Chapter 60 On the Run
“Try to avoid water around your injured area, and take care not to burst the blisters.”
After Julian applied the ointment on Rachel’s injury, he told her, “The weather is too hot, so I won’t bandage it. Don’t let the blanket touch it when you’re sleeping; just stick your legs out as much as possible.”
Thank you.
Rachel expressed her thanks as she looked at Julian, but still, the latter was worried. “If Amber comes again, you have to press the bell to call for a nurse. I’ve relayed the matters to the hospital, and they’ll get her transferred as soon as possible.”
Rachel’s pretty forehead wrinkled ever so slightly.
It’ll be fine. You don’t have to go to such lengths for my sake.
The tension between Amber and Rachel went beyond the hospital, so no matter where she went, as long as they saw each other, Amber would never give up on humiliating her sister.
“Don’t worry. It’s not solely for your sake. Her character is ill-suited for a doctor.” At that, Julian frowned and glanced at his watch. “Just rest up first.”
Rachel’s gaze was soft as she nodded in response. When Julian was leaving, Janice was in the corridor making a call.
“I’m already at the hospital, and I’m right outside her ward now. I met her just now too.”
“She seems to be fine, so she must be all right. I’ll ask later.”
As she was talking, she saw Julian leaving the ward. They exchanged glances and gave each other a nod in place of a greeting.
“I’m hanging up. The doctor just left, so I’ll go in now.”
In the ward, Rachel invited Janice to take a seat.
How did Hans find out that I’m staying here?
After signing, Rachel realized that the latter might not understand, so she was about to take out her phone when Janice replied, “He didn’t know either. I simply made deductions, and I only told him where you are just now.”
Rachel was stunned. You understand sign language?
Janice seemed to be at ease. “A little.”
“Hans mentioned that your grandma underwent surgery here before, and coincidentally, I have a friend in this hospital.”
After hearing her reply, Rachel nodded.
Sorry for all the trouble you took to come here. I’m all right.
“It’s not much trouble. Also, there’s something about you that I’m quite interested in.”
Rachel was bewildered.
What about me?
“The matter with Hudson Pharmaceuticals.”
Janice remained calm as she looked at Rachel in silence. However, her calm gaze caused Rachel’s heart to squeeze in panic.
What do you want to ask me about?
Janice asked, “Do you know anyone by the name of James Baker? Your father Jefferey might know him.”
Rachel thought for a while, confusion apparent on her face.
“Or should I say, he also goes by the nickname ‘Gunny’.”
At that, Rachel immediately nodded.
‘Gunny’ was one of Jefferey’s assistants. He used to drop by the Hudson Residence often, and he was also on good terms with Amber. Amber, too, used to call him ‘Uncle Gunny’.
“Have you seen him recently?”
I haven’t seen him in a long while.
“When was the last time you saw him?”
Rachel tried to recall. Around half a year ago. I remember it was winter, and it was snowing. It was right before New Year’s.
“Half a year ago?” Janice repeated the time, then asked, “Then do you remember what he brought to the Hudson Residence? What he said, what he did, anything of the sort?”
To Janice’s dismay, Rachel shook her head. It had been too long, and she never liked to be in contact with such people. Every time they came, her grandmother would pull her aside and avoid them as much as possible, so she didn’t have much of a chance to see anything.
Seeing Janice’s serious expression, Rachel couldn’t hold back her question.
Why are you asking about him?
Janice came to her senses and looked at Rachel. “Nothing, we just suspect that he’s a murderer on the run.”
Rachel was stunned, and her pupils constricted quickly.
Murderer? she thought.
Still emotionless, Janice changed the topic. “Right, other than asking me to visit you, Hans also asked me another thing.”
Rachel was still in shock and wasn’t able to come around; she simply stared at Janice in bewilderment.
“Hans told me that you suspect that your mother was murdered. If it were true, then it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that James was involved.”
Who exactly are you?
Rachel forced herself to calm down and stared intently at Janice.
“Oh right, I forgot to tell you what I do for a living.” Janice lowered her head and retrieved her credentials from her pocket. “I am the vice leader of the Riverdale Investigation Bureau.”
Investigation Bureau? Rachel thought as she looked at the credentials in disbelief.
Meanwhile, at the Burton Group Headquarters. Frankie rushed into Justin’s office with a document and a recording in hand.
“Mr. Burton, after the birthday celebration, Miss Hudson really did go to Hudson Vineyard with Jefferey, and someone actually witnessed Jefferey taking Miss Hudson to the study.”
The recording was played on Justin’s computer, and it showed footage from the CCTV at Hudson Vineyard. The screen showed Jefferey and Rachel getting out of the car together and walking into the residence.
At the computer, Justin’s slender fingers were propped up against his chin, and the shadow cast on his face hid the scars out of view. Only his cold side profile was visible, and it was obvious that he frowned as he watched the recording.
Looks like she wasn’t lying.
Frankie handed the document to him. “Another thing. You asked me to investigate matters regarding Miss Hudson’s mother, and I found something that might need your immediate attention.”
Justin calmed himself down, took the document, then leaned against the chair as he flipped through it casually. Seeing the large words ‘Missing Persons’ printed on the document, he had his gaze darkened. “What is this?”
Frankie replied, “Not long ago, you asked me to investigate Miss Hudson’s background, but I found out that Miss Hudson had zero records before she returned to the Hudson Family. I got someone to dig deeper, then found out that… 8 years ago, Miss Hudson was trafficked.”
Trafficked?
The expression on Justin’s face changed as he looked more closely at the files in the document.
The word ‘trafficked’ was almost a taboo to Justin.
Caution was written all over Frankie’s face.
“Even though we still haven’t figured out the exact situation at that time, we can infer from the timing of the report that Miss Hudson went missing at birth. 28 years ago, Jefferey filed a report at the police station in person, and he had been looking for her since then, until he found her again 20 years ago.”
Justin knew all too well what it was like to be trafficked by human traffickers. His hand held the papers with a little more force, and he tightened his grip until his knuckles went white. He couldn’t believe that Rachel was trafficked as well, and it lasted for 8 whole years.
“Mr. Burton,” Frankie called Justin gingerly. “Are you all right?”
Justin came to his senses, but still, he looked at the document in his hand, lost in thought. After a while, he ordered, “Get someone you can trust and ask them to pay Hudson Vineyard a visit.”
“Go take a few pictures.”
After Frankie left, Justin found that his gaze kept going to that document. He read the records time and again, and he still couldn’t calm down after a long while. He didn’t expect that Rachel went through the same experience he did.
So, 20 years ago, when Jefferey set fire to everything, Rachel hadn’t been taken home to the Hudsons yet, and she was living in extremely difficult conditions. She must have been around Katie’s age then.
For unknown reasons, when Justin connected all this to Professor Collins’ words, his frown deepened.
Could it be that Rachel really had no idea that there was something wrong with the medicine from Jefferey?
