Adrian’s expression shifted slightly.
He immediately released Bella’s hand and bumped into her shoulder as he dashed toward the door.
The force was so great that Bella stumbled back two steps.
Her elbow struck the corner of the table, and she gasped in pain.
Hailey had heard everything from outside.
She hurried in to support her.
“I’m so sorry, Bella.
I really didn’t know he was Miles Sinclair.
If I had known, I never would have let you come here.”
“It’s fine,” Bella said.
Resting her hand on the table to ease the pain, she accidentally brushed against the medical report Adrian had left behind.
Driven by some inexplicable urge, she picked it up and took another look.
The child’s name was Sarah Xavier.
Perhaps because the name Sarah felt so strangely connected to her own, Bella found it exceptionally beautiful.
Earlier, she hadn’t planned on helping Adrian, so she hadn’t read the report closely.
Now, she scanned through it in detail.
When the word “premature” jumped into her line of sight, a sudden, inexplicable pang pierced Bella’s heart.
During her own accidental pregnancy, her body had suffered a myriad of complications.
First, low progesterone had caused an unstable fetal state.
Then, multiple accidents had nearly led to a miscarriage.
To save the baby, she had been confined to strict bed rest for five whole months.
Yet, no matter how careful she had been, the child was born prematurely.
She had fallen into a coma due to severe hemorrhaging at the time.
When she finally woke up, she was told her baby had died shortly after birth.
She hadn’t even gotten to see the child once before the hospital had taken the body away.
Mason had only told her it was a girl, offering absolutely no other details.
For years, she had lived in suffocating guilt.
She often wondered if her baby would have survived had she just held on without passing out, or if she had arranged for a more specialized doctor to deliver her.
And right now, Adrian’s daughter was fighting her own battle between life and death.
She had the ability to save the girl.
If she stood by and did nothing simply because of her personal grudge against Adrian, this child would face the exact same tragic fate as her own daughter.
At this thought, compassion swelled within Bella’s heart.
She had been racking her brain over how to reclaim the medical book, but now, a plan formed in her mind.
“Tell him I agree to save his daughter,” she said.
“On one condition.
I need him to do something for me.”
Mason’s stance was crystal clear—he would never return the medical book to her.
She had no advantage if she tried to take it by force.
After all, the book was currently registered under Meridian Group, making it the legal property of the Sinclair family.
Unless Mason surrendered it willingly, she had zero chance of winning even if she took him to court.
But Adrian was different.
As the heir to Xavier Group, he wielded immense power and influence.
More importantly, Mason was desperate to secure a partnership with the Xavier Family.
Having Adrian step in to retrieve the medical book was the perfect solution.
Hailey immediately contacted Adrian.
She quickly received a reply.
“Bella, Adrian has agreed to whatever conditions you have, but he needs you to head to the hospital right now.
You can discuss the details later.”
Without a second thought, Bella bolted out the door.
She didn’t know what she was so anxious or afraid of.
All she knew was that she absolutely could not let anything happen to that child.
When Bella rushed to the hospital, Adrian was leaning back against the wall, his expression cold and his thin lips pressed tightly together.
Seeing him like this, she couldn’t help but recall how he used to stay by her side whenever she was sick in the past.
But with the passage of time and his current high status, the man who commanded immense wealth and power now hid his emotions perfectly, making it impossible for anyone to read his mind.
Nancy walked over and said respectfully, “Miss Jefferson, everything has been arranged on our end.
You can go straight in after changing your clothes.
No one will know your identity.”
Bella gave Adrian one last look before turning and entering the adjacent dressing room.
When she emerged, she had transformed into a composed, professional cardiologist.
As she walked past Adrian, she heard him speak.
“You absolutely cannot let anything happen to her.”
Lowering her eyelashes to veil the emotions in her eyes, Bella replied coldly, “Don’t worry.
I’ll do everything in my power to save her.”
With that, she stepped into the emergency room.
Upon seeing her, the other doctors immediately made room.
Mr.
Xavier had just told them that an authoritative expert was on the way.
They had expected an elderly veteran in the field, never imagining the expert would be this young.
The child lying on the resuscitation table was severely emaciated from prolonged illness.
Based on the developmental standards for a five-year-old, her height and weight fell drastically short.
Stepping closer, Bella took in the child’s facial features clearly.
Even though her eyes were closed, it was obvious that her features bore a resemblance to Adrian’s.
However, her skin was so pale that it took on an almost translucent, sickly hue.
Countless IV tubes were inserted into her small hand.
Surrounding them were dense clusters of needle marks, some accompanied by massive, shocking bruises.
As a doctor, Bella had seen her fair share of gruesome sights.
But for some inexplicable reason, seeing Sarah in this state sent an unprovoked stab of pain through her heart.
She wondered why her heart ached so much for a child who was Adrian’s daughter.
Seeing her standing still for so long, a nearby doctor reminded her, “The patient is in critical condition.
We need to begin resuscitation immediately.”
“Let’s begin,” Bella ordered.
She pulled her gaze away and quickly immersed herself in the emergency procedure.
However, the situation proved to be even more severe than she had anticipated.
It took two hours of intense emergency treatment before the child’s vital signs finally stabilized.
Perhaps because it had been too long since she last handled such a high-intensity resuscitation, Bella’s legs gave out the moment she stepped out of the emergency room.
A firm, powerful hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her into a sturdy embrace.
A deep voice, tinged with an unreadable emotion, rang out above her head.
“Are you alright?”
His mature, domineering scent enveloped her, invading her senses.
Flustered, Bella took a step back, bracing herself against the wall to put some distance between them.
Without pausing to consider whether he was asking about her or the child, she replied in a hoarse voice, “The child is out of immediate danger, but the situation remains grim.
Due to her premature birth, her liver is severely underdeveloped, and she has severe vascular malformations.
Combined with how weak her body is, the surgical risks far exceed my initial estimates.”
Adrian furrowed his brows deeply, his steady breathing faltering slightly.
“Is there any hope?”
Bella’s expression was grave.
“One of my incomplete research projects focuses on the exact technology needed for this.
If it succeeds, there’s hope for curing her.”
A slight crack appeared in Adrian’s icy facade, though his voice remained aloof.
“Just tell me what you need me to do.”
Since they were already on the subject, Bella saw no point in beating around the bush.
“The new technology Meridian Group is currently developing is based entirely on my project.
All you need to do is help me get my medical book back.”
Adrian was aware of the medical book’s existence.
Bella’s mother had come from a long line of medical practitioners.
Her maternal grandfather, in particular, had been a renowned traditional Chinese medicine expert of his time.
He had poured his life’s blood into writing that very book.
And Adrian had heard Mr.
Sinclair mention this book a few times.
He hadn’t expected the book to have actually fallen into the hands of the Sinclair family.
Adrian scoffed.
“You really gave Mason your heart and soul, didn’t you?
You even handed over something this important.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, two figures suddenly walked out from the next room.
It was Mason and Scarlett.
In perfect unspoken agreement, Bella and Adrian stepped back into the shadows of the corner.
They had likely just finished a checkup.
Mason was carefully supporting Scarlett, his face radiating an indescribable tenderness.
However, this tenderness was vastly different from how he used to treat Bella.
The former was a genuine display of affection, while the latter had been nothing but a hypocritical farce.
“Is this the man you love?” Adrian asked.
As they stood shoulder to shoulder, his imposing height made Bella shift a half-step away.
Adrian suddenly leaned down, a low chuckle rumbling in his throat.
“He certainly has ‘deep feelings’ for you.”
Bella easily caught his blatant sarcasm.
Her heart ached terribly, but she maintained a stubborn expression.
“I’ll figure out a way to stabilize your daughter’s condition first, but I won’t be able to stall for too long.
Instead of wasting time mocking me here, you’d be better off figuring out how to retrieve that medical book.”
She turned on her heel and headed into the breakroom to change.
Her slender back looked fragile, yet remarkably resolute.
Adrian stood rooted to the spot, watching her disappear behind the door.
A flicker of gloom flashed through his bottomless eyes.
Nancy walked over and gently reminded him, “Mr.
Xavier, Miss Sarah has been brought out.”
Only then did Adrian pull his gaze away.
“Go investigate the new project Meridian Group has been developing recently.”