From Ashes of Scandals to His Embrace novel Chapter 430

“Laurinda? Why are you calling so late?”

“I’m here. What floor is Adolphus on?”

The moment Egan heard Laurinda’s voice, he jolted awake. He pushed himself up from the sofa, glanced at Adolphus who was still asleep, and quietly slipped out of the hospital room.

“Laurinda, Adolphus is on the seventeenth floor. Where are you? I’ll come find you.”

“We’re by the elevators. We’ll be up in a second.”

Egan was honestly shocked. He’d checked all the recent flights and the soonest Laurinda could have arrived was tomorrow afternoon. He had no idea how she managed to get here so quickly. For a second, he wondered if she had some kind of special access to international flights.

While he was still trying to figure it out, the elevator chimed. Laurinda stepped out, flanked by six men, her presence sharp and confident.

“Laurinda,” Egan called, hurrying over to her.

“How’s Adolphus?”

She didn’t care about anything else. Her whole mind was wrapped up in worry for him.

“After you told him not to leave, he’s been doing his best to cooperate with the doctors. But honestly, it hasn’t helped much. He barely ate anything today and he’s been really out of it.”

Laurinda glanced back at the three neurologists she’d brought with her. Their brows were drawn tight, and she could guess Adolphus’s situation wasn’t looking good.

“Is there anything I should do?”

Her voice was tight, her throat dry. She wished she’d reached out to Egan sooner to check on Adolphus.

“Let’s go see him first. It’d help if we could get his medical records and speak to his main doctor. That way we can get up to speed quickly.”

“I’ll take care of it. The attending doctor’s resting in his office.”

“Uncle…”

Abbas put a steady hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. The doctors I brought are the best in the world. Trust their judgment. Let them do the surgery.”

His words gave Laurinda a rush of courage she didn’t know she had. She turned to the doctors. “Please… do whatever you have to. Thank you.”

The news left Egan feeling completely drained. He slumped back onto the bench, his mind reeling. He’d thought everything would be fine once Adolphus woke up. He never saw this coming.

Renata moved to Egan’s side and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. She didn’t know what to say. No one did. No one ever wants to face something like this.

With Laurinda’s approval, the team of specialists got to work, prepping for the joint surgery. An hour later, they wheeled Adolphus into the operating room.

Laurinda watched as the red light above the doors switched on. Suddenly, all the tension she’d been holding inside snapped. She grabbed her backpack from the bench and walked straight out into the hallway, needing air, needing anything to hold herself together.