"Didn't you hear the doctor say you weren't supposed to move? If you needed something, why didn't you call Nancy in?"
Nancy had been waiting outside all along, in case Natalia couldn't sleep with someone nearby, close enough to still help if she awakened.
Natalia blinked. "Only my hands are injured. My feet are fine. I don't need someone to help me with a drink of water, at least."
Archie scoffed.
"So you're planning to lift a cup with those crippled palms of yours, hmm?"
Natalia's face was awkward.
After a while, she said, "Sorry, I forgot."
The man harrumphed and set her down on the bed before turning to pour her some warm water.
Natalia took the cup and sipped at it lightly, examining him and asking, "You still haven't answered my question. Did you just come back from outside?"
"Yeah."
The man replied, taking her hand and rolling up her long pajama sleeve.
Her delicate palm was wrapped up in a tight bundle of bandages and looked particularly jarring.
He frowned slightly and reached out to undo them.
Natalia hurriedly stepped him. "Wait, don't. I just got a new ointment in before bed."
The man stopped and stroked the wound, murmuring, "Does it still hurt?"
"It's okay. Doctor Amelia's medicine was pretty good. Other than a bit of pain when they're applying the ointment, I don't feel anything now."
And besides, getting to stay alive and only taking two wounds was worth it to her.
Archie stopped speaking and looked at the wound, his gaze full of heartache.
Natalia didn't want him to linger on it and took her hand back, asking, "Who was behind it? Have you found out?"
Archie looked deeply at her. "I thought you'd have guessed it."
Natalia grunted. "Jessica?"
Archie nodded.
Natalia about understood what was going on.
There were only a select few people with a grudge against her. But she didn't understand why, being a lady of the Kawn family now, she was still going against her.
Couldn't she just live her own life and stop looking for trouble?
Where could she end up by making trouble for herself, anyway?
As if seeing her doubt for himself, Archie said lowly, "It wasn't just Jessica, but Matthew too."
Natalia jolted in disbelief. "That Uncle Matthew?"
"Yes."
Archie didn't hide it from her and took out his phone, playing a copy of the recording Jessica had made.
Natalia was stunned.
The contents of the recording didn't just prove that Matthew and Jessica had planned her accident together, but the key part was – Matthew and Jessica were father and daughter?
That was... quite a revelation!
Her mouth dry, she took another two sips from her cup before she swallowed that pill.
Lifting her head, she asked dubiously, "If she's the bastard daughter of Matthew Kawn, then why'd she pretend to be the daughter of Yvonne Kawn? It has to be better to be a granddaughter on the paternal line, right?"
Archie sneered.
"Because, before Yvonne died, she left 15% of the Kawn family shares to her daughter alone. If she'd only been Matthew's daughter, she'd get nothing except a dowry for marrying someone and the empty title of a lady."
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