?<strong>Chapter 539:</strong>


    Mny wiped her tears, her voice shaky. “Poor Carrie…”


    How could something so terrible happen on such an important day? Shawn squeezed her hand. “The bullet struck her abdomen, but Carrie has always been resilient. She’ll make it through this. I know she will.”


    Nearby, Kailee muttered under her breath, unable to hold back her disdain. “The baby surely won’t survive. I’ve always said she was a disaster—”


    The sharp sound of a p echoed through the chaos, silencing Kailee midsentence. Kailee staggered back, holding her cheek in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she stared at Billie, the very aunt who had always spoiled her. “Aunt… you hit me?”


    Billie’s face was filled with disappointment and anger. “When did you be so cold-hearted, Kailee? Making petty remarks is one thing, but when someone’s life hangs in the bnce, you’re still cruel enough to insult her?”


    Billie stepped closer, her eyes zing. “The Norris family is not heartless. I care about the child, yes—but more than anything, I care about Carrie’s safety and health. There will be other children in the future.”


    Mny, still seated in the wheelchair, pointed at Kailee, her voice shaking with fury. “Get out! You are no longer wee in the Norris family!”


    Two security guards stepped forward at Mny’smand, escorting Kailee out of the scene despite her weak protests. “Kristopher, I’ll take Shawn and Mny back now. Stay focused on Carrie,” Billie said softly, approaching Kristopher.


    He didn’t respond, his eyes fixed solely on Carrie nestled in his arms.


    Billie sighed, realizing she wouldn’t get a word out of him. Turning away, she helped Shawn and Mny into a pumpkin carriage meant for the elderly guests, and the driver hurriedly departed down the mountain road.


    Kristopher kept staring at Carrie—her pale face, her closed eyes, the faint tremble in her once-delicate features—it was all too much.


    She looked like a fragile wax figure, her warmth slipping away with every passing moment. Blood seeped through his fingers as he pressed desperately on her wound, his face set in a mask of barely controlled panic. Her body was growing colder, and with it, her warmth slipped away.


    Kristopher held her hand tightly, bringing it to his lips to breathe warmth onto her cold fingers.


    Oliver arrived momentster with two medics carrying a stretcher.


    “Mr. Norris,” Oliver said, his voice tight but steady, “the ambnce is waiting at the foot of the mountain. We need to move Mrs. Norris now.”


    Kristopher nodded tersely, carefully lifting Carrie onto the stretcher. He removed his suit jacket and draped it over her fragile frame. The medics carried the stretcher to the carriage. Kristopher climbed in beside them, his expression hardened into something unreadable.


    Before Oliver could join them, Kristopher turned, his voice low butmanding. “Stay here. Secure the scene and find the shooter.”


    His deep eyes were filled with a terrifying, murderous intent.


    At the hospital, Kristopher chose a public facility to keep Gracie unaware of the incident, bringing in the best medical expertise avable for Carrie. Soon, the hospital was swarmed with ambnces, and professionals rushed in, creating an impression of an epidemic for the uninformed onlookers. Panic spread like wildfire.


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