Quentin said angrily, "That woman was obsessed with Stephen. She pursued him for ten years, but Stephen had spoken fewer than ten sentences to her. Her mental state didn''t seem normal. I think she did that out of jealousy since Stephen was taken by Tessa."


    Sophia''s chest heaved with fury. "She''s insane! If anything happens to Stephen, I won''t let her off so easily."


    Rowena frowned, casting a displeased look at Sophia. "Sophia, Stephen is still in the emergency room. How can you talk about what happens after? As his mother, how can you say something so ominous?" Sophia''s eyes reddened. "Rowena... I didn''t mean it like that..." As she spoke, tears began streaming down her face again.


    Caleb scolded her, "Stop crying! Our son is still being treated. Crying now will only jinx him." Tessa was in no mood to listen to their quarrel.


    To Tessa, every second felt endless and excruciating.


    Guilt, regret, anxiety, and fear tightly gripped her. Her chest felt heavy, her heart ached, and even


    breathing became difficult. It felt as though she was drowning and suffocating on the brink of death.


    ...


    Time slowly ticked by, and the sun gradually sank lower.


    Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the doors of the emergency room opened.


    Sophia was the first to rush forward and ask the doctor, "Doctor, how is my son?"


    The others also quickly gathered around.


    Tessa''s hand trembled, cold sweat soaked her palms, and her heart was caught between hope and fear. The doctor removed his surgical mask, his exhausted face breaking into a relieved smile. "The patient is now out of danger."


    Everyone exhaled in relief.


    The tension that had gripped Tessa all afternoon finally eased a little.


    Stephen waster transferred from the emergency room to the ICU. The doctor exined that to prevent postoperative infections, he had to remain in the ICU for observation for a few more days.  en


    With his mind at ease, Ralph began reviewing the day''s events.


    His gaze turned stern as he looked at Caleb. "How did that woman sneak into the estate? The security there is tight. No one should have been able to enter without an invitation. Has anything been found?"


    Vonov


    Caleb suddenly recalled the numerous missed calls he had received earlier. Moments ago, he had been


    too worried about Stephen and didn''t bother to pick up.


    "I will check on the investigation now."


    After making a call, Caleb exined,


    "The assant entered as Conrad Gomez''spanion. The


    surveince footage shows that she was wearing a face mask upon entry iming she had a cold. Since Conrad personally brought her in, the guards at the entrance didn''t have her remove the mask."


    "The Gomez family?" Ralph frowned.


    Caleb continued, "The Gomez family exined that Conrad has been abroad for the past few years and only recently returned. He imed not to know about the woman''s obsession with Stephen."


    Ralph''s expression turned cold. "Their exnation sounds wless, but this matter is certainly not that simple. Continue the investigation."


    "Understood."