Sophie Winslow didn’t have the time to argue or bicker with Stella Sutton.
She walked over to the mother and said gently, "I’m a doctor. Let me hold the child; it will be easier to perform first aid."
The young mother wiped away her tears frantically and nodded in gratitude.
Sophie was a mother herself, so she completely understood the woman’s current state of panic. She also had plenty of experience caring for children. After taking the child, she ignored Stella’s displeased glare and held the little one securely in her arms, ensuring the child was comfortable while positioning her optimally for emergency procedures.
Naturally, Stella was dissatisfied with Sophie’s actions. An imperceptible trace of mockery flashed through her eyes. How could she not see that Sophie was deliberately trying to show off in front of everyone? It was glaringly obvious that she just wanted to piggyback on the glory and credit of assisting Stella during the rescue. However, Stella disdained bickering over Sophie’s petty schemes.
She simply bent down to assess the child’s general condition and frowned. "The child is suffering from airway edema caused by an allergic reaction. I’ll perform basic first aid, but she needs to be sent to the hospital immediately."
Sophie didn’t say a word about this.
A bystander immediately took out their phone to call for an ambulance. The child was indeed having an allergic reaction, but Stella’s method of emergency treatment...
Stella asked the crowd, "Does anyone have an epinephrine auto-injector?"
No one responded.
Stella forced herself to remain calm and collected. With no other options, she resorted to acupoint first aid, pressing her knuckle hard against the child’s philtrum.
Watching Stella’s approach, Sophie pursed her lips and frowned. It was a viable method, but it would have very little effect in such an emergency. It would only delay crucial treatment time. She didn’t want to wait around to see if Stella’s method would work.
Sophie directly swatted Stella’s hand away and gently laid the child flat on the ground. She turned to the mother. "Elevate her legs."
"What are you doing? Are you trying to get this child killed?" Having her pride bruised in public, Stella’s expression instantly turned frosty.
Sophie couldn’t be bothered to entertain her. She quickly took off the child’s shoes and socks, rubbed her palms together to generate heat, and performed a complex massage technique on the acupoints at the soles of the child’s feet. Then, she precisely pressed down on the acupoints on the inner wrists. Due to the limited conditions, acupuncture wasn’t possible, so she resorted to an alternative method.
The onlookers couldn’t help but shoot Sophie surprised and curious glances. Even Julian Sterling gazed thoughtfully at Sophie’s calm profile.
Stella’s lips twitched. While Sophie was administering treatment, Stella decisively pushed her away again. With a cold expression, she sternly rebuked, "This is a matter of life and death! Please don’t treat human life as your personal runway show!"
Finn Lockwood glanced over. Now certain of what Sophie was trying to do, he said with a half-smile, "Miss Winslow, even if you want to blindly imitate others, you’ll never be able to replicate Miss Sutton’s abilities. Save your energy and stop causing trouble, will you?"
In his eyes, she was simply jealous of the attention and praise Stella was receiving for saving a life and wanted to grab some of Julian’s attention for herself. He was all too familiar with these petty tricks women played.
Having been pushed time and time again, Sophie had reached the end of her patience. Her oval face was covered in a layer of frost. "Are you brain—"
"She’s awake!"
"The child is awake!"
Sophie instantly reined in her irritation and turned to look. The little girl had opened her eyes. Those large, watery eyes still looked sickly, making Sophie’s heart suddenly soften. The majority of her anger dissipated on the spot.
She thought of her own little Lydia. Her daughter often looked at her with that exact same gaze, sweetly calling her Mommy.
Looking at the awakened child, Stella pursed her lips and subconsciously shot Sophie a grave glance. She knew Sophie had done odd jobs in the emergency department for a few years, but her abilities had to be limited. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been stuck in that little corner without any promotion or growth. But now... it looked as if Sophie was the one who had saved the day. Where did that leave her?
Stella furrowed her brows and remained silent.
Standing behind Julian, his assistant, Clara Quinn, understood the meaning behind Stella’s expression. After a quick glance at her boss’s nonchalant demeanor, she shrewdly spoke up on Julian’s behalf. "Thanks to Miss Sutton’s extensive experience, her initial emergency treatment must have taken a delayed effect."
Clara had been by Julian’s side for several years. Naturally, she recognized Sophie. But so what? Mr. Sterling had never cared about Sophie. Why let her steal Miss Sutton’s thunder?
Only after hearing these words did Stella finally raise her eyebrows. Her smiling eyes landed on Julian’s handsome face. She knew very well that Clara was Julian’s trusted aide; whatever Clara said represented Julian’s intentions. From beginning to end, Julian remained impassive and didn’t stop Clara from speaking. His gaze didn’t even land on Sophie’s face again. It looked like tacit consent and silent approval.
Finn glanced at Julian’s cold expression and grew even more amused. He cast a mocking look at Sophie, who was still kneeling on the ground, looking somewhat disheveled. Sophie had been bustling about for half the day, only to have all her efforts amount to nothing.
Aside from the reporters, many of the people present were medical investors attending the venue. They instantly understood the underlying dynamics and quickly chimed in.
"Yes, it’s all thanks to Miss Sutton’s composure that we saw results so quickly."
"She truly is a lady worthy of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Mr. Sterling. Her excellence is obvious to all."
Stella slowly curled her lips into a smile and walked over to Julian’s side. Looking up at his profile, she gave a modest chuckle. "Everyone is flattering me too much." She then turned to the mother and said softly, "As long as the child is fine. It was the least I could do."
Sophie hadn’t expected the other party to actually steal the credit so brazenly. But she understood the unspoken rules of high society at play here. It was nothing more than Julian propping up Stella and granting her this glory.
The child’s condition had improved significantly. Sophie couldn’t be bothered to fight for this so-called credit. A healer saved lives not for medals or recognition. She certainly didn’t want to waste her energy paying attention to how they were flattering Stella.
Kingsford’s winter chill seeped straight to the bone.
Sophie quickly grabbed the shoes and socks she had taken off the child and carefully helped put them back on. She even meticulously tucked the hem of the child’s thermal pants into the socks, her movements so practiced that they were completely fluid.
Having cried tears of joy, the young mother stared at Sophie’s face and couldn’t help but ask, "Miss, you must be married, right? Have you had a child of your own? You seem more experienced at taking care of a kid than I am."
Those words caused Sophie’s spine to stiffen instinctively. Alarm bells rang in her head, and the hairs on her body stood on end in an instant. She could feel the probing gazes coming from behind her.
Standing not too far away, Julian had also heard the question. His profound gaze pierced through the crowd, landing subtly on the back of Sophie’s head.