"When Haynie wakes up, that woman will have already vanished without a trace!"
Foreman tried to reason with him. "Before Haynie was taken into the ER, he said we should wait until he''s conscious before doing anything else. Jasper, don''t act on impulse. Let''s respect Haynie''s wishes."
Jasper jabbed a finger at Ste and yelled, "She nearly killed Haynie! There''s no way Haynie will ever let her off the hook. Why keep her here getting in everyone''s way? Might as well send her straight to jail, let her get a taste of what it''s like to rot behind bars!"
Lately, Ste had been meticulous in everything she did-Jasper hadn''t been able to catch her out, not even once. It ate at him, made him grind his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Now, finally, he''d found something he could use against her. There was no way he''d let this opportunity slip by.
Ste stood there with an indifferent expression, her face utterly calm-like she was a bystander, not even involved in the mess unfolding around her.
Foreman started to say something else, but the police arrived just then.
"Who called this in? Where''s the suspect?"
Jasper and Rachel pointed at Ste in unison.
Jasper shouted, "It was her! She stabbed Haynie! Officer, arrest her-she
deserves the death penalty!"
The officer turned to look at Ste. She was standing perfectly still, face serene, not even trying to avoid their gaze.
"Did you kill someone?" the officer asked, suspicion in his voice.
Ste replied coolly, "No."
Jasper hissed like a cat with its tail stepped on. "She''s lying! Officer, she refuses
to admit it—she should be punished even more for that!"
Ste shot him a bored nce. "If you''re iming I killed someone, then where''s the body?"
Jasper faltered. "Haynie... Haynie is in surgery right now."
"Is he dead?" Ste asked tly.
Jasper jabbed his finger at her again. "Ste, you''d love nothing more than for Haynie to die, wouldn''t you?!"
Ste couldn''t even be bothered to argue with him. Instead, she turned to the officer. "Sir, I didn''t kill anyone."
There''s a world of difference between murder and assault.
The officer frowned at the whole group. "What exactly happened here?"
Foreman spoke up. "Officer, we''re all friends here. This murder usation is just a misunderstanding. My friend was injured, yes, but it was an ident, nothing more. If you don''t believe me, just wait until he wakes up he can tell you himself
Foreman looked calm and gentlemanly, much more trustworthy than Jasper''s angry outbursts.
The officer nced over them, still skeptical. "You''re sure this is just a misunderstanding?"
Foreman smiled politely. "If it''s anything more, the victim will file a report himself once he''s awake."
The officer could tell these people all knew each other, and it was obvious Jasper had some personal grudge against the alleged "suspect.” He nodded. "Alright. If anything else happens, call us right away."
Once the police were gone, Jasper turned on Foreman, seething.
"Foreman, why the hell are you defending Ste?"
Foreman''s eyes darkened for a moment. "Jasper, I''m just following Haynie''s instructions."
"She hurt Haynie!" Jasper''s fury was barely contained. "You really think Haynie will ever forgive her?"
Foreman met his gaze. "Jasper, whatever else you think, Ste is Keen''s mother. If you call the police and have her thrown in jail, what happens to Keen?"
"If Haynie really wanted her behind bars, he would''ve said so before going into surgery. Jasper, this is between Haynie and Ms. Cameron. We should stay out of it. Pushing our way into other people''s lives will only make things harder for Haynie."
Jasper froze, He''d forgotten that Ste was keen''s mother. Keen was the heir to the family business-even if he''d never enter politics, having à mother with a criminal record would be a stain, a scandal that would follow him everywhere.
He was still lost in thought when the doors to the operating room swung open.