He Let My Daughter Die, I Took His Fortune

Chapter 5 Two Devastating Losses

It took a long time for the angry crowd to notice the blood soaking my skirt.

Screams broke out, and everyone scattered in panic, but not a single person stopped to call for help.

In the end, a venue staff member dialed for an ambulance.

The ambulance rushed me to the nearest hospital, only to be stopped at the main gate.

"I'm sorry, we can't take any new patients today," a guard said.

The medical staff said, looking stressed, "There's a pregnant woman inside bleeding badly. If we wait any longer, she'll lose her baby. This is a hospital, isn't it?"

But the guard insisted, "I can't let anyone in, no exceptions. This is the Quinn Group's private hospital. Mr. Quinn's family member was rushed here earlier, and he ordered us to turn away all outside visitors."

Pale and dizzy from the pain, I called out to the guard, "I'm Elara Quinn, the Quinn family's heiress. Let us in right now."

The guard looked uneasy. "I really can't go against Mr. Quinn's direct orders. Only he can change this."

I pulled out my phone with trembling hands and dialed Sebastian's number.

The call rang repeatedly, and he picked up just before it disconnected automatically.

"Sebastian, I'm at our hospital's gate. I'm badly hurt. Tell the guard to let me in, or I'll lose my baby," I said quickly.

Alexander's mocking laugh came through the line immediately. "Elara, quit this silly act. You only got hit on the arm with a water bottle. Any pharmacy can sell you an ointment for that. Lying about being pregnant? I know your body well—you've always had trouble conceiving. There's no way this is real."

He then added, "Rebecca's son was terrified by your outburst earlier, and he's still getting checked out right now. We'll head home once he's feeling better."

The line went dead without another word.

As I stared at the black phone screen, my heart shattered completely.

I redialed over and over, but no one picked up again.

The guard waved us away. "Mr. Quinn's order stands. Please find another hospital."

The next closest medical center was nearly thirty minutes away by car.

Before we could get there, darkness swallowed my vision, and I passed out.

*****

I woke up lying in a hospital bed with an IV line running into my arm.

The medical chart beside my bed held a cold diagnosis—miscarriage.

Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open, and my grandmother's caretaker rushed inside.

A sharp pain twisted in my chest. Before I could speak, the caretaker burst into tears first. "Ms. Quinn... y-your grandmother's gone."

My heart skipped a beat at her words.

'This can't be happening.'

The caretaker held out a small gift box. "She saw the news from the press conference first thing this morning. She couldn't breathe right away, and the doctors couldn't save her. Before they wheeled her into the operating room, she kept grabbing my hand and pointing to this box. She made sure I got it to you. I called you dozens of times, but no one answered. When the line finally connected and I found out you were here, I rushed over as fast as I could."

The gift box sat beside my pillow. My hands shook too badly to lift the lid.

*****

I checked out of the hospital the very next day.

Amanda's funeral was arranged by me alone.

Sebastian's phone went unanswered, and Alexander was nowhere to be found.

After the last group of mourners from the nursing home left, I sat beside Amanda's portrait and finally opened the gift box.

Inside lay the soft linen handkerchief she'd stitched for me, her love woven into every single stitch.

I clutched the cloth tightly and cried until I had no tears left.

A folded slip of paper lay at the bottom of the box, printed with a phone number.

'Grandma hid this number away. Whoever this is must mean everything to her.'

I picked up my phone and dialed the digits.

The call connected on the first ring. A deep, steady male voice came from the other end. "Who's hurt you?"