Chapter 519
Max was indeed planning Just that. Without surveillance, the situation was stacking up against Brielle. He took a punch from Andrew, right under the watchful eyes of the Rowland clan, who saw it as taking one for Brielle. Should Jaxon stir up trouble for Brielle again, it would seem out of line. After all, Jaxon was an elder and his grand–daughter recently tied the knot with the Dorsey family. He had to play nice for appearances. As for the rest of the Rowland folks, Max couldn’t care less.
Finally, Jaired pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled a perfect ring of smoke. “Damn, are you playing tricks on me now?”
Max ignored him, returning to the hospital room instead.
Jaired, stuck outside, grew even more frustrated.
Inside the room, Brielle’s eyelashes fluttered twice before her eyes slowly opened. She’d just choked on water and recovered after a couple of stomach presses. Her current unconscious state was due to a lack of oxygen. Now she’s awake, and it meant she could be discharged
soon.
Max let out a sigh of relief.
Propping herself up in the hospital bed, Brielle glanced around with furrowed brows. “Did I pass out? How’s Tessa doing?”
“She’s just been brought out of the ER.”
Max handed her a cup of warm water and placed it before her.
After a few sips, Brielle felt a heavy weight settle on her. Tessa’s emergency room visit probably had the rest of the Rowlands hating her guts. And Andrew, what would he do to her?
Her lips pressed tight, but at that moment, there hadn’t been time to think. Besides, Tessa had stirred up this whole mess by herself. Brielle would just have to roll with the punches.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay,” Max comforted her, glancing outside at the dark sky,
It was midnight; it was time to sleep. They could check out tomorrow morning: if she developed a fever in the middle of the night, it would be back to square one.
“Get some sleep, and in the morning, I’ll ask the nurse if you can be discharged.“.
After the ordeal, Brielle was indeed tired. Seeing Max still there, she scooted over to make room. “Want to hop in and sleep too?”
Max pointed to another bed in the room. “There’s one here.”
Brielle’s cheeks flushed red, and she awkwardly turned over, curling up to sleep. Soon, she felt the bed dip, and a gentle embrace drew her in. “Don’t do anything that dangerous again.”
Brielle sighed. It wasn’t as if she could just decide not to. Tessa’s crazed state had been
1/2
13.03
Chapter 519
completely unpredictable. To think she had always seemed so cautious about her own life, yet. in a fit of rage, she had thrown it all to the wind.
The next morning at 7 a.m.
At the end of the hospital corridor, the room was still crowded, the atmosphere thick with silence.
Andrew sat by the bed, watching as Tessa opened her eyes. Tessa felt a splitting headache and weakly gazed at the ceiling.
The others became alert, and Andrew held her hand. “Tessa, how are you feeling?”
It took a while for Tessa to remember, then tears began to fall heavily.
Andrew quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe her tears. “Don’t cry. What happened exactly? How did both you and Brielle end up in the water?”
A shiver went through Tessa’s heart, regretting her loss of reason at the time. “Didn’t you investigate?”
“I did. There was no surveillance there.”
Hearing ‘no surveillance,‘ a fleeting look of triumph crossed Tessa’s eyes as the tears. continued. “Brielle, she tried to kill me.”
Her voice was weak, after being tormented so much. She now seemed like a rag doll, as if she might fall apart at a gentle tug.
The rest of the Rowlands clenched their fists in anger. Murder? That Brielle dared to murder Tessa!
Andrew’s face also turned grim, still grasping her hand. “So Brielle tried to kill you and pushed you into the pool?”
Tessa nodded. “She said she wanted to clear the path for Aubree, that I was not going to live long in this world anyway, so she might as well help me on my way. Andrew, my head hurts so bad, I can’t remember the rest.”
Jaxon sat on the other side of the bed, silent until now. His eyes were tightly shut, lashes. quivering in anger. Jaxon had always been the most approachable of the elders toward the rest of the Rowlands, seldom showing anger. If he had a fault, it was his excessive doting on his granddaughter, Tessa.
“Tessa, what do you want Grandpa to do?”
A glint of malice flashed in Tessa’s eyes. Thinking back on Brielle’s violin still made her blood boil. If Brielle didn’t suffer, she’d never sleep soundly again.
Chapter 520
