Chapter


    184


    Time sliced through Herman like a razor-sharp knife, again and again. No visible wounds, but he felt the pain all over.


    Tick-tock, tick-tock, time was dragging by. Waiting, Herman was strung up like a tight violin string. Doctors kept rushing bags of blood into the operating room, trying their damnedest to save Anastasia. Katelyn was watching this, all nervous and worried. Her hands pped together, praying, "God, you whomand all things, please watch over my daughter-inw. Don''t let anything happen to her." Flynn was freaked out too. "How the hell did this car ident happen?"


    Right now, there was no time to investigate the cause, and Herman couldn''t care less. It was a rainy night, and the roads were slick, but he knew Anastasia''s driving skills. Her reflexes were lightning fast, and it didn''t make sense for the crash to be this severe. The car had tried to slow down by grinding against the mountain, a risky move. Why had she done that? One answer - the brakes had


    failed.


    A chill ran down Herman''s spine, and his eyes turned ice-cold. "Flynn, check out the car. Were the brakes tampered with? I want to know if it was an ident or sabotage."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll look into it right away." Flynn knew that waiting around was pointless. He needed to get to the bottom of this.


    As Flynn rushed off, Katelyn asked, "Are you saying there''s something fishy about Ana''s ident?*


    A murderous glint shed in Herman''s eyes. "We''ll know when we find out."


    Anastasia''s surgerysted nearly eight hours. When dawn broke, she was still critical and was moved to the ICU. Herman, dressed in protective gear, entered the ICU. Holding Anastasia''s hand, looking at her lying there, her life hanging by a thread, he couldn''t hold back his tears anymore.


    "Anastasia, you can''t do this to me, you have to pull through. You promised me we''d be together till the end." Herman''s voice was hoarse, heavy with grief. "You can''t leave me alone."


    He kissed the back of her hand, tears streaming down his face. He was a man who could cause a financial crisis, but here he was, crying his eyes out in front of Anastasia. It would probably blow people''s minds if they knew.


    He talked to her a lot, but she didn''t respond. Anastasia was all pale and wired up, the only response to Herman was the incessant beeping of the life-support machines.


    The doctors warned that Anastasia was still vulnerable. A blood clot in her brain could threaten her life at any moment.


    News of Anastasia''s ident eventually reached Salma. She immediately rushed to the hospital, only able to see her daughter through a ss window. Seeing Anastasia hooked up to all those machines, Salma was heartbroken. Katelyn tried tofort her. "Salma, don''t worry too much. Anastasia wille back to us. We got the best doctors, they''ll pull her through."


    Katelyn had been at the hospital all night, looking utterly exhausted.


    "My daughter, how could this happen to her?" Salma''s vision blurred, and she felt dizzy.


    Katelyn quickly steadied her. "Salma, pull yourself together. You have to stay strong."


    Katelyn guided Salma to a nearby chair. To Salma, Anastasia was her world, and anything happening to Anastasia was a threat to her own life