Chapter 1227
Tarquin couldn’t take it anymore. With a steely expression, he strode over to Elysia’s side and stood protectively by her.
“I don’t care who you think you are,” he said, his voice cold as ice. “But if you raise your voice at my wife again, we’re gonna have a real problem p>
He’d tried to stay out of the squabble-it was just women talking, after all-but
this woman was way out of line. Someone needed to put her in her place.
Sabrina’s eyes widened in shock, ready to snap back at Tarquin-until she actually looked at him.
Whoa. He was gorgeous.
Tall, athletic, with chiseled features and an effortless coolness-was he a movie star or something?
Trying to regain her composure, Sabrina softened her tone, her words suddenly syrupy sweet. “I wasn’t yelling. I’m just doing my job. And you are p>
“You don’t deserve to know,” Tarquin shot back flatly, not giving her the slightest ounce of respect.
Sabrina’s mouth dropped open for a moment.
She was in her early twenties, a sucker for handsome faces and with a pride the size of Texas. Raised in comfort, used to being pampered-being called out in public like this hit her hard.
Her eyes shimmered, cheeks burning red, and she bit her lip, looking at Tarquin with wounded pride.
Elysia shot Sabrina a glare, then turned to the mother and daughter nearby. “Are you Dr. Lambert’s family p>
The woman clutching a little girl nodded anxiously. “Yes, yes, I’m Zachary Lambert’s wife. This is our daughter p>
Tears streaked down the woman’s face as she spoke. “I know he’s in quarantine. We haven’t made any trouble, we’ll cooperate with the hospital, I promise, we just… we just want to see him. Please p>
As the woman broke down, the little girl started sobbing too. “Can I see Daddy? I miss him p>
Elysia’s heart ached for the child. She knelt down and gently wiped away the girl’s tears. “I’m so sorry you’re going through this. But I’m not a doctor here, I can’t make the rules. I’ll try to find out what’s going on, okay p>
She pulled out her phone, about to call Benjamin, when he appeared at the end of the hall, looking serious.
He’d been in the records room earlier, researching the virus with Elysia, before he’d stepped out to take a call. Now, seeing the tense group gathered in the hallway-and recognizing Dr. Lambert’s family-he hurried over.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Elysia pulled Benjamin aside and lowered her voice. “It’s Dr. Lambert’s daughter’s birthday. She just wants to see her dad for a minute. Why isn’t the hospital letting them p>
Elysia genuinely thought the family should be allowed a visit. Not just out of compassion for the girl, but also because-
“Well, now that everyone knows about the virus, isn’t it risky just to refuse them? If they get upset and cause a scene outside, we can’t keep the whole thing quiet anymore. The hospital and the government can’t exactly gag all the families, can they? So shouldn’t we focus on keeping things calm p>
Benjamin looked surprised. “No one said they couldn’t visit. That’s actually what I was sorting out just now. As soon as they arrived, I called upstairs. The higher-ups agreed: the family can visit, but only through the glass with staff supervision p>
He glanced at Sabrina. “Dr. Stevenson is supposed to be looking after the families. I saw her walking out with Dr. Lambert’s wife and daughter-I figured she was taking them to see him p>
Elysia shook her head, frustrated. “They were begging her, but she said no. Said it was hospital policy p>
Now it was Benjamin’s turn to be stumped. He frowned, silent for a long moment, then sighed. “She probably just didn’t want to deal with it. She wants to work on the virus research, but she’s not qualified enough, so the bosses put her on support duty—dealing with families, organizing data, that sort of thing p>
Elysia frowned. “If she’s not up to the job, why’d they put her here in the first place p>