive blood loss—even though the surgery was successful, it’s still uncertain if he can pull through."
Emma Carter couldn’t accept this explanation and exclaid anxiously, "My son will be fine! He will definitely pull through!"
As her words ended, she burst into tears, and George Hart gently comforted her.
The doctor understood the family’s feelings, but so things had to be made clear early on, "The patient’s injuries are too severe, with different degrees of damage to his head, spine, and internal organs. Even if he pulls through, whether he can wake up, whether he can regain motor skills, all of that is..."
This ti, before the doctor could finish, Alia interrupted, "Are you saying he might beco a vegetable? Or paralyzed?"
"Um," the doctor nodded, continuing, "During the surgery, the patient’s heart stopped montarily, and his brain suffered from lack of blood and oxygen, which is very likely to have caused brain tissue damage, so..."
So, becoming a vegetable or being completely paralyzed was a very real possibility.
Alia didn’t speak, her face stiff and pale, even her breathing seed labored.
Snow supported her, continuously whispering softly.
Emma Carter, unable to accept this reality, grief-stricken, turned her anger toward Alia, "What nonsense are you talking? Hasn’t Christopher been good enough to you? You have to curse him like this! Get out! Get far away! If it weren’t for your deception, Christopher wouldn’t have ended up like this!"
She didn’t feel relieved just by scolding; she also pushed Alia repeatedly.
Alia Garcia staggered backward, lucky that Snow Fitch was there to catch her, otherwise she would have fallen.
Seeing her best friend silent, and Emma Carter becoming increasingly aggressive, Snow Fitch could no longer contain herself and pushed Emma’s hand away, "Your son is in this situation because he was saving your grandson, what does Alia have to do with it?"
"Moreover, who brought the disaster of Lily Garcia? Wasn’t it the Hart Family? You were deceived by her completely, and in the end, almost lost your lives because of her. Instead of confronting Lily Garcia, you’re here bullying an innocent, honest person!"
Emma Carter, mixed with grief and unwillingness to show weakness, retorted, "Who are you to ddle?"
"I really don’t want to ddle in your family’s ss! I just want to tell you, your son was hard by your own family! He was hard by your own family’s greed and prejudice! Alia and the children are the victims!"
Snow’s words struck right at the heart, piercing deeply.
Back then, if the Hart Family hadn’t targeted Alia so much, she and Christopher Hart might not have ended up divorcing.
Then Lily Garcia wouldn’t have had the chance to beco the Hart Family’s potential daughter-in-law, who is now ditched, leading her to harbor resentnt and go to extres.
If one must find a major culprit, it indeed falls on the Hart Family.
Perhaps, this is what they call karmic retribution.
But how could Emma Carter accept this reasoning?
She beca furiously ashad, almost jumping up, "You wretched girl, what do you know! Who are you to lecture , do you have no manners!"
"I’m telling the bitter truth! Why don’t you bla yourself for not keeping a close watch on Lily Garcia? Didn’t your son leave her under your supervision? You failed to watch her, allowing her to seize the opportunity to kidnap the child and threaten your son! If we really need to find the murderer, you are also an accomplice!"
"You—you spout nonsense again, and I’ll tear your mouth apart!" Emma Carter, completely infuriated, scread hysterically, rushing forward to hit her.
Nearby dical staff and Lucas King hurriedly stepped in to pull them apart, persuading from both sides.
After a while, Emma Carter was cald and led to the rest area.
The doctors, having been busy most of the night, were all tired, and after the dispute died down, they dispersed.
Alia Garcia was extrely fatigued, her head buzzing noisily and her temples throbbing painfully.
Seeing her best friend still indignant, she weakly said, "Why bother arguing with her? Let her say whatever she wants."
Snow huffed, "It’s not your fault, why should you let her bla you? I knew you’d be soft-hearted!"
Actually, it wasn’t that Alia was soft-hearted; she genuinely didn’t have the energy to argue anymore.
"Go ask the nurses when he can co out."
"Okay, I’ll ask, you sit for a while."
Snow Fitch went to inquire and soon returned with news, "He’s in the ICU, still not out of danger, and can’t be visited now."
Alia Garcia stood up.
"What are you going to do?"
"Take a look at him."
"I told you ICU visits are not allowed!" Snow Fitch followed her, worried that she might wobble and fall.
"I’ll just look from outside..."
Outside the intensive care unit, it was a quiet, deep night, empty and cold in the autumn chill.
Alia Garcia stood in the corridor, looking through the window into the inside.
The nurse had inford her of the general location, but she couldn’t see him.
Because the bedside was cramd with various dical equipnt, she could barely make out his silhouette lying amidst a tangle of tubes, a weak trace moving across the electrocardiogram screen.
"Snow... do you think he will wake up?" Alia Garcia murmured, her eyes stinging as if pricked by needles.
Watching this scene, Snow Fitch felt a cutting pain in her heart.
After a mont of silence, she did not answer her best friend’s question but instead asked, "Is it only at this mont that you realize you haven’t completely let go of him?"
Alia Garcia turned her gaze to et hers.
Several hours had passed since the incident, and she hadn’t considered this question.
After a quiet surrounding for a while, Alia Garcia sorted out her thoughts and said softly, "It’s not about letting go or not, it’s just, if he dies like this, I’ll feel guilty for the rest of my life, and it would be an irreparable regret for the children."
Snow sighed heavily, "I understand..."
After a pause, she advised, "It’s almost four o’clock, you should rest. You’ve drawn so much blood, you need to take good care of yourself, don’t forget the children still need you."
Speaking of the children, the three little ones had waited until two in the morning, exhausted and falling asleep.
She still didn’t know how to explain their father’s situation to Hope when she woke up.
Seeing Alia standing motionlessly, Snow reached out to guide her, "Co on, go rest for a bit, staying here is no use."
Alia Garcia moved her feet to follow, but after only a couple of steps, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground like a heap of mud.
"Alia, Alia!" Snow, unable to catch her, fell half-kneeling beside her, hurriedly calling out, "Doctor... nurse! Soone, quickly—"
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