Chapter 7
Elias’s eyes narrowed instantly. He looked up sharply.
Amara was already sitting in the passenger seat of Jasper’s car. The moment their eyes met, she leaned halfway out of the window and waved at him with a bright smile.
“I sent you the money, ex-husband!” she called out cheerfully across the distance. “Five hundred million should be enough for a year of pretending to be my husband, right?”
She smiled even wider, completely ignoring the dangerous look on his face.
“Think of it as your service fee.”
Jasper nearly choked beside her trying not to laugh.
Then she tilted her head lightly, her smile not fading for even a second.
“Anyway, I hope we never see each other again.”
Elias’s expression twisted instantly.
“Amara—”
He immediately started striding toward the car with long angry steps, his entire face darkening with fury.
But before he could reach them, his phone suddenly started ringing again.
The sharp ringtone cut through the tension. He looked down impatiently.
Bianca’s name flashed across the screen.
His steps halted.
Already irritated, Elias answered the call sharply.
“What?!”
A weak, shaky voice came from the other side.
“Elias…”
His expression shifted slightly.
“There was an emergency at the hospital…”
The irritation in his eyes faded.
He looked back up again, Jasper had already started the car.
The vehicle drove away smoothly, disappearing onto the road while Elias stood there staring after it with an increasingly unpleasant expression.
Elias stared at it for a second, his jaw tight with frustration and displeasure. His jaw flexed hard.
Finally, he turned sharply toward Felix.
“Drive to the hospital. Something’s wrong with Bianca.”
Without waiting another second, he strode down the stairs quickly while Felix hurried after him.
***
The moment Elias stepped into the VIP hospital room, the sharp smell of antiseptic filled the air.
Inside, Bianca sat beside a hospital bed where a pale young woman was lying unconscious.
The woman looked fragile and weak, no older than twenty-five.
An IV was attached to her arm, and several monitors beeped quietly beside the bed.
Bianca herself looked exhausted.
There was cotton taped to the inside of her arm where blood had clearly been drawn recently. Her makeup looked slightly smudged, and her face was pale as she sat quietly beside the bed.
The second she saw Elias enter, her eyes immediately reddened.
“Elias…”
She quickly pushed herself to her feet and hurried toward him.
The moment she reached him, she grabbed onto his arm tightly before leaning weakly against him.
“I’m so tired…” she whispered softly, her voice fragile and weak. “My whole body feels sore…”
Elias instinctively lowered his gaze toward her.
Bianca pressed one hand weakly against her forehead before continuing softly,
“But I knew how important Zoe is…”
She looked toward the unconscious woman on the bed before biting her lip gently.
“I was in the middle of a meeting, but the moment I heard she needed blood, I rushed over immediately.”
Her fingers curled weakly against his sleeve.
“The doctor said she needed it urgently… so I donated as much as my body could handle.”
She closed her eyes weakly and rested her forehead against Elias’s shoulder.
“I feel so weak right now…”
“Thank you for helping her,” he said quietly.
His tone softened noticeably.
Bianca nodded weakly before leaning against him more heavily as though she barely had the strength to stand.
Elias immediately lifted an arm, and shifted her gently toward Felix instead.
“Help her.”
Felix froze for half a second before awkwardly stepping forward.
“Yes, Mr. Creed.”
He carefully reached for Bianca’s arm.
However, Bianca’s expression instantly changed. A flash of displeasure crossed her face so quickly it was almost impossible to notice.
The moment Felix touched her arm, she immediately pulled away from him. Instead, she wrapped both arms tightly around herself before stepping closer to Elias again.
Elias glanced at her briefly before speaking in a calm voice. “Don’t worry. I’ll arrange the best treatment and doctors for you. You’ll be alright.”
“Thank you, Elias,” Her fingers tightened around Elias’s sleeve again as she tilted her face up toward him with slightly reddened eyes. “I know you care about me so much.”
As she spoke, she instinctively tried to move closer to him again, almost clinging to his arm. However, Elias subtly shifted sideways before gently pushing her toward Felix instead.
Felix cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking politely. “Miss Bianca, maybe you should step outside for now. Please let Mr. Creed check on Miss Bishop first. He’ll come see you afterward.”
Bianca looked slightly displeased at the suggestion, her lips tightening faintly, but she had no excuse to refuse.
So after a moment of hesitation, she nodded quietly.
“Alright…”
Lowering her gaze, she quietly followed Felix out of the room while he guided her toward a seat in the hallway.
A few minutes later, Felix returned alone.
Elias stood near Zoe’s bed with both hands inside his pockets, his gaze fixed on her pale, unconscious face.
Felix stopped beside Elias and said respectfully, “Mr. Creed, the doctor will be here in a minute. I already asked him to come discuss Miss Bishop’s current condition with you.”
Elias only nodded once before speaking in a low voice, “Make sure the hospital informs me immediately if anything goes wrong with Zoe.”
“Yes, Mr. Creed.” Felix nodded immediately. “I already made sure to put you as the primary emergency contact. If anything changes with Miss Zoe’s condition, the doctor will contact you first.”
“Good.” Elias nodded shortly.
The room fell silent again.
The only sound was the faint beeping of the heart monitor beside Zoe’s bed.
A minute later, the doctor entered the room holding a tablet in his hand.
The moment he walked in, he glanced toward the hospital bed before his eyes landed on Elias.
Visible surprise crossed his face.
“Mr. Creed?”
The doctor blinked slightly.
“What are you doing here? I didn’t think you would come personally since there wasn’t any emergency situation.”
Elias finally turned toward him, a faint frown appearing on his face.
“Zoe required an urgent blood transfusion,” he said flatly. “Why wasn’t I informed?”
The doctor looked confused for a moment before quickly explaining,
“Mr. Creed, it wasn’t an emergency.”
He adjusted his glasses slightly before continuing.
“The blood donation was simply part of Miss Bishop’s ongoing treatment procedure as a coma patient.”
Elias’s expression remained tense.
“Doctor Hayes,” he said in a serious voice, “from now on, I need you to update Felix about everything related to Zoe’s treatment.”
The doctor straightened immediately.
“Everything,” Elias repeated.
“Even if it’s something minor.”
His gaze sharpened.
“If there’s a procedure, a medication adjustment, or even an IV drip change, I want to know about it immediately.”
Doctor Hayes nodded quickly.
“Of course, Mr. Creed. My apologies.”
He gave a small professional smile.
“I’ll make sure you receive updates regarding every step of Miss Bishop’s treatment moving forward.”
Elias still looked visibly tense.
Seeing the expression on his face, Doctor Hayes softened his tone slightly before speaking again.
“Mr. Creed, I understand that you’re worried about Miss Bishop. She’s your best friend’s sister, after all. But please understand that we truly are doing everything we can to help her regain consciousness.”
The doctor glanced toward Zoe before continuing.
“We’ve already tried every possible treatment over the past year… and recently, we’ve finally started seeing small signs of improvement.”
Elias’s jaw tightened slightly.
“The only improvement I care about,” he said quietly, “is Zoe waking up completely.”
Elias’s voice was low and heavy as he stood beside the bed, his dark eyes fixed on Zoe’s pale face. Concern and exhaustion were visible in his expression as he slowly lifted his gaze toward the doctor.
“I don’t want assurances,” he continued coldly. “And I don’t want false hope.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
Elias glanced back at Zoe, his brows tightening slightly.
“It’s already been so long,” he said quietly. “Her physical injuries healed a long time ago. There are barely any visible signs of trauma left, so what exactly is going on?”
His jaw tightened faintly before he asked in a harsher voice,
“Why is she still unconscious?”
Doctor Hayes looked visibly troubled by the question.
“Mr. Creed… brain injuries are extremely complicated,” he explained softly. “The risks are unpredictable, and unfortunately, there’s never a guarantee when it comes to how the brain responds.”
The doctor paused briefly before continuing.
“We’ve tried every possible method we could to help Miss Bishop regain consciousness, but…” He sighed quietly. “We still don’t fully understand what is preventing her from waking up.”
His expression softened with concern.
“At this point, all we can do is continue treatment and hope her condition gradually improves so Miss Bishop can eventually regain consciousness.”
Elias gave a stiff nod, though the tension in his face didn’t ease at all.
The doctor seemed to understand the conversation was over.
After offering one final respectful nod, he quietly left the room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Felix looked toward Elias with concern.
“Mr. Creed, I’m sure Miss Bishop will recover soon. The medication seems to be helping, and the recent reports showed improvement. Maybe we just need a little more patience.”
Elias said nothing.
He simply stood there staring at Zoe.
Zoe had soft delicate features, and her short hair framed her pale face neatly against the pillow. Even while lying unconscious, she looked peaceful… almost as if she were simply asleep.
Then suddenly—
The quiet atmosphere shattered.
The hospital room door burst open loudly.
“What is taking so long?”