Seven Years

You Will Pay the Price

Joe Purdue was in a high-level company meeting when suddenly Jack Mamaduo entered. He walked up to Joe Purdue, leaned in, and whispered something in his ear.

Immediately, Joe Purdue stood up and left the meeting room without a word of explanation, leaving the others bewildered. They speculated that something serious must have happened for him to abruptly leave the company meeting like that.

As he arrived at the entrance to the emergency room, Joe Purdue saw Gillinan Flynn sitting in the waiting area. She also quickly noticed his presence. Just remembering the humiliating night from a week ago made her shudder in fear. Involuntarily, her hands clenched tightly together. Her beautiful face couldn't hide the tension she was feeling.

Joe Purdue furrowed his brow and asked his assistant, "Why is she here?"

Jack Mamaduo replied, "Madam is the reason why Camille had to be hospitalized."

Joe Purdue turned to look at Gillinan Flynn with a cold glare. He gritted his teeth and said, "If anything happens to Camille Fauque, you won't get away with it."

Knowing that Joe Purdue didn't make empty threats and that he meant what he said, it was obvious to Gillinan Flynn that she hoped Camille Fauque would be safe more than anyone else. She didn't want any trouble. She didn't want to be involved with Camille Fauque or Joe Purdue. She just wanted to live a peaceful life.

Suddenly, the door to the emergency room opened, and a doctor emerged. With a few quick steps, Joe Purdue reached the doctor. He asked, "How is she, doctor?"

Afraid of provoking Joe Purdue, Gillinan Flynn remained where she was, listening intently to the situation.

"It's not dangerous anymore, but..." The doctor hesitated for a moment.

Joe Purdue coldly interjected, "If there's something, just say it."

The doctor looked at the man in front of him and sighed softly as he delivered the news, "Your wife has had a miscarriage... Despite our efforts, we couldn't save the baby."

Joe Purdue found it even harder to accept this news than Gillinan Flynn. He narrowed his eyes at the doctor and asked, "What did you just say?"

"Your wife was over a month pregnant. Due to the instability of the uterus, the fall caused her to miscarry."

Hearing the doctor's words for the second time, Gillinan Flynn was horrified. She felt a chill run down her spine.

Joe Purdue felt like he had been struck by lightning. Knowing that he had lost a child, he was deeply moved.

Every man has the desire to be a father. However, his child, the innocent baby who hadn't even had the chance to see the sunlight, had hurriedly left him. He clenched his fists in anger.

Unable to contain the intense emotions raging inside him, Joe Purdue turned to Gillinan Flynn with eyes as sharp as a razor. In just a few steps, he closed the distance between them.

Joe Purdue 's powerful demeanor made Gillinan Flynn tremble with fear. Instinctively, she stepped back, only to find herself backed against the wall.

"What did you do to Camille?" He asked, his voice icy.

Gillinan Flynn couldn't bring herself to look up at Joe Purdue. Her words came out in a jumble, without any coherent order.

"It... It was just... an accident. Yes... it was an accident... I... I didn't mean to..."

Of course, Joe Purdue didn't believe Gillinan Flynn's words. He thought it wasn't simply an accident as she claimed. He was certain that Gillinan Flynn had intentionally harmed Camille Fauque, intentionally causing the death of his child.

Just the thought of his innocent child being harmed by the malicious woman in front of him made the blood in Joe Purdue's veins boil. He grabbed her by the throat, his voice low and menacing as he asked again:

"What did you do to Camille? Speak..."

Gillinan Flynn felt suffocated as she tried to push Joe Purdue's large hand away from her neck, but to no avail.

"If you've killed my child, don't expect to live peacefully," Joe Purdue accused Gillinan Flynn . Passersby, even the nearby doctor witnessing the scene, dared not intervene to help Gillinan Flynn.

As Gillinan Flynn felt herself about to faint, she faintly heard Jack Mamaduo's voice trying to restrain Joe Purdue: "Vice Chairman, don't let it turn into a murder case."

Though he truly wanted to choke Gillinan Flynn to death right then and there, Joe Purdue refrained from doing so, slowly withdrawing his hand from her neck.

Gillinan Flynn coughed violently. She placed a hand on her chest, trying to regulate her breathing. As she regained normal respiration, she realized Joe Purdue's icy stare was fixed on her. He didn't say a word, but Gillinan knew that from this moment on, her life would not be easy.

Wanting to explain what had happened to Joe Purdue, but not knowing how to articulate it, Gillinan Flynn hesitated. She feared he wouldn't believe her and would resent her even more, so she ultimately chose to remain silent.

However, Gillinan Flynn was not foolish. She suspected there was something unusual about the situation, perhaps that Camille had played a trick. But what trick, and how, remained unclear. Without any evidence, she felt like a blind person groping in the dark. Therefore, Gillinan planned to quietly investigate the matter to uncover the truth.

Seeing Gillinan Flynn still there, Joe Purdue sneered and said evenly, devoid of any emotion, "Haven't you disappeared from my sight yet?"

Even without Joe Purdue 's command, Gillinan Flynn would have left. She didn't want to stay there for another second. But the threat from him had left her so terrified that her legs had stiffened, rendering her unable to move.

It took several minutes for Gillinan Flynn to lift her feet and leave the hospital.

After Camille was taken to the hospital room, Joe Purdue immediately went to visit her.

The hospital room had a faint scent of disinfectant. Camille lay on the bed, pale and weak. As soon as she saw Joe Purdue enter, she struggled to sit up, her hands trembling. "Joe" She whispered his name.

Joe Purdue hurried over to support Camille, speaking with compassion, "You've just had surgery, don't move too much while you're still weak."

Camille buried her head in Joe Purdue's chest, crying uncontrollably. Her current appearance was incredibly fragile, evoking immense sympathy, making one feel the urge to protect and comfort her.

"Our... our child... is gone..." Camille choked out.

Joe Purdue's emotions were complex. He lowered his head, looking at Camille still sobbing in his arms, asking, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Camille bowed her head, tears continuously streaming down her face. "I only found out this morning. I thought waiting for you and Gillinan to divorce would give you a surprise. But I didn't expect..."

At this point, Camille burst into tears, clinging tightly to Joe Purdue. "Oh, our child is gone..."

She cried heartbreakingly, not only that, but also hitting herself, blaming herself, "It's my fault, I couldn't protect our child... I shouldn't have gone to see Gillinan..."

Joe Purdue frowned, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. He wiped away the tears rolling down Camille's pale face, comforting her, "This is not your fault."

As the night grew late, Gillinan Flynn dragged her weary feet back to the recently moved-in rented room. She walked straight into the house without bothering to turn on the lights, collapsing onto the bed.

In the darkness, tears streamed down Gillinan Flynn's cheeks one after another. It wasn't the physical pain, but rather the cold gaze and heartless words of Joe Purdue that shattered her heart.

Up to this moment, Gillinan Flynn still couldn't explain why Joe Purdue treated her like that. If he didn't love her, he could just let her go. She was ready to sign the divorce papers, ready to free him from their unhappy marriage so he could be with Camille.

Joe Purdue's decision to torment Gillinan Flynn instead of opting for a simpler, less hurtful approach for everyone puzzles her. What had she done to him to deserve such treatment?

Gillinan Flynn's biggest mistake was agreeing to marry Joe Purdue under the arrangements made by Chase Purdue . But every mistake can be rectified, right?

Though uncertain and lacking concrete evidence, with her intuition, Gillinan Flynn senses that Camille's miscarriage wasn't a simple accident. It was a plot, a conspiracy to destroy her.

Gillinan Flynn is determined to uncover the truth to clear her name. While anyone in the world might misunderstand her, Joe Purdue shouldn't. With these thoughts lingering in her mind, she gradually drifts into sleep.

Joe Purdue 's warning that she wouldn't find peace wasn't an empty threat. The next morning at the company, she received a notice of termination from the HR department.