Ella took a deep breath, and Amelia quickly brought a glass of water to her lips. "Here, drink this sugar water to regain some strength."
Ella obediently drank it down. "I... I need to go see him!"
"Ella, how can you even think about getting out of bed?" Chloe exclaimed, rushing to stop her.
Ella gave a bitter smile. "I’m not hurt, I only inhaled a little smoke."
Eric had protected her so well, even in the face of danger, making sure she had a chance to survive.
Trembling, she sat up. Her head spun, and her heart pounded, silently praying that Eric would be okay.
With Chloe and Amelia supporting her on either side, they hurried to the ICU.
In the hallway, James’s face was dark and stormy, while Richard and the others paced anxiously. When they saw Ella, Richard immediately rushed over.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Ella shook her head, touched by Richard’s concern. He was Eric’s friend, but the worry he showed for her was heartfelt and genuine.
"How... how is he?" Ella asked cautiously, stopping in her tracks, suddenly too afraid to take another step.
"They just resuscitated him. He’s out of immediate danger for now, but he’s not out of the woods yet. We need to wait twelve hours. If there’s no decline in his condition, he should be okay," Richard replied softly.
Ella slowly moved toward the window, pressing her hands against the glass and staring deeply at Eric inside.
He lay there quietly, as if nothing had happened.
But in the next moment, his body trembled slightly, as though he was in immense pain.
Ella covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. Seeing Eric ... how much pain was he enduring? She would never forget how the skin on his arms had been rubbed raw, leaving only tender, bloody flesh behind.
Ella shuddered, her tears falling silently.
Amelia and Chloe each took one of her hands. "Ella, don’t worry! Eric is a good person, and good people always pull through!" Chloe reassured her.
Ella bit down hard on her lip, forcing a sad smile. *Do good people always survive?*
Her mother had never done anything wrong in her life—she had never killed anyone or started any fires. So why was she poisoned to death?
"Amelia, why don’t you take Ella back to rest? The doctors we’ve brought in are the best, and one of them is a renowned professor from abroad who just happens to be here in Country S on a work trip. You can trust that they won’t leave his side," Adam said gently.
"Yes, Ella, staying here won’t do any good," Amelia urged.
But Ella shook her head. She insisted on staying, waiting for him, and waking up together with him.
"How about we go sit over there and wait?" Chloe suggested, knowing Ella wouldn’t return to her hospital bed.
Ella nodded, shivering as Chloe helped her to a nearby seat.
Amelia sighed quietly, stepping aside to make a call for breakfast to be brought in. Ella needed to regain her strength, after all.
Time passed, minute by minute.
At some point, James received a phone call and left.
No one paid him any mind. After all, James had left a poor impression on everyone. Had Eric not had such a father, his fate might have been very different.
At the very least, he wouldn’t have been the target of an assassination last night.
Six hours had passed. Ella had drunk plenty of water but had no appetite for food. She sat in silence, nerves stretched taut, tension radiating from her.
Richard received a phone call from John.
Walking to the far end of the hallway, he lowered his voice and asked, "Did you get anything out of him?"
"No. The guy’s holding strong. Looks like the organization has his family under their control. No matter how hard we push, he won’t say a word. And the other one—the one who was severely injured—didn’t make it," John replied.
"In that case, stop the beatings for now. We have other ways." Richard’s voice turned icy, a cold smile forming. "Send him to Adam’s hospital. Leak some info that the suspect is demanding a billion in exchange for revealing his boss. And... dig up everything you can about him. The more we know, the better our chances."
"Got it. I’ll get on it right away!" John hung up.
Richard’s eyes glinted with a deadly chill. Whoever dared hurt his brother had better be ready to pay with their life.
Back in the hallway, Ella sat quietly, her face pale and drained of color.
Though physically uninjured, the toll on her mind was immense. Her emotions were in shambles, and she felt overwhelmed by the weight of it all.
For the first time, Ella felt how unbearably slow time could pass. Each second felt like a year, and though it seemed an eternity had gone by, only a few minutes had ticked past on the clock.
She was filled with agony, regret, and sorrow.
If only she had refused to go to the Treehouse Villa with Eric, none of this would have happened.
Amelia, sensing her turmoil, quickly tried to reassure her. "Ella, don’t blame yourself. Those people had been planning this for a long time. Whether you were there or not, they wouldn’t have been stopped."
Ella paused, her gaze growing cold.
Of course. How could she forget? Even when Eric was studying abroad, he had faced assassination attempts. Whoever was behind this had been scheming for a long time.
Just then, James returned, this time with Henry and Grace in tow.
Ella glanced up, her eyes narrowing as they fixed on Grace.
Grace’s face was full of worry, and Henry’s expression was equally grave. They both looked as if they truly cared for Eric.
Ella found it all terribly ironic.
But she was too drained to argue, too exhausted to even care about these people.
When James and the others arrived, no one acknowledged them. Grace sniffled quietly, and after lingering for ten or so minutes, they finally left.
Ella felt a sense of calm return as they departed.
Amelia watched Grace’s retreating figure with a clenched jaw. "What a show! Acting like she’s Eric’s real mother. That witch is probably hoping for his death! Her performance deserves an award!"
Grace stiffened at the comment but didn’t turn around to confront Amelia. She silently followed James out.
Chloe scoffed. "Do you remember how they treated Mr. Nelson when he was younger? That family is just unbelievable. Grace has always been the best at pretending."
Ella remained quiet, but suspicion gnawed at her. She, too, believed Grace might be behind the assassination attempt.
But without evidence, there was little they could do. The gunman had been captured, though, and Ella held onto the hope that this time, they’d get some answers.