Most of her fits revolved around the same thing—she didn’t want to leave Bradfort City and she insisted on having the doctor flown in so that she could receive her treatment here in the hospital.
There had also been several occasions when Gemma tried to sneak over to Tony’s hospital ward at the end of the corridor, but she was reprimanded by the guards stationed outside her room before she could even get past the threshold.
The bodyguards had been stationed outside her door ever since she found out about the severity of her wounds. While her family had told her that the bodyguards were for her protection, they were secretly worried that she would throw a manic fit and stir up trouble once more. Gemma had avidly protested against this decision, but it was to no avail. In addition to her tantrums, the injuries on her hands had taken a turn for the worse after her refusal to sit still and recuperate. It wasn’t until after Edward’s stern warning that she finally settled.
“Mom, I don’t want to leave Bradfort City. Why am I being banished?” Gemma sobbed pathetically after he had left the room. She burrowed into Shelly’s arms as she cried, “Mom, if I promise to never throw another fit, can you convince Grandpa to let me stay? My face is already ruined—I don’t understand how the Hart Family could still treat me like this…”
Shelly regarded her daughter with a pained look as her eyes rimmed red. Gemma was the apple of her eye and Shelly had indulged in her every whim ever since the day she was born. It broke her heart to see the suffering that the girl endured, but Edward’s words had left her with no choice. Patting her daughter’s head, she cajoled, “Gemma, I’ll be with you the entire time and I’m going to take great care of you while we’re abroad. Gideon will bring us to the airport this evening. As soon as your face recovers, we’ll catch the first flight back to Bradfort City, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay!” Gemma shrieked, swatting away Shelly’s hands as her eyes grew bloodshot. “I’m not leaving! I’m not going anywhere! You know there’s no way for me to return after I leave the city! Even if there was a way, Myra would be married to Tony by then! I can’t let her marry him! Mom, you have to help me—you’re the only one who can! I didn’t manage to get rid of the child in her womb—” She broke off as a sudden thought seized her. Then, she turned to look at her mother steadily as she added, “Mom, why don’t you go and help me to get rid of that mongrel Myra’s carrying?”
Upon seeing the crazed look in the girl’s eyes, Shelly felt her heart clench and she patted the former’s shoulder as she offered in consolation, “Don’t worry, dear. I know how much you’ve suffered and I promise you whatever pain Myra has put you through, I will unleash on her a thousandfold of it!”
There was a steely edge to her words. She was certain that Myra was the only reason why her daughter had spiraled into madness.
Squeezing Gemma’s hand, Shelly spoke with an air of finality, “Get some rest, Gemma. We’ll work out our next step after this.” Feeling tired all of a sudden, she straightened her back and decided to head home to pack up her things. As she was leaving, she cast a meaningful look at the bodyguards standing outside the door, silently ordering them to keep an eye on her daughter.
It wasn’t long after Shelly had left that Kris dropped by to visit Gemma.
At first, the bodyguards had denied entrance to Kris, but Gemma noticed her presence and eyed the two men stonily. “I asked Kris to drop by for a chat; it gets boring here when I’m on my own.”
The guards exchanged a look and each knew what the other was thinking. It should be fine for her to meet a friend, as long as nothing happens to her. Besides, the visitor happens to be Gideon’s girlfriend. What could go wrong?
After having achieved a consensus among themselves, the two burly men stepped aside and allowed Kris through.
When Gemma had closed the door, Kris turned to look at her and saw that her face was concealed under bandages once more. She shuddered as she recalled the grotesque image she had seen the other day, but feigned nonchalance as she stood in front of Gemma.
Upon seeing that Gemma was staring at her, Kris frowned and began gingerly, “About the other day—I did lace Myra’s lemonade with the drug, but a secretary in her office had probably taken the drink by accident and she ended up in a terrible manner. Myra could have figured out that something’s wrong because she’s asked Dad for a maternity leave. I can’t continue with our plans anymore, seeing as she hasn’t been to work recently.”
“You incompetent fool!” Gemma seethed as her gaze darkened with scorn and her grimace looked worse with all the layers of bandages. Kris swallowed and clenched her fists at the sight of this, but before she could say anything, the mutilated girl shot her an incredulous look as she snapped, “So, you’re just going to give up and do nothing? Why didn’t you try to get rid of the child again?”
“Look, I’m left without a choice here. Tony has likely grown suspicious of Elsie and he’s forcing her out of Bradfort City. I think he knows what we’ve been up to, but funnily enough, he hasn’t come after me yet or demanded an answer out of me. All this suspense is making me jumpy,” Kris remarked pensively as her brows drew together.
“The only reason why he hasn’t come after you is because Elsie hasn’t sold us out yet! You’re going to become the next Young Mistress of the Walton Family, but you’re so spineless that it makes me sick. How can someone like you be good enough for my brother?” Gemma thundered, her words cutting.
Kris could feel herself growing diminutive at the abuse, but she swallowed the bitterness instead of lashing out in defense and replied dryly, “I’ll try to find another way to get things done.”
“There’s no need for that. Myra’s been lingering around this floor recently, but she has to go out and do her own things at some point. All you have to do is get your timing right and carry out our plans. I’ll take care of whatever comes after that,” Gemma instructed breezily. Kris, on the other hand, could feel her heart clench in spite and fury.
While Gemma sounded as though she was ready to bear the brunt of whatever could happen next, Kris knew better than to trust her. She would not hesitate to wash her hands off as soon as things go south and she would have Kris become a scapegoat. Nonetheless, Kris lowered her gaze and responded coldly, “Got it.”
Meanwhile, Gemma was beginning to grow tired of the conversation. Kris was an eyesore and she looked like Myra, if not prettier. Any woman who was young and beautiful was considered an eyesore to Gemma now and she couldn’t help but think about the travesty that was her lacerated face.
After a while, Kris left the room and her eyes grew cold as soon as the door closed behind her. “An incompetent fool, huh?” Her red lips curved into a smirk as a look of disgust and scorn filled her eyes. “I’d like to see who will turn out to be the incompetent fool after this!”
She pulled up a video on her phone—one which she had gone through painstaking measures to obtain and without sparing another thought, she uploaded the clip into a mailbox and sent it out.
As she kept her phone, Kris recalled what Gemma had said earlier. If Myra was on this floor, then Kris would hate to run into her. With that in mind, she hurried toward the elevators.
However, Myra herself was making her way over from the direction of the elevator lobby.
Kris stiffened as she took in the stoic expression on Myra’s face. She wasn’t sure how much Myra knew about the details of the incident, but she felt uneasy all the same.
Feigning nonchalance, she brushed past Myra, but as soon as she did so, she heard Myra speak chillingly, “I hear that it takes forever to wash blood off one’s hands, Kris.”
While Kris bristled at the words, Myra simply sauntered down the hall and created some distance between both of them. Kris’ eyes flashed with mixed emotions, but her gaze darkened after a while. It’s not my fault that Myra insisted on stealing everything from me! She should have known that I’m not one to share!
…
Myra was walking down the hallway toward Tony’s room when she was unable to repress the remorse in her heart. She then made a call to the secretary who had recently suffered a miscarriage.
Upon hearing her family answering the call, Myra inquired about the poor woman’s condition and told them that she would drop by to visit her soon before hanging up the call.
Myra felt her heart sink as she thought about how the family had sounded grateful for her concern. She did not dare to tell them that she was the reason why the secretary had suffered a miscarriage in the first place. After all, she had no proof to support this devastating claim.
