Chapter 12
Sebastian gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands. The sound of other cars honking at him from behind and urging him to move did not elicit any reaction from him.
As a result, someone came over and knocked on his car window. “Are you going to move? You’re blocking the road.”
Sebastian finally stepped on the gas and drove sluggishly for a short distance before pulling over to the roadside.
Mark had already ended their phone call at that point. Sebastian’s breathing was rapid as he
leaned back into his seat.
He took two drags from his cigarette. The tobacco smoke struck his throat, giving him a temporary boost of strength.
Between the two Janes Mark had just mentioned, neither one of them was the one Sebastian was looking for.
However, if he had to choose, he would prefer it to be the first one.
The first Jane gave birth six years ago. Sebastian’s gut instinct was telling him that the child
was his.
The timing made sense-it was the year he went abroad. He had spent one last night together with her in a hotel before breaking up.
Sebastian tightened his grip on the steering wheel as a tingling ache spread through his chest.
Over at L&M Design Studio, as everyone was getting off work that evening, Valeria patted Lindsey and Queenie on the shoulders, saying, “Let me treat you both to dinner tonight.”
Raising an eyebrow, Lindsey replied, What’s with the generosity all of a sudden? Are you up for a performance review?
Squinting, Valerie gave Lindsey a faint smile.
Queenie chuckled and added, “Valeria ranked first in the performance review among the design department. She’s guaranteed to have a bonus for this quarter.”
Lindsey knew about Valeria’s situation of being a single mother to a daughter with a heart condition and saving up for Selena’s surgery.
Lindsey was genuinely happy for Valeria’s success. Without any hesitation, she pulled out her phone and searched for any deals at the new restaurants in the nearby shopping district.
Chapter
The three of them eventually settled on a barbecue restaurant. Because she was a new member, Valeria even received a voucher worth 20 dollars.
As they were finalizing their plans, a delivery person came in holding a bouquet of roses and asked Sabrina to sign for them.
Queenie glanced at Lindsey, asking, “Did her boyfriend send them?”
Lindsey, being Sabrina’s assistant, sighed and whispered, “From what I’ve heard, her boyfriend’s from an extremely influential family. The whole matchmaking thing was arranged by Ms. Lawson’s grandfather. The other side of the family is way more powerful and influential than that of the Lawsons.”
Queenie gasped. “They’re even more powerful than the Lawsons? Do you even know who Sabrina’s grandfather is? He’s on TV all the time! I can’t even imagine how Sabrina’s boyfriend’s family is even more powerful than theirs.”
Nudging Valeria, Lindsey commented, “Come on, spill the tea already. What does Sabrina’s boyfriend look like? Is he handsome?”
Queenie looked toward Valeria eagerly. “Why? Is he super handsome or something?”
Valeria could not help but picture Sebastian’s face in her mind.
He had sharp and refined features, a perfect jawline, double eyelids with long lashes that gave him a sharp yet gentle gaze.
Her heart would always start racing uncontrollably whenever she looked him in the eye.
Valeria nodded and answered their questions vaguely. Sebastian was no doubt a looker.
As soon as she nodded, both Lindsey and Queenie immediately got excited. “Damn, is he really that hot? We both trust your tastes, Valeria.”
Valeria was not really in the mood to gossip and just lowered her eyes quietly. She still did not understand why Sebastian was not with Sabrina.
However, she figured that for a family as prestigious as the Grants, his arranged matches would probably be even more powerful than she could imagine.
Running into Sebastian after seven years had completely derailed her from the path she had planned for her life.
It was beyond anything she had anticipated.
Valeria had expected that Sebastian would not recognize her when they met each other again. They would just pass each other like strangers on the street.
She reckoned that she would occasionally hear about him through the media, such as news of him getting married to some heiress of sorts in a marriage of convenience.
However, what Valeria had never expected was that she would run into Sebastian at the hospital with her daughter in tow.
Some sort of balance had been broken ever since.
Between the first Jane, who delivered a baby boy who later died, and the second Jane, who
died, Sebastian chose to believe in the first one, at least for now.
Even without her, he would not believe that Jane would kill herself by drinking poison after a fight with her husband.
The Jane that he knew was not someone like that.
Sebastian adjusted his schedule and took two days off.
He then drove to Verdanci District and headed to the third floor of Verdanci Maternity
Hospital.
Sebastian found the attending surgeon from back then-a woman named Scarlett Walker.
It was a rather strange sight for a man to be in a maternity hospital, and a handsome one to
boot.
Various young couples leaving the consultation room occasionally glanced back at him with
weird looks.
Looking at Sebastian, Scarlett assumed that he was accompanying his wife, so she merely told
him to have a seat.
After sitting down, Sebastian then said, “There was a pregnant woman named Jane Carlson during the winter six years ago. You were the attending surgeon. Do you remember her?”
Scarlett was briefly stunned, but she was not easily shaken given her years of experience.
She frowned and looked carefully at the man in front of her and replied, “Do you need anything? We might just be a small hospital, but we never disrespect our patients’ privacy.”
He slid a card across the desk. “This card has 100,000 dollars on it. I want access to Jane
Carlson’s medical records.”
She replied, “I’m calling security if you won’t leave. And take your card with you. I’m not the kind of doctor who would sell patient information for money. You’ve come to the wrong
person.”
Sebastian did not leave the hospital. It was not
records, but it would take some time. Even if Scarlett would not take the always be someone else who would.
money,
However, when he finally got his hands on the file, he did not dare open it up right away.
Night eventually fell.
Sebastian did not return to Slate City that evening.
Verdanci District was situated between the borders of Slate City and Broburgh City. The district used to belong to Slate City until it was reassigned to Broburgh City two years ago.
He checked into a random hotel to spend the night.
He could never sleep well in unfamiliar places, always getting slightly sick whenever he traveled away from home.
Even though he booked the best suite in the hotel, the faint mildew and humidity in the air still gave him a headache.
Eventually, late into the night, Sebastian finally opened up the brown envelope.
There was only one thin sheet of paper within. It read, “Jane Carlson, age at admission, 21 years old. C-section. Postpartum hemorrhage. A baby boy born from the surgery suffered from oxygen deprivation and died from asphyxiation.”
Sebastian scanned the page just once and instantly caught up on all the keywords.
Reading the medical record numbed his chest, causing him to remain awake that night.
Sebastian felt that he could never pull out the thorn that was now embedded in his chest. He felt that he would never be able to forget about Jane, be it from feelings of love he used to harbor for her in the past or resentment.
