“Mr. Nacht is just brutal with words,” Raina said, sighing. “He could have just told you that he’s going to find your kids…”
“Really?” Charlotte said, still not entirely convinced. “Is he really that nice?”
“He found you lying unconscious on your apartment floor last night, and he rushed you to the hospital immediately. He stayed by your side the whole night when you were asleep. Don’t you remember all that?” Raina asked, a little annoyed at how dense Charlotte could be.
Charlotte glanced at the sofa—Zachary’s blazer, the Nacht family’s exclusive wine glasses, and the unfinished pastries and fruits sitting on the table. She recalled how he had held her hand and spoke to her in a soothing voice when she woke up screaming and crying for her kids.
She recalled how he had hesitated instead of outright rejecting her when she begged him to help her find her kids, and how he had only lost his temper when Michael appeared out of nowhere.
Maybe, just maybe…
“He loves you, Ms. Windt,” Raina said with a sigh. “Even I can see it. He’s hot-tempered and stubborn, but he’s a simple man with a pure heart. Things wouldn’t have turned out like this if you treated him with equally pure intentions.”
Charlotte nodded absentmindedly. “I’ll be eternally indebted to him if he leaves my family alone and helps me find my kids.”
“I’m sure Ben will find them soon enough,” Raina said as she picked up some bandages from the cart she pushed in. “Please lie down, Ms. Windt. I need to change your bandages. Your family needs you, so you must do as I say and take some time to recover.”
“Thanks…” Charlotte said, clambering onto the bed obediently.
Raina left after she helped Charlotte change her bandages, and the paramedics came in just moments later with a light breakfast.
After breakfast, Charlotte groped around for her phone to give Mrs. Berry a call, but she could not find it no matter where she looked. Sighing, she borrowed a nurse’s phone and dialed Mrs. Berry’s number from memory.
The first thing Mrs. Berry did was to fuss over her the moment the call went through, and she only calmed down when Charlotte confirmed that she was fine.
When Charlotte found out that Mrs. Berry was staying in a ward just upstairs, she heaved a huge sigh of relief. Looks like Zachary kept his promise and left her alone!
“The kids will be going home soon, Mrs. Berry,” she said. “You need to rest and recover.”
“And you need to be careful of that devil!” Mrs. Berry added anxiously.
Charlotte grimaced. She had always kept Mrs. Berry and the kids out of the drama with Zachary, but her knowledge of the kids’ disappearance came as a surprise.
Upon realizing the kids were missing, Mrs. Berry called Michael—who saw Zachary as an enemy—for help and this led to the massive showdown that morning.
Things were getting out of hand, and Charlotte feared another confrontation between Mrs. Berry and Zachary.
If Mrs. Berry lost control and tried to accuse Zachary of kidnapping the kids again, the consequences would be terrible, to say the least.
Charlotte decided to have a chat with Mrs. Berry after the kids were found.
“Hey! What’s wrong with this little parrot?” a paramedic asked all of a sudden as she picked up an unconscious Fifi.
Charlotte rushed over to take a look, and she panicked when she noticed how Fifi had not moved an inch despite all the noise. She patted Fifi’s body gently and called her name several times, only to receive no reply.
“Is it dead?” a nurse asked before covering her mouth in regret.
Charlotte panicked and picked Fifi up gently. She managed to find a pulse, but it was weak and almost nonexistent.
