The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 245

The medical staff wheeled the bed into the ICU suite and began connecting the myriad of equipment. Larger monitors were mounted on the walls, their screens displaying far more detailed waveforms and data than the portable units. The ventilator, the main ECMO console, IV pumps, enteral feeding pumps... a fortress of machinery surrounded the bed, emitting a low, continuous hum.

The nurses expertly adjusted the parameters, checking the lines for patency and swapping out IV bags. Dr. Wright stood by the bed, noting everything down on a medical chart.

Sebastian stood outside the glass partition, watching in total silence.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window on the far side of the room, washing over his mother's pale face. The light was incredibly soft, yet it illuminated every fine hair on her skin, making her look so fragile she almost appeared translucent.

Sebastian's hands slowly balled into tight fists at his sides.

He desperately wanted to go in. He wanted to hold his mother's hand, to do what she had always done for him—tell her not to be afraid, tell her that he was right here. But he couldn't. All he could do was stand on the other side of this freezing glass, watching her lie utterly alone amidst a mountain of machinery.

This paralyzing helplessness was far more agonizing than the failure of any corporate negotiation.

Seth, standing a half-step behind him, murmured, "Mr. Thorne, Dr. Sullivan mentioned she was going to the lounge to finalize the surgical reports. She'll be by to check on Isabella a little later."

Sebastian gave a curt nod, his eyes never leaving the room.

Time ticked by, second by agonizing second. Inside the suite, the nurses logged vitals every fifteen minutes, while Dr. Wright checked the ECMO output every half hour. Everything progressed in a meticulously ordered routine. Those cold numbers and jagged lines were the only proof that his mother was still alive.

Sebastian simply stood there, rigid as a statue.

Until—

A rapid burst of footsteps suddenly echoed from the far end of the corridor.

The noise was violently jarring in the dead silence of the ICU floor. It was the sharp clatter of leather dress shoes striking marble, and it wasn't just one person—there were at least three or four.

Sebastian's brow instantly furrowed.

Who? Who would dare create such a massive disturbance in a place like this, at a time like this?

His expression darkened entirely, suppressing a tidal wave of fury in his eyes. His mother had just survived a brush with death and required absolute peace to recover. At this exact moment, any disruption was utterly unforgivable.

The footsteps drew closer, accompanied by hushed, urgent voices.

Sebastian turned around.

His expression was as cold as a glacier, and his voice was kept dangerously low, though every single syllable dripped with a terrifying menace:

"Do you have a death wish?"

A simple question that instantly plunged the temperature of the entire hallway below freezing.

The footsteps came to a dead halt.

A few seconds later, several figures rounded the corner.

Leading the group was a middle-aged man in a dark gray bespoke suit, roughly sixty years old, with perfectly slicked-back hair and a deeply anxious expression on his face. Trailing him were two men built like bodyguards in black suits, along with a man clutching a briefcase who clearly looked like a corporate lawyer.

Sebastian looked at the man, and the look in his eyes instantly shifted.

It wasn't fury, nor was it surprise. It was... an incredibly complicated, indescribable surge of emotion.

The middle-aged man spotted him as well. He paused for a fraction of a second before quickening his pace. His eyes darted first toward the glass partition, taking in the figure on the bed. His face paled slightly before he finally looked back at Sebastian.

"Sebastian," he began, his voice rough and dry. "How is... your mother?"

Alister stared at him for a long time before suddenly laughing. It was a laugh laced with begrudging respect, sheer frustration, and a tangle of unnamable emotions.

"Fine. You've grown your wings, kid," he waved a hand dismissively, dropping the argument. "How is she doing?"

"The surgery was a success. She is temporarily out of danger," Sebastian replied concisely.

"Good," Alister let out a heavy sigh of relief, though his frown didn't disappear. "I got the news the second I stepped off the plane. I heard your father paraded out yet another bastard child? And brought people over just to antagonize your mother?"

Sebastian remained silent, offering a tacit confirmation.

"How do you plan to handle this?" Alister demanded, a subtle, icy edge creeping into his voice.

Sebastian knew that icy tone all too well. It was the signature Blackwood method of resolving problems. Simple. Direct. Leaving zero loose ends.

"I'll handle it," Sebastian said.

"Handle it how?" Alister pressed. "Throw money at them? Buy them a house? Pay them to shut up? Sebastian, how many times do I have to tell you—there are some people and some situations that money simply cannot fix."

His tone grew increasingly hardened. "A man like your father will never change. As long as he's breathing, he will constantly find ways to torment your mother. This time it's a bastard child, what about next time? Or the time after that? How many more shocks can your mother's heart take?"

Sebastian looked at him and fired back, "So what? What exactly do you suggest I do?"

Alister didn't say a word, but the lethal intent in his eyes made his answer glaringly obvious.

"Mr. Blackwood," Sebastian's voice dropped to a freezing register. "Remember exactly who you are. You are a government official, not a mafia boss. There are some lines you cannot cross, no matter how badly you want to."

"If I can't do it, there are plenty of others who can," Alister countered coolly. "Sebastian, drop the self-righteous act with me. All those ruthless tactics you deploy in the corporate world—do you honestly think I don't know about them? I simply couldn't be bothered to interfere. But this involves your mother's safety. I will not stand by and do nothing."