By the time Mila arrived at the hospital, the afternoon was already slipping away.
Stepping onto the inpatient floor, she spotted a man lingering outside a room, clutching a briefcase and some documents. He wore a well-tailored suit—the sort of crisp, professional attire that marked him as young but already a little world-weary. As Mila drew closer, she noticed sweat beading on his brow as he dabbed at his forehead, and she couldn’t help but wonder at the sight.
“Why aren’t you going in?”
It suddenly struck her—Sophia had only been out of prison for a year, and her mental state was far from stable. She hadn’t resumed any real control over the Pembroke Family business, but she was still technically the president. This must be one of the company’s employees.
So why was he blocking the doorway instead of going in?
“Ah, Chairwoman Sutherland, good afternoon... If you have business inside, please go ahead. I’m in no rush,” the man said politely, stepping aside as she approached.
Mila didn’t dwell on it. She reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. The moment she set foot inside, someone seized her wrist. Before she could react, she was yanked off balance and dragged into the room.
The man who’d been about to follow her in paused, his grip on the documents trembling slightly. He hesitated, then quietly shut the door and abandoned any thought of entering. Instead, he made his way to a bench against the wall and sat down, suddenly feeling that—maybe—whatever he’d come for wasn’t so urgent after all.
He could wait.
***
Inside the room, Mila’s arm was twisted behind her back, her face pressed to the wall. Disoriented, it took her a beat to realize what was happening.
She kicked backward on instinct.
A muffled grunt sounded behind her, and the grip on her arm tightened painfully. Sophia’s voice, sharp and furious, hissed from behind, “Who gave you permission to hang up on me?” Not a single one of her calls had gotten through since that day. When had she ever been treated like this?
Getting blocked before—fine, she’d swallowed that.
But now, when she was clearly in the right, why should she have to put up with this?
Mila blinked. “...All this because of a phone call?”
What kind of lunatic is this?
Anger flared in her chest. Gritting her teeth against the pain radiating from her shoulder, Mila quickly weighed her options, then stomped down hard on the other woman’s foot. The hold on her loosened just enough for her to wrench free and put some distance between them.
Her gaze flicked to the comatose child on the bed—thankfully, he seemed undisturbed by the commotion. Mila swung her purse between them like a shield, voice low and warning, “Stop! Don’t come any closer!”
Seriously, what is wrong with you? Do you even realize where you are?
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