I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 398

Hearing his footsteps, she snapped her head up. When she saw Finnegan standing there, the eyes that had once looked at her with such tenderness were now barren of anything but frost.

Finnegan gave her one last freezing glance before nodding at the officer. "Take her in."

The officer replied, "We'll need you to come down to the station as well to give a statement."

Finnegan nodded, refusing to spare Seraphina even a passing glance.

They shoved Seraphina into the cruiser. The absolute finality of the door slamming shut finally broke her; pressing her face against the glass, she wailed into the night. Her screams were shrill and harrowing, a desperate purge of all her grievances and bitterness.

But no one answered her. The engine roared to life, and the cruiser slowly drove off, ultimately vanishing into the dark.

At the hospital, outside the emergency surgical suite.

Xander leaned against the corridor wall, his gaze vacant and his posture unusually defeated. The normally pristine and untouchable executive was now staring unblinkingly at the operating room doors.

During the frantic drive over, Nora had briefly regained consciousness for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes and recognized him, her very first words weren't about her own pain, but a desperate question about Cassie's safety.

Xander had been pressing down on her wound at the time. Hearing her ask that had made his hands stutter. He looked down at her ghostly complexion with a deep scowl. Even on the brink of death, she wasn't thinking about herself.

Xander had gripped her hand. "She's fine, not a scratch on her. Rest easy. Don't try to talk, save your strength. We're almost at the hospital."

Nora seemed to smile, the corners of her lips curling up by the smallest fraction, before her eyes fluttered shut again as if that had consumed her very last ounce of energy.

He called her name twice, but she didn't respond. He didn't try to wake her again; instead, he floored the gas pedal and blew through several red lights.

It wasn't until late afternoon that Nora finally fluttered her eyes open and slowly regained consciousness.

She tried to shift her hands. The pristine white ceiling filled her vision, and the sharp scent of antiseptic burned her nose.

As she attempted to lift her hand, she found it pinned down. Glancing over, she saw the man slumped over the edge of the bed. A light shadow of stubble dusted his jaw, a clear sign he had been sitting vigil for who knew how long.

At her slight movement, Xander's eyes flew open. Seeing her awake, he gently pressed her hand down to stop her from moving, his voice rough. "Don't move. I'll get the doctor."

A doctor hurried in for a quick assessment, confirming that all her vitals were stable, and instructed her to remain hospitalized for the next phase of recovery.

A sudden realization hit Nora: Dr. Maxwell Reed's lecture was in just a few days. If she couldn't leave the hospital, wouldn't she miss the entire event?