Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

The following day at the Jade Gardens villa, Andrew Heisler arrived with the police just as Tina was waking up. She descended the stairs to find several officers seated on the living room sofa, facing Jared Farrell whose expression was indifferent, the atmosphere notably tense. Jennie had called her down and from her, Tina had gathered the essentials of the situation.

Nearby Jade Gardens, at Jade’s Park, Elizabeth had been attacked and now lay in a coma in the hospital, critically injured. Disturbingly, where Elizabeth had fallen, she had scrawled “Tina” in her own blood. It was a blatant accusation-Tina was being directly named as the assailant.

As Andrew Heisler was about to speak to Tina, Jared Farrell interrupted, “All surveillance footage from the villa area has been handed over to you. The footage can prove that after returning home with me last night, Tina did not leave again.”

“Miss Reed,” Andrew Heisler addressed Tina with a tone of respect. “Mr. Farrell’s provided surveillance indeed proves your innocence. However, due to the complexity of the situation, we still need you to come to the station to make a statement.”

He certainly didn’t believe that Tina, the young leader of the Mountain Veil Order, could have been so indiscreet as to assault an elderly woman in such a traceable manner. Yet, due to the incident being broadcast on the morning news and a bystander having posted a close-up of the bloody “Tina” online, the procedural steps had to be followed. The Reed family was a frequent topic of gossip in Ensford, and now many believed Elizabeth’s misfortune was Tina’s vengeful act. After all, why else would the old lady write that particular name?

Online opinion was divided; one side sympathized with Tina, given Elizabeth’s prior deeds, while the other condemned her, equating her to the lowest of creatures for allegedly attacking her own grandmother.

With such public attention, Andrew Heisler felt compelled to bring Tina in for questioning, lest people suspect corruption or undue influence from Jared Farrell.

“Let’s just go,” Tina said, hands in pockets, but Jared Farrell was reluctant to let her face this indignity.

“No worry,” Tina smiled, lifting her lips in a slight grin. “I’m curious that the old lady hates me so much she’d rather let the real culprit go just to throw dirt on me.”

“Elizabeth is still in a coma,” Andrew Heisler sighed, frowning. “The doctors aren’t optimistic about her condition. It’s uncertain when she might regain consciousness, and even if she does, she might not be able to speak normally.”

“Oh?” Tina raised her eyebrows slightly, her interest piqued. “Maybe I can make her wake up.”

Meanwhile, at the Reed Residence.

Sitting beside Esther and enjoying some tea, Audrey Woodwind stealthily glanced at Amber Reed sitting across from her. For some reason, from the moment Amber had woken up that morning, she seemed restless, her gaze drifting as if preoccupied, hardly paying attention when spoken to.

Audrey chuckled silently, considering the information she had just learned. Perhaps Amber had found out about Nathaniel Farrell spending the previous night with three women? Indeed, Mr. Farrell was known for his vigor, but whether that would change after marrying Amber Reed remained to be seen.

Unaware of Audrey Woodwind’s observant eyes, Amber’s thoughts were consumed by the morning news. Although the police had already taken Tina in as a suspect, Amber hadn’t expected Elizabeth, barely clinging to life, to have been rushed to the hospital by a passerby. Even though Elizabeth was currently unconscious, who could say if she might wake up?

If Elizabeth were to regain consciousness and reveal details that could lead to a hefty demand from her, what would Amber do? She certainly didn’t want to be forever under the thumb of the Ensford Reed family.

“I should have been more resolute last night and finished it,” Amber thought regretfully.

Just as Amber was worrying about Elizabeth possibly waking up, her phone chimed with an alert from Ensford news. The headline read that Elizabeth Reed’s doctor had confirmed to the police that she might regain consciousness within the next couple of days.

Snap!

Amber Reed’s phone slipped from her hands and crashed onto the floor, drawing the eyes of everyone in the living room.

“What’s wrong, Amber?” Annabelle asked, frowning. “You’ve seemed out of sorts all morning.”

“It’s nothing.” Amber quickly scooped up her phone, her voice choked as she spoke to Annabelle. “Grandma, I want to go to the hospital to see grandma. After all, she’s the one who raised me.”

Though she despised Elizabeth, she was not heartless.

When the news of Elizabeth’s accident had reached them, the Pinewood Reed brothers had immediately sought their help, so they had paid for Elizabeth’s medical expenses.From NôvelDrama.Org.

Annabelle had assumed Amber would have rushed to the hospital first thing. Only now did Amber mention her plan to visit.

Annabelle nodded, “You should go, and let the servants prepare anything you need in advance.”

“Thank you, grandma.” A flash of ruthlessness swept through Amber’s eyes.

Thankfully, she still had a chance. If only Elizabeth would never wake up!

As for the police, once a person was dead, they could never trace it back to her. To prevent Annabelle and the others from checking her call records and believing she rarely contacted Elizabeth, she had always used a burner phone for their communications, including last night.

And that phone, along with its SIM card, had already been destroyed.

Conversely, if Elizabeth died, even if the police found evidence proving Tina’s innocence, what then?

With the word “Tina” written by Elizabeth’s own hand, the world would forever suspect Tina, pinning her to the shameful pillar of having killed her own grandmother.

She was indeed very clever!

At the city hospital.

Amber Reed’s act was thoroughly convincing. As soon as she arrived at Elizabeth’s hospital room, she began to weep loudly, even paying out of pocket to have three nurses rotate shifts to watch over Elizabeth, allowing the Reed brothers, Pinewood and Talon, some respite.

Having watched over Elizabeth all night, the Reed brothers were only too happy to leave the hospital. They praised Amber effusively before heading home to rest.

Then, Amber continued to cry beside Elizabeth’s bed for the better part of the day until she suddenly cried out in pain, suspecting she was suffering from pregnancy complications, and was immediately admitted to the maternity ward.

In the middle of the night.

The night nurse, a single mother with a three-year-old son, was usually not someone people would hire as a nurse.

But Amber had met her that day and had hired her for the night shift out of sympathy for her struggles raising a child alone. She reasoned that the night was quieter and her son could sleep in the room, making it easier to care for them both.

However, the three-year-old boy, being naturally active and having somehow gotten hold of a can of coffee, did not sleep all night and even ran out of the room.

The nurse, worried about her son’s safety and the possibility of disturbing others, which could lead to their dismissal, hesitated for a moment. After checking that Elizabeth’s urine bag was still empty, she went out to look for her son.

With the nurse gone, the door to the hospital room was quietly pushed open, and a slender figure slipped inside.