Chapter 271: Chapter 271

Meanwhile, in the Hospital...

The silent hum and continuous beeping of the machines supporting Shelby were the most prominent sounds. These were soothing sounds as their constant sounds showed that Shelby was still alive and well. Listening carefully, one could also hear a keyboard’s steady, silent tapping sounds.

Ian sat propped up on his bed, his hands sliding sleekly over the keyboard of the laptop that lay on his lap. There was a lot he had to do. Ian had gotten a clean bill of health that morning when the doctors came to check on them and had been discharged, but he had just made himself at home in his wife’s room. He was not moving an inch from there unless she was with him.

Currey was off to finish some assigned tasks, and Murray was left guarding the door outside. One could say that he did his job so well that even the health professionals only dared come close to the room if they had a valid reason.

All of them opted to stay away. Never once did Murray stop trying to sense Shelby in the way that only he and Ian could, but there was no result. This made him wonder what exactly had been done to her apart from the poisoning.

Whoever it was really wanted Shelby gone, and Murray knew that they would try again. It was hard as they were in the light, and the person worked in the shadows. The advantage went to whoever it was, but Murray had vowed that they would never get another advantage like that ever!

Suzie was also around, but she could not take the stuffy and gloomy atmosphere in the hospital room. It was more oppressive. She had decided to wait in the visitor’s lobby and come in periodically to check on her mistress.

Suzie felt that was best for her because Suzie could not bear Ian’s mood.

Ian did not even know when Suzie came and left the room because even though she did just that, Ian only had eyes for the ashen young woman.

His heart went out to her, and he periodically landed his eyes on her as if expecting her to be awake and staring at him with her bright blue eyes.

It was almost midday when he heard slight sounds from her direction. Ian set his laptop down and then hurried to her side. Hope was lighting his steps, but then he noticed something was wrong.

Shelby moaned, and a tear slid down the corners of her eyes, startling Ian.

It was as if Shelby was held up in a distress of a sort.

Ian went down on his knees by her bedside and then wiped away that lone tear, but more slid out, leaving a wet patch on her pillow.

His heart got caught in his throat. Ian tried to probe her thoughts, but he heard nothing. It was like he had been shut out.

Ian took one of her hands in his and felt a slight tremor pass through it.

"Shhhhhh!!!! Hush, Elfin. It’s nothing but a dream." Ian whispered, kissing her cheeks and the tears away.

"What is tormenting you? Pl-ease come back to me!"

Ian could see her furrowing brows and distress just as the machines around them started beeping wildly.

Ian did not leave even though his heart was plunging, together with hope. He held her close, cradling her head and making sure that he did not trigger nor disconnect any of the machines hooked to her.

Ian, more than anything, wanted to take her away, but he knew that Shelby’s injuries this time were that bad because she had slept through the night and half of the morning.

With Ian’s understanding of his effect on her and vice versa, Shelby might have been up around when he did. This was evident from how her wound healed the last time she got hurt, but this time, apart from the distress she was in, there was no response from her at all.

The medical staff rushed into the room almost immediately, and Ian was encouraged to move aside.

The sight was too uncomfortable for even the medical personnel there; a patient in distress with tears? They tried to find out what was wrong as instructions were barked out. They worked in a frenzy as they saw Shelby’s whole self, start to shake.

However, Shelby’s heart rate, as did her other vitals, kept shooting up abnormally. They tried everything, but nothing seemed to work. Ian paced at the back, running his hands through his long hair, his frustration building up with each passing second, which felt like a long year for him.

Suzie and Murray stood at the back in a similar state. Suzie cried alongside and her heat lurched with each higher beep that echoed.

Angela, Clara Wendover’s maid, woke up with panda eyes. She had not slept an inch throughout the night and only got about an hour’s worth of sleep before the daylight streamed in.

Angela was startled awake with a ding and looked at the phone in her hands.

’No answer and no callback.’ She sighed as she pushed herself out of bed. She did not even bother to read the message that no matter how much her bed was calling to her, Angela’s duties took the lead in everything she did.

Angela rubbed her tired eyes and rushed into their common bathroom. It took her barely five minutes to get ready for the start of her day.

She still had some scratches from her mistress, Clara, the day before.

Angela tried calling again, but it went directly to voicemail, as it had the night before.

’Hi! This is Rocky! You know what to do!’

Her young master’s familiar voice came back to her, and she sighed.

Angela had to resort to the Wendover family’s doctor’s services the night before to calm Clara down. Angela had never made such a decision herself, but there was no way they could calm Clara down, even with their combined efforts.

The doctor had come in promptly and sedated Clara. That was only when the workers could stay at ease and rest, but Angela was unsure what awaited her in the morning after Clara awoke.

It was only after Clara had calmed down and fallen asleep that they tended to the wounds on her face.

"Who would dare treat the Madam Clara this way?" They had asked among themselves, but they had no response because, for starters, they did not know when Clara had stepped out of the house. This was one of the reasons that Angela felt that she had to reach Rocky.

Calls to Shelby had also gone unanswered. Angela and the rest knew that all home issues, especially those involving Clara, needed to be sent through Rocky directly.

They were really surprised as some even winced.

’Could a slap do this much damage?’ Was the question on all their minds?

Angela gave up and left a voice message instead.

Angela quickly climbed the flight of stairs to Clara’s room. She busied herself putting things in place before she opened the curtains to let the light in about mid-morning and the time that Clara usually woke up.

The doctor had assured them that Clara would be much calmer in the morning so despite her apprehension, Angela was in a better state of mind. However, nothing prepared Angela for what she saw when Clara stirred awake and took off the duvet from herself.

Angela’s mouth dropped open, and she took an involuntary step back.

"What is it?" Clara snapped at the horrified look that Angela was giving her.

Clara may have been calmer than the previous day, but she was nowhere near okay. She was still agitated beyond reason.

"What are you standing there for like a stupid person?"

"I-" Angela furrowed her brows, then snapped back.

"I’m sorry, Madam Clara-"

Clara frowned at the way Angela was addressing her, but she was in no mood to mind her at that time. Clara stepped out the bed despite feeling like she wanted to dive right under the sheets.

Clara felt so tired, and her joints ached.

This state of her body made her remember what had happened the day before, further lowering her mood.

’What’s going on?’ Clara thought as she tried to get up, but it felt as if a load had been placed on her shoulders. To add to it, she was trying to get her foggy brain to think back on that gnawing feeling that she was missing something.

Clara had the feeling that she had a dream and needed to remember it, like something really important that she needed to remember, but try as she did, Clara could not piece anything together.

’When did I have this forgetfulness?’

Angela held Clara’s arms and Clara used her for support to walk to the bathroom.

’Did the doctor do something wrong yesterday?’ Angela asked herself as her heart raced. She knew that something was off with Clara, and she did not want to stare, but it was so hard.

As soon as Clara got into the bathroom, Angela let her go, and Clara stabilized herself in front of the large mirror. She looked up at her reflection, and a loud scream left her,

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Angela seemed to have expected it, as she was not even startled by that shout. The thing was, Angela had already plugged her ears with her fingers when Clara let out that scream.

Clara shivered as if a cold had descended on her as she stared at the slightly older woman in the mirror, who looked nothing like her,

"What the hell is this!" Clara screamed, and then all went dark. The shock of whatever she had seen in the mirror was too much for her feeble mind to handle.

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