Chapter 236
When Stephanie was in a deep coma, she had been having nightmares. Although
the sedatives had worn off, she
she still remained unconscious,
By the time Diana was notified to rush to the hospital, Stephanie had already been asleep in the hospital bed for three days and nights.
this When the head nurse of the ward saw Diana arriving, she immediately came forward to explain the situation, “The patient woke up once the day after the surgery. She was very emotionally unstable, so we gave her a sedative. She has been sleeping for three days since then and woke up morning. But when we asked if she had any relatives, she wouldn’t speak…
“The traffic division reviewed the street footage from the rainy night of the accident and found that you were arguing with her by the roadside. You must know her, right?”
In her rush to get there, Diana’s hair and clothes were somewhat messy. She stood frozen at the door of the ward, unable to take a step inside.
Her eyes were filled with shock, and her heart was heavy with sorrow as she looked at Stephanie’s pale and weak face on the hospital bed. Diana wondered with dread. My niece has always been so lively. How could she become so lifeless and mentally unstable?‘
The head nurse also looked over at the hospital bed and said with an annoyed expression, “She owes us over 2,000 dollars in medical bills already. 1 heard she even stole a car. No wonder her man doesn’t visit her. Maybe she doesn’t have family. She had been missing for days, yet no one filed a report on her. The director said she has mental issues and needs to be transferred to the psychiatric ward, but she has no money for treatment. This is such a bother”
Diana replied to the nurse with a displeased expression, “She is my niece. I will cover the medical bills.”
When the head nurse heard that she looked at her disdainfully and coldly urged. “Since you’re her relative, then go pay the bill. The total as of today is ten thousand six hundred dollars. It can’t be delayed any longer. If you don’t pay by today, we’ll have to stop her medication according to the regulations.
Diana was instantly angered. “I already said I would pay. Do you have to be so harsh?”
“We’ve been kind enough to let her stay for so long. If everyone used medical resources for free like this, our hospital would be in chaos, And look at what kind of person your niece is. She stole a car while pregnant and even recklessly drove onto the highway. Who’s to blame for that? The head nurse spoke matter–of–factly, After noticing Diana’s plain clothes, she worried she wouldn’t pay and turned to summon a new nurse, instructing. “Go with her to the lobby to pay the bill and prepay more expenses.”
Even with the best of tempers, she was infuriated. “Can’t I see her first and then go pay?”
The head mirse responded, “Dr. Rowen only let her stay here this long because he felt sorry for her. Do you think we have a lot of beds to give away! Our medical resources are very tight
Diana was utterly exasperated but held her anger. “Til go pay right now just make sure you take good care of her!”
With that, she went down to the lobby to stand in line and pay. The hospital was crowded, filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant, and people hurriedly pushing wheelchairs and beds back and forth. It was very noisy, and Diana’s mind felt increasingly blank and confused,
Diana murmured with a blank expression. “The twins are gone…
Even though she wasn’t fond of the Wellington family, the news of the children’s sudden death left her feeling heavy–hearted, and she imagined it must have been much harder for Stephanie
The mare Diana thought about it, the more worried she became. She then hurriedly filled out the forms and paid the bill before rushing back to the inpatient department on the seventh floor.
At that moment, Stephanie was still in a private ICU ward. Considering the head nurse’s snobbish attitude earlier, if her injuries weren’t so severe. she would have been thrown into a shared ward or even the hallway. This thought made Diana feel very sad.
Diana was hesitant to enter the room. She thought, ‘I shouldn’t have forced Steffi to come back, or I should have been firmer in not letting her go back How did this happen!”
She approached the bed quietly and asked in a low voice, “Steffi, do you… Do you
do you still feel unwell
Stephanie was lying flat on the hospital bed, her face pale and her eyes empty, staring at the ceiling. She looked like she couldn’t hear anything, like a body without a soul, utterly still.
Seeing her in such a state broke Diana’s heart. Her throat tightened as she said, “Steffi, it’s Diana. Can yo
you respond to me? Please?
“I’m really worried about you. Let the past be the past. Everything will get better. Don’t think too much about it. Just let it go.”
After a while, Stephanie’s frail voice came out from her cracked lips. I want Dominick. In
1 need to find Dominick,”
Diana actually knew she could hear the doctors and nurses. It was just that Stephanie didn’t want to talk. She felt as if her heart was numb, her blood was frozen, feeling like a dead person. She didn’t want to deal with anything or think about anything as she was scared to
11:42 AM
Chapter 236
“I need to find Dominick… Stephanie’s hoarse voice repeated as she struggled to hold back the tears from her reddened, swollen eyes. I need to find my babies
Diana stood by the bed, and the sight of her like this made her tears start to flow instantly.
ཅདཟོ་ན་ཨེན་བ
She had never seen Stephanie this hopeless and helpless. Even when she first heard about her mother’s suicide and cried in her arms, she gradually accepted reality and even tried to comfort Diana.
Diana’s niece, Stephanie, had been spoiled since childhood and was bold. The Reed family always looked down on heiress compared to heirs, which made Stephanie resent them deeply. Yet, she cared a lot about their opinions and was determined to prove she was more capable than the men. Unfortunately, her tough facade often led her to suffer in the end.
Stephanie wasn’t one to depend on others, especially after losing her grandfather and mother. She kept her lively and cheerful demeanor but was emotionally detached. Even Diana felt like she couldn’t get close to her. Hearing her cry out for Dominick like a child now shocked and pained Diana. She hadn’t realized how much Stephanie trusted that man from the Wellington family
Diana then spoke softly and quickly assured her, I’ll call him right now. I’ll get him to come see you immediately…”
But she had no idea how to reach the Wellington family. Diana looked around the hospital room but couldn’t find Stephanie’s phone and guessed it was lost in the accident. After thinking for a moment, Diana took out her own phone since she had George’s private number.
Diana then dialed his number, but soon, an automatic voice responded, “The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. This mechanical reply echoed repeatedly in the quiet ward.
She grew anxious because George rarely used this number. Diana didn’t have Dominick’s private number either, and Oscar was abroad and unreachable.
Just then, someone knocked urgently on the door. Diana turned to look and got even more agitated.
It was because the person at the door was the head nurse from earlier. She turned the doorknob, immediately walked in, and loudly said, “You haven’t paid the morgue fees yet. It’s 160 dollars a day for the two infant corpses. They’ve been there for almost four days now. You need to pay up.
“And we can’t leave these two stillborns there any longer. We don’t have extra space in the hospital. You need to decide on what to do with them….” That cold, shrill, and cutting voice felt like a knife stabbing into the heart..
When Stephanie, who was lying in bed, heard that, she immediately froze. Her eyes opened wide with terror and confusion, and her already pale face grew even more ghostly as her lips trembled uncontrollably.
Diana was instantly enraged. She rushed to the door, grabbed the nurse, and pushed her out, shouting, “Do you have any humanity left in you? Don’t say such things in the ward. Don’t upset her
I’m just doing my job. The hospital deals with life and death cases every day. How gently do you expect me to put it? Dead is dead. We already told you the fetuses had no heartbeat after the accident. Keeping them in the morgue takes up space. The nurse’s face was cold, and her words were blunt. She then lifted her chin as she looked at Diana and asked, “Do you want the patient to see the two stillborns herself?”
“No need!” Diana instinctively objected as it was far too cruel to make her see them.
“This patient has been here a long time, and she doesn’t seem to have any relatives, You should make the decision for her. You’ve seen the two stillborns in the morgue. They look quite eerie with their purplish faces. It’s unsettling. The nurse’s tone grew more impatient after seeing that she didn’t respond. “We get many casualties every day. You don’t want me coming to the ward every day to ask when to deal with the stillborns, right! Just cremate them and let everything settle.
Diana thought that if the nurses brought this up in the ward every day, Stephanie might truly go mad.
After taking a deep breath, Diana looked up at the head nurse once more. She despised her approach, but the twins needed to be taken care of soon
for closure.
“Cremate them,” she said with deep sorrow, considering these should have been lively, adorable babies, and now she had to use such a death–laden
Termu
The head nurse’s face brightened with a smile at Diana’s words. Til take care of it right away? With that, she turned and walked away briskly as if she couldn’t wait to do it
Diana thought for a moment and then nervously called out to the nurse’s retreating figure. “Please make sure to keep the babies‘ ashes”