Chapter 235
The moment the words left Yancey’s mouth, the office door opened, revealing Ethan. He sat in his wheelchair as he looked over at them.
Grace stood next to her desk, with Yancey leaning against her, his posture almost childlike in its dependence. Ethan’s fingers gripped the wheels of his chair, tightening ever so slightly.
Grace suddenly remembered the events from earlier was it Ethan’s idea to have Yancey beaten?
That morning, Yancey had spoken recklessly in the office. Though he hadn’t gone as far as Levi, who had foolishly tried to kill Ethan, he had certainly challenged his authority. Had Ethan given him a little lesson?
If Yancey kept this up, would he end up like Levi?
The wheels of Ethan’s chair softly creaked as he moved closer to Grace.
She swallowed nervously, straightening up. “Mr. Ethan, I didn’t realize you were still working late.”
His gaze fell on the hand she had resting on Yancey’s arm. For a moment, Grace felt an odd heat radiating from her hand, almost as if it were burning.
Yancey was in too much pain to speak his usual taunts, so he groaned weakly. “Grace, it hurts so much… Take me to the hospital.”
She had initially thought he was joking, but the tremors running through his body told her otherwise. He was barely holding himself together, as though the pain might knock him out at any second.
It was clear now that he hadn’t just been exaggerating. He had truly snuck out of the hospital.
She took a deep breath. “Yancey, are you a child? You run off like this, and your mom will just blame me.”
He didn’t have the strength to argue and simply muttered, “I’m sorry.”
Grace stood there, unsure of how to respond. If Yancey had been throwing a tantrum like this morning, she wouldn’t hesitate to slap him. But now, seeing him
on the verge of passing out, it felt wrong to strike him again.
She helped him up, nodded toward Ethan, and said softly, “Mr. Ethan, we’ll be going now.”
She expected him to say nothing more, but instead, he said two words.
“You both?”
Grace froze, a rush of guilt washing over her. But then, remembering how Ethan treated Jodie, she straightened her back and helped Yancey to the elevator without sparing another glance at him.
Ethan remained seated, looking somewhat isolated, but Grace couldn’t bring herself to care at that moment.
She helped Yancey into her car and got into the driver’s seat. Her phone rang just as she started the engine. It was a call from Ed.
She didn’t have time to answer, so she let it ring out.
Yancey, meanwhile, had grown quiet. His face was pale and slick with sweat as he rested against the passenger seat. He winced in pain, occasionally asking if he was going to die. Clearly, his injuries were infected, and the fever was clouding his mind.
Grace’s anxiety grew, and she ran several red lights in her rush to get him to the hospital. When they arrived, she learned the doctors had been searching for him. He had snuck out earlier, just as they were about to treat his wounds.
Now that the doctors had taken over, she let out a sigh of relief. She sat down in
the hospital hallway, her phone still ringing incessantly in her pocket.
She opened it and saw that Ed had called over 30 times, non-stop.
Thinking something serious must’ve happened, she quickly pressed the answer button. “Ed, what’s going on?”
“I miss you. What are you doing?”
Grace couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. Ed could get possessive, and she
didn’t want to face his anger when he found out where she was.
“I worked late today and just got home. I was about to take a shower and rest.”
She yawned, making her lie sound as believable as possible.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Ed’s voice came through, low and serious. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Grace’s back Stiffened. She felt an odd sensation-did Ed already know? But he lived in such a remote place, far from everything that was going on with her. She convinced
herself that he couldn’t possibly have figured it out.
“No, I’m not lying to you.”
“Alright, I believe you,” Ed said quietly. “Grace, I miss you.”
He always said those few words, and each time, he said them with such
seriousness, as if once he said them this time, he might never get the chance to say them again.