Leo flinched at Celine's reaction. He had not expected his presence to trigger such a profound sense of terror. Without saying another word, he stood up from the edge of the bed.
"Sleep," Leo said shortly. His voice was flat.
He immediately strode away, leaving Celine alone in the room, still trembling with fear.
***
The following day.
Celine prepared to head to the hospital. She descended the stairs very slowly, trying to endure the pain radiating through her body. That day, she chose to wear clothes that covered her completely to hide the bruises from prying eyes.
At the bottom of the stairs, Leo was already standing there, dressed and ready for the office. With his hands shoved into his pockets, he watched intently as Celine walked with a stiff, labored gait.
Celine continued past him without a single glance, acting as if he did not exist. However, Leo quickly grabbed her arm, halting her progress.
"Ah!" Celine shrieked in pain.
"You aren't going to greet me?" Leo asked coldly.
Celine tried to steady her breathing. "I wish I didn't have to see you at all. Let go of my arm. I have to see my mother."
"Have you treated your wounds?" Leo asked, ignoring her request.
"Why do you care? Aren't you the one who caused them?" Celine replied, refusing to look him in the face. "Let go. You're holding exactly where it's hurt."
Leo finally loosened his grip and released her.
Without wasting a moment, Celine called for her guards. "Thom, John, take me to the hospital," she said firmly. She walked away, leaving Leo standing in silence as he watched her back.
***
At the hospital.
Celine hurried toward the intensive care unit where her mother lay following the surgery. Although still weak, her mother appeared to be regaining consciousness.
"Mama. You aren't in pain anymore, right?" Celine asked softly.
Her mother turned her head slowly, looking at Celine with a vacant stare. "Who... are you?"
Celine recoiled. The question struck her with the force of a physical blow. Without a second thought, she rushed to call the doctor. A moment later, the doctor arrived and performed a thorough examination.
"Please, follow me to my office," the doctor said after finishing the checkup.
Celine followed with a heart full of anxiety. Once they reached the office, the doctor invited her to sit. Celine tried to regulate her erratic breathing.
"It appears to be a side effect of the surgery. The procedure affected the memory nerves. Therefore, your mother is experiencing amnesia," the doctor explained.
"Amnesia?" Celine whispered.
Celine's mind immediately fell into chaos. On one hand, there was a sense of relief that her mother would no longer have to remember the nightmare they had endured. Yet, on the other hand, her heart shattered at the realization that the person she loved most no longer recognized her.
"Can her memory return, Doctor?" Celine asked hopefully.
"There is a possibility. Once her physical health recovers, you can try taking her to places she used to visit to trigger her memories," the doctor answered.
"I understand. Thank you, Doctor."
Celine returned to her mother's room. The woman had fallen back asleep. Celine could only stand there in silence, gazing at her mother's face with deep sorrow. Suddenly, her body shook violently and her composure broke.
"Mama... why does everything have to be this hard?" she lamented through her sobs, mourning the weight of a life that felt increasingly suffocating.
***
Inside Richard William's study, the atmosphere was suffocating. His guards stood with their heads bowed. Not one of them dared to look up out of sheer terror.
Shatter!
The whiskey glass in Richard's hand flew across the room and smashed against the wall. Shards of glass scattered across the floor.
"WHY HAS THAT DOCUMENT ALREADY BEEN TAKEN?!" Richard screamed in frustration.
The contents of the safe deposit box belonging to Celine's father, the very documents he had been hunting, had been intercepted by someone else.
"Is this the girl's doing?" Richard asked, his eyes narrowing sharply.
"We have confirmed it, Sir. It wasn't her. Celine has no knowledge of it whatsoever," replied Lucas, Richard's most trusted guard, struggling to remain calm.
"Then who? How could they have taken it?" Richard pressed.
Lucas cleared his throat softly, answering with extreme caution. "We checked the CCTV footage around the bank. They... are likely people from the party. The party Frederick Jackson William used to belong to."
"Damn it!" Richard cursed. Great fury was etched into his reddened face.
"FIND THAT DOCUMENT! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!" Richard bellowed.
His chest heaved as he fought to contain his exploding rage. Suddenly, he pulled out his pistol and fired a shot into the floor, directly between the feet of his guards.
The deafening roar of the gunshot made them jump in terror. The room became deathly still. Not a single man dared to move, or even to take a breath of relief.