A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 388

"Winifred, I'm so sorry!"

"I didn't know... I had no idea it was your daughter who needed Dr. Lewis. I made a terrible mistake. Please, just hold on. You have to live..."

"Get out!"

A fiercely aggressive voice cut through his desperate prayers. It was Seth, who had rushed straight to the hospital the moment he woke up.

"Seth, please, just listen to me..."

Holden scrambled to his feet. After a long, agonizing night of waiting, he had managed to organize his thoughts. He knew he didn't just have to worry about Winifred's survival; he had to consider the emotional state of her two young children. The misunderstanding had been catastrophic, triggering unimaginable tragedy. He desperately needed to explain his side of the story to prevent this two-year-old boy from letting hatred take root in his soul.

"Get the hell out of here!"

But Seth wasn't giving him a single inch. Holden wasn't even permitted to finish a sentence.

"If my mom sees you," Seth said coldly, "her freshly healed body will just collapse all over again."

Those words wrapped around Holden's throat like a vice, choking the life out of him.

He leaned against the freezing metal doors of the operating room, slowly pushing himself upright. Without a word, he backed away, retreating until his spine hit the opposite wall.

Half an hour later, the hospital corridor sprang to life as the morning shift arrived.

Holden felt as though a crushing weight was bearing down on his chest. He pulled out his phone, needing to know what kind of surgery Seth had undergone. The image of the little boy, standing bare-legged in the freezing winter air—so fierce yet so fragile—haunted him.

He texted a contact in the medical industry. The reply came quickly.

[Seth had a minor pediatric hernia repair. Routine procedure. He is recovering well.]

The contact mentioned it happened at the children's hospital. Driven by some irrational impulse, Holden typed back: [Can you get me the hospital's security footage from yesterday?]

The contact delivered. He sent over three short video clips.

Holden clicked play on the first one.

The footage showed Seth, in his oversized gown, walking toward the pediatric cardiology ward. Declan was with him, pushing open a door for the boy. The high-definition camera was angled perfectly at the doorway. Shortly after Seth went inside, Quentin Adams appeared, carrying a load of gifts. Winifred stepped out of the room to confront him.

The pain ripped through his brain and tore straight down into his heart. That was how her head was injured. He had absolutely no idea. He had assumed that Winifred cutting her way out of the suitcase and crawling to freedom was the extent of her suffering—and even that thought had been enough to shred his conscience into pieces.

He never knew she had been beaten.

He didn't know someone had struck her.

Holden staggered backward, completely losing his balance until he hit the wall.

Through his blurred, tear-filled vision, he saw the operating room doors finally swing open.

He focused on the gurney as it rattled into the hallway. Beneath the stark white blankets, she was perfectly still, her feet splayed in that same terrifying, lifeless angle. Through the gap in the medical staff, he caught a glimpse of her head.

It was entirely wrapped in white gauze.

He waited until the crowd passed before following them. By the time he reached the ICU, the double doors had already closed.

Declan and his entourage were standing in the hallway. Beside Declan's blonde assistant, Howie Hale, stood Seth. Howie was holding the little boy's hand, and Seth wasn't pulling away.