Chapter 333
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Chapter 333:
“His car was crushed by an out-of-control heavy transport truck,” Elbert said. The memory clearly still haunted him. “He was trapped inside the mangled steel for five hours before they could cut him out p>
Grandma Wolfe gasped and covered her mouth with trembling hands.
“The top orthopedic surgeons in Europe were flown in,” Elbert continued, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “They all examined his right leg. They all told me the same thing. Amputation was the only way to save his life p>
Tears welled in Grandma Wolfe’s eyes. She pictured the tall, powerful man who always stood so proudly beside her granddaughter.
𝗡е𝘄 𝗰h𝖺𝗽𝗍еrѕ 𝘦𝗏еr𝘆 we𝘦𝘬 𝗼𝘯
“When Gaston woke up in the ICU,” Elbert said, staring blankly at the wall, “he could barely breathe. But he grabbed the surgeon by the collar and refused to sign the consent form. He said he would rather die p>
Elbert looked directly into Grandma Wolfe’s eyes.
“He endured two years of absolute hell,” Elbert said. “Dozens of surgeries. Brutal physical therapy. He forced himself to walk normally again through sheer, psychotic willpower p>
Elbert leaned forward slightly.
“I only found out later why he refused to lose his leg,” Elbert murmured. “He said a cripple could never protect the woman he was going to marry p>
Grandma Wolfe let out a soft sob. The pieces clicked into place — the terrifying possessiveness in Gaston’s eyes, the way he looked at Jocelyn as though she were his only source of oxygen.
Back in the Newport suite, Gaston stood on the balcony, fully dressed in a sharp suit, barking orders into his phone about a European merger.
Jocelyn stood inside the bedroom, half-hidden behind the sheer curtains, watching his broad back. She watched the way he stood — perfectly straight, weight distributed evenly on both legs, no trace of a limp.
She pulled out her phone. Her fingers were trembling slightly.
She opened the browser and typed: Gaston Collins accident three years ago.
The screen loaded instantly. Thousands of articles filled the results — his business deals, his carefully constructed public image. Nothing else. The internet had been scrubbed completely clean by the Collins PR machine.
Jocelyn slowly lowered her phone. Her chest felt tight.
He was lying to her. He was hiding an enormous trauma behind a flawless, impenetrable smile.
She looked at his silhouette against the grey ocean backdrop. Her eyes hardened with quiet, absolute determination.
She was his wife. She was not going to let him carry his ghosts alone anymore.
The peaceful atmosphere of the Long Island sunroom was suddenly shattered.
A loud, piercing alarm echoed from the security panels on the wall. Elbert Collins did not flinch. He simply raised one eyebrow and looked toward the door.
A large security captain in a black suit jogged in and tapped his earpiece.
“Mr. Collins,” the captain reported. “There is a woman at the front gates. She is screaming hysterically and throwing herself against the iron bars. She claims to be Jocelyn’s mother p>
Elbert’s face turned to stone. He looked across the table at Grandma Wolfe.
All warmth drained from the old woman’s expression. A cold, hard disgust settled in its place.
“Show me,” Grandma Wolfe said.