?Chapter 1604:


    Tasha’s hands trembled as she moved to support Ste carefully. “But Ms. Russell, your wound—” Wasn’t this making everything worse?


    Color continued draining from Ste’s face with each passing second. “It’s fine. This is the only way I have to escape this vi.”


    Tasha clenched her jaw, retrieved her phone with shaking hands, and dialed emergency services.


    Ste sank back against the sofa, breathing in shallow gasps, watching blood flow steadily from her arm and holding consciousness through sheer willpower alone. Nothing mattered now except reaching Lance.


    Hurried footsteps thundered from upstairs. William appeared on the second-floornding, casual clothes rumpled as though he’d jolted awake from a nightmare, and descended rapidly. His gazended immediately on Ste’s arm. The vivid red saturating the bandage made his pupils contract sharply. He forced his voice lower, though tension vibrated through every word. “What happened?”


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    Hadn’t Jewell treated that wound thoroughly just hours ago?


    His gaze swept past Ste andnded on Tasha hovering nearby. Cold fury radiated from him in palpable waves. Tasha trembled under his stare, words stumbling out. “Mr. Briggs, Ms. Russell, she—”


    “I fell and struck my wounded arm.”


    Ste cut in before Tasha could finish, her voice thin and weak. “I’m sorry I woke you.”


    William crossed the distance between them in seconds and dropped onto the sofa beside her to examine the wound closely. His brows drew together into deep furrows. He wanted to touch it but hesitated at the constant flow of blood. His voice grew colder, tinged with almost imperceptible tension. “The damage is too severe for a simple fall. What really happened?”


    Ste dropped her eyelids, refusing to meet his prating stare. “I wanted water but didn’t turn on any lights. I tripped over something in the dark.”


    William’s lipspressed into a rigid line. He appeared ready to challenge her story further, but the wail of an ambnce siren approaching outside severed whatever usation he’d been forming. He pivoted toward Tasha. “Open the gate.”


    Without waiting for a response, he scooped Ste into his arms and followed Tasha toward the waiting ambnce.


    By the time they arrived at the hospital, dawn had begun painting the eastern sky in pale shades. Medical staff whisked Ste into the emergency room immediately. As the attending physician cleaned her wounds, his frown deepened. “Why is the damage this extensive? These wounds show clear signs of previous treatment. How did they reopen?”


    The question sent a visible tremor through William’s expression, though he remained motionless and silent near the doorway.


    Ste fought through waves of pain to keep her voice level and convincing. “I fell identally in the dark. I must have struck the wounded area during the impact.” Skepticism radiated from the doctor’s face, but one nce at William’s forbidding demeanor convinced him not to press the matter.


    Receiving fresh stitches proved exponentially more agonizing than the original treatment. Ste bit down hard on her lip, feeling as though she had descended into hell and wed her way back out again.


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