?Chapter 1350:


    Silence descended upon the room, broken only by the distant sounds of hospital equipment.


    Residual anesthesia coursed through his system, quickly dragging Eric back into the depths of slumber.


    Hadley maintained her vigil at his bedside for some time, periodically slipping away to monitor Joy’s condition in the neighboring room. When consciousness finally reimed Eric, the room had transformed.


    Gentle amber light from the wallmp cast long shadows across the floor. Beyond the window, darkness had already imed the sky.


    He jolted awake, his eyes snapping open, but the space beside him was empty. Hadley was gone.


    “Hadley!” The name burst from his lips like a plea.


    His sudden movement startled the nurse who had just entered with a clipboard in hand.


    “Mr. Scott,” she stammered, eyes widening. “You’re—you’re awake?”


    She hastily deposited her clipboard on a nearby surface and rushed forward, hands outstretched to assist him.


    “Don’t touch me!” Eric recoiled from her approach, his good arm creating a barrier between them. The nurse’s youth triggered wariness—his encounter with A had left him distrustful of young female attendants.


    “Where is my wife?” he demanded, voice sharp with urgency. “Where has she gone?”


    “Your wife?” The nurse echoed, confusion evident in her furrowed brow. Just then, a high-pitched wail suddenly pierced the air from beyond the door, cutting through their exchange.<fne597> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n f?ndnovel</fne597>


    Eric’s entire body went rigid. “Joy!” Recognition shed across his features.


    With no regard for his own condition, he flung the nket aside and swung his legs over the edge, bare feet hitting the cold floor as he lunged toward the door.


    The door burst inward before he reached it, revealing Hadley cradling a distressed Joy against her arms.


    “You’re conscious?” Hadley’s voice cracked with strain, the skin around her eyes puffy and inmed. “Joy woke in a panic and hasn’t stopped sobbing. Nothing I do seems to console her.”


    “Let me take her!” Eric thrust forward his uninjured arm, gathering Joy into his protective embrace. “Joy, sweetheart, it’s me! What’s frightening you so badly?”


    Joy burrowed against him, her tiny fingers digging into his hospital gown as her body heaved with sobs. “Bad people!” she wailed between gasping breaths. “Bad people everywhere!”


    “Joy, darling, there’s no one here who would harm you…” Hadley’s heart raced as she sought to soothe her trembling daughter.


    “Hadley,” Eric interjected softly, shaking his head. “Let me by.”


    “Sorry, what?” Surprised but trusting, Hadley gave a small nod, curious about Eric’s approach.


    Eric looked down to meet Joy’s gaze, his voice as gentle as a summer breeze. “Sweetheart, there are bad people. I saw them too.”


    “You did?” Joy’s tear-streaked eyes widened, searching his face.


    “Absolutely,” Eric said, settling on the bed’s edge with Joy cradled in his uninjured arm. His tone was a warm embrace. “And you know what? I chased them all away.”


    “Really?” Joy’s face lit up, her fear giving way to awe. “Was it you who saved me?”


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