Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 627

Chapter 627

Inside a VIP ward at Sacred Heart Hospital, Florence slipped back into a deep, drowsy sleep after learning the night before that Sydney had returned home safely.

When she woke again, Theodore and Diana were both at her bedside, neither having left for a moment.

She did not look at Theodore. Her gaze settled on her eldest daughter, filled with distress. “Why didn’t you go home all night either?”

“You’re my mother. How could I feel at ease if I weren’t here?” Diana replied.

Faint exhaustion lingered in her brows and eyes, but she was long accustomed to it.

She helped Florence to the bathroom to wash up, then, at her mother’s insistence, recounted everything that had happened the previous night in meticulous detail.

Even though everyone had returned safely, Florence listened with her heart lodged in her throat. “You’re saying she took down a man over six feet tall, all by herself?”

“Yes.” Diana nodded, a quiet admiration surfacing for her younger sister.

The three siblings had trained in self–defense since childhood under their grandfather’s strict standards. Yet the bespectacled man had clearly been well trained as well. If she had faced him, Diana doubted she could have subdued him so easily.

When she slipped that silver needle into the coat’s sleeve, she had been clinging to little more than a fragile hope. She had never expected Sydney to rely on that single needle to protect herself, let alone use it to seize the initiative during the negotiations.

As Diana spoke, Nina knocked and stepped inside, leaning close to whisper in her ear.

Diana’s expression shifted. She rose and told Florence, “Mom, something came up at work. I need to step out for

a bit.”

“All right,” Florence replied, without suspicion.

Given Diana’s line of work, confidential matters were common. The Huttons had grown used to such interruptions.

Once outside the ward, after Nina closed the door, the warmth drained from Diana’s eyes, leaving only a cold calm. “Did the Wolfens end up with a death on their hands?”

Nina shook her head. “Not yet. They’re still trying to maintain the pregnancy, but it doesn’t look promising. The Wolfens contacted Sacred Heart this morning and asked to transfer her here so Dr. Chrysous from obstetrics could take over. Their request was flatly rejected.”

“That’s enough,” Diana said lightly, cutting her off. “Withdraw our people for now. There’s no need to keep watching that side. And don’t mention this to my mother.”

The three siblings differed in how they handled matters, but their principles aligned. They repaid grudges in kind. To them, this was simply Penelope receiving exactly what she had asked for.

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Chapter 627

+25 Bonus

Still, a life was at stake. In the hope that she might one day find her youngest daughter, Florence had spent years giving to charities and helping others, as if goodwill could balance the scales. If she learned the full truth, the burden might be more than her heart could bear.

Nina nodded. “Understood.”

“What about Flint Donovan? Any leads?” Diana asked.

“No,” Nina replied promptly. “I spoke with Mr. Hutton this morning. He said the other side’s counter- surveillance is extremely strong. They may also have anticipated from the start that we would tail them and deliberately used decoys to draw our people away.

Diana was not surprised. She had heard that it once took the entire anti–narcotics unit two full years, along with thefice of undercover officers, to gather enough evidence to bring Flint down.

as simple. That man was far too cunning.

na returned to the ward, Florence had already changed with the help of a caregiver.

She said anxiously, “I’ve been thinking. Julian is a grown man. He probably can’t take good care of Vee. Let’s bring her home.”

“Mom.” Diana smiled wryly. “Have you thought about what reason we’d use to bring her home?”

“I’m her mother, and you’re her elder sister. Why wouldn’t we be able to…” Florence’s voice trailed off as her confidence faltered. 1

For more than 20 years, the person who had stayed closest to Sydney had been Julian, not them.

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