Quincy sat by Harper's bedside, his eyes fixed on her pale, sleeping face. The soft beep of the heart monitor echoed in the stillness of the room, but his mind was far from calm. Guilt gnawed at his insides. She got shot because of me… she lost our child because of me.
His mother's words haunted him. She was right. Harper's life was on the edge—because of him.
Suddenly, a gentle voice broke through his spiraling thoughts.
"Quincy!"
He jerked his head up. Harper's eyes fluttered open, and her soft voice pulled him back into the moment. He rushed to help her sit upright, gently adjusting the pillows behind her.
"How do you feel now?"
She blinked slowly, her gaze meeting his.
"Why are you here?"
"To watch over you."
She frowned slightly, confused.
"What happened to me?"
"You passed out and were bleeding. Sage and Freya rushed you to the hospital."
Her lips parted in surprise.
"She called you?"
"Yes she did! The doctor said that you will be fine after today, the fetus was taken out."
A shadow crossed her face.
"You found out?"
"I did." His voice was low, pained.
Her hand trembled in her lap.
"I'm sorry, Quincy. I didn't mean to hide this from you, but I just had to."
"I understand, baby. Everything is my fault. You were trying to save me, that's why this happened. I really wish that we could keep the baby—it really pained me so much. But the situation was beyond my control. We had to save you first. I can't blame you for this."
Her lips quivered.
"You will not blame me?"
"Harper," he said softly, his voice cracking. He reached for her hand and held it tightly, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Then, with aching tenderness, he cupped her face, wiping the silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
"No matter what happens, I will never blame you for anything. I will always love you and support you throughout our lives. I trust every step you take, Harper. I will never let go of you, no matter what."
More tears welled up in her eyes.
"Thank you, Quincy. I'm really sorry for everything."
"It's fine, baby. I won't allow you to share this pain alone. I'm going to share all your burdens with you."
"I love you so much."
"I love you too, baby. I love you more than life itself. I will stand with you forever."
A voice from behind startled them.
"Quincy."
He turned around sharply and immediately stood up.
"Why are you here?"
Angel stood hesitantly in the doorway.
"I'm sorry for interrupting. I wanted to see my sister."
Quincy's jaw tightened.
"Harper?"
She gave a small nod and a soft smile.
"It's fine," she said gently.
He looked back at her with worry.
"Will you be okay?"
"I will be fine."
"Okay. Call me if you need me. I will wait outside."
"Alright. I will."
Quincy gave Angel one last glare, scanning her from head to toe. Angel turned her gaze away, unable to meet his eyes. He stepped out quietly, the door clicking shut behind him.
Angel slowly walked toward the bed.
"The doctor informed me that you fainted and were rushed here."
"Yes."
She paused by the bed, twisting her fingers nervously.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine now."
Angel took a shaky breath.
"Harper, I heard the conversation between you and Quincy. You lost your pregnancy because I shot you."
Harper narrowed her eyes.
"You were eavesdropping?"
"I didn't mean to, I swear! I was just curious."
"About what?"
Angel's lips trembled.
"Despite everything that I did wrong, you still saved me. Why?"
Harper looked away, her voice low.
"You are my only family. It's what I wanted."
Tears glistened in Angel's eyes.
"I wish there's a way I can atone for all my wrong decisions. I have offended you in so many ways. I even made you lose a child. I feel so ashamed of myself. How can all this happen because of me? I feel so bad facing you after making you go through this much pain. I don't deserve a chance or forgiveness from you at all."
"I have forgiven you."
Angel stared at her, stunned.
"Do I ever stand a chance to reconcile with you?"
Harper let out a shaky scoff and blinked hard, fighting the tears.
"Reconcile?" She paused, her voice tight with grief. "You should try and live first. Stay alive. Then use your whole life to take care of others and become a good person. Maybe I can consider giving us a chance to reconcile."
"Harper."
"Have you started your chemotherapy treatment?"
Angel hesitated.
"No."
"Then do! Maybe we can always have something to talk about if you live your life properly for once."
Angel's face crumpled with emotion.
"Thank you, Harper. Thank you so much for sticking with me despite everything."
Harper leaned her head back weakly.
"It wasn't your fault. Our life was already in disarray since we lost our mother and our father brought in another woman. There was a very little chance that we would have our life together. But I just wish that you would live your life accordingly and not to impress or oppress anyone anymore."
Angel nodded tearfully.
"I will! I will listen to whatever you say henceforth. I will try to become a good person to you and to others."
"It's fine."
Angel stepped closer and took Harper's hand gently.
"Thank you, sister!"
The tall glass windows reflected the morning light, but he stood unmoved, staring through them with clenched fists. His assistant burst into the room, breath ragged with urgency.
"Boss! I have a report."
"What's that?"
"The doctor who took care of Blue at the hospital and terminated her pregnancy…"
"Yes?"
"He was killed."
A sharp pause. "What? He was killed?"
"Yes! I was monitoring him as you instructed. Just this morning, someone shot him down while our guards were trailing his car."
The air thickened. His expression darkened, muscles twitching beneath his suit.
"Send someone after the killer immediately!"
"I did already! And since the doctor got killed, your suspicions were right, boss. I'm sure now that Blue didn't lose her pregnancy because of the gunshot. The nurse closest to the doctor has been taken down right now."
"Good."
"I booked an appointment for you with the hospital director. We can go and meet her now to ask questions."
"When is Harper getting discharged?"
"Today, boss!"
"Okay. We shall visit the hospital right away before she gets discharged. Let's see the doctor first."
"Yes, boss!"
Black SUVs glide to a halt outside the hospital. Quincy steps out, dressed in black, face like stone. Paige is beside him, eyes alert. They're led inside.
They wait in a private office. A tense silence fills the room. A door opens, and Paige enters with a nurse. Moments later, the Hospital Director walks in
"Hello, Mr Dylan."
"Hello, Director."
"It's almost the first time I've ever seen you in my office. The hospital business does not interest you at all."
"I know, right? We have too many businesses for me to have an interest in them all. I might go crazy for real. But thankfully, we have people like you to help us uphold our business."
"My pleasure, Mr Dylan! Now, which problem do you have, sir?"
"My girl was admitted here some weeks ago for gunshot wounds. She was treated for the gunshot. Then after a week or two, she had to terminate her pregnancy because the doctor said the gunshot weakened the fetus and she wouldn't be fine until removed."
"Was she shot in her stomach?"
"No. Her back."
Her brow furrowed. "Where is her report?"
It was handed over, and she flipped through it, frowning deeply.
"She wasn't shot in a place that could affect her fetus… unless the baby was already weak right before. Which doctor was on her case? Let me call him here."
"He is dead, doctor."
"What? Dead?"
"Yeah. Just this morning. That's why I brought this nurse here. She is the attending nurse."
"Can you tell us what happened to the patient, nurse?"
"I do not know anything, ma'am. I was just assisting the doctor in taking care of her since she was first admitted here."
"This is her report right here from the first day of admission. It only says she was 5 weeks pregnant, but the fetus was not weak at all. And the gunshot wasn't something that could weaken her body to that extent. The bullet was removed almost immediately."
"I don't know about it, ma'am."
"You lied."
"She is lying."
"Director?"
"Definitely. The report does not correlate with what she's saying right now. Please, there's something wrong somewhere—unless the report is wrong."
"Paige."
The sharp click of heels approached. A gun was drawn and pressed against the nurse's forehead. She gasped, crumpling to her knees, shaking like a leaf in a storm.
"Mr Dylan!"
"What the hell did you do to her?"
"I don't know anything, sir!"
"Kill her."
"Mr Dylan! This is a hospital!" The director said in panic
"My hospital!"
"We can sort this out amicably, sir. Please calm down sir"
"Then tell her to say what she knows!"
"Nurse, please say something. Your life is at risk!"
"Fucking speak up, idiot!"
"It was the doctor! He did something to her."
"What?"
"Her pregnancy was fine when she was brought here. We printed out the report to give it to her. I was to deliver the report to her to announce the pregnancy. But Mrs Dylan came to the hospital for a check-up right then…"
"Mrs Dylan?"
"Your wife, sir."
"Gianna?"
"Yes, sir. She heard that your courtesan was admitted here. So she came to look for the doctor tending to her and bumped into me. The report fell off, so she saw her name and snatched it from me. She found out she was 5 weeks pregnant, collected the report, and forced me back to the doctor's office."
"And y'all couldn't say anything?"
"She threatened us, sir! She was with her guards. They wanted to kill me and the doctor. She told him to give her drugs to remove the pregnancy. And it was given to her that night. The doctor informed her that the gunshot weakened her pregnancy."
He staggered a step back, eyes wide with dawning horror.
"Oh my good lord…"
"She was already bleeding out after getting discharged, but the pregnancy was not coming down. So we did another test and found out it was two."
"Two? What two?"
"Two babies were there."
"Huh?"
"Your wife has guards at the hospital monitoring us, so we couldn't make any rash moves. We were submitting all the reports to her. So she found out about the second baby too. She told us to schedule the appointment for an abortion and make sure you sign it yourself. The first abortion weakened her, but the second baby could have survived if we treated her. But your wife wanted them gone, so we had to abide by her wishes and remove the second baby."
"Gianna!!! I'm so gonna kill this girl I swear on my life!"
"Sir, please forgive me. I didn't mean to do this to her. My life was at risk, and my family was held down."
"You are really asking for forgiveness from me?"
"We planned to tell you everything, sir. The doctor tried to reach out to you, but your wife killed him on his way to your office this morning—and his whole family too. I'm still here now because I haven't left the hospital at all. Please don't let her kill me!"
"I can assure you that I will not kill you. But I can't guarantee you that the courtesan house won't! Director…"
"Sir?"
"Regulate your staff, please. I don't need a murderer in my hospital."
"I'm very sorry, sir."