Chapter 125
Barnard’s eyes flashed for a moment, but he quickly settled back into his usual calm. “What could I possibly be hiding? Carol, I know you and Camilla are close. Elise is in trouble, and of course you’re worried. But she’s my mother-in-law too. Believe me, I’m just as concerned. There’s no need to jump to conclusions or start making wild accusations p>
Then, turning to Camilla, Barnard set the lunch container down next to her. “Camilla, I know having Daisy stay here makes you uncomfortable. I actually came today for another reason. I’m here to arrange her discharge and take her away from the hospital. Whatever happens, your health matters most. Elise wouldn’t want you exhausting yourself over her. I’ll leave the food here. Try to eat something, okay p>
Before he left, he reached out and gently patted Camilla on the head, his touch soft, almost affectionate.
But right now, Camilla couldn’t care less about Barnard. She just stared at the glowing sign outside the operating room, her mind scrambled and full of panic. Just a few days ago, the doctors had said Elise was stable. There had even been talk of switching up her treatment because she was showing signs of improvement. So how did things get so bad, so fast?
Everyone else had trickled away, except Carol, who stayed right by her side. Carol put a comforting hand on Camilla’s shoulder. “Camilla, it’s normal to worry. We don’t know how Elise is really doing. But what matters now is that you keep your head clear and figure out what’s going on. I checked Elise’s medical records. She was stable. There’s no way she should have suddenly collapsed for no reason. Something isn’t adding up p>
The warmth from Carol’s hand made Camilla feel a little less frantic. Determination flickered in her eyes. “You’re right, Carol. I need to look at the security footage p>
“I already had someone pull it for me, but as evidence, it’s weak. Just look at the video—it skips around, some scenes don’t even match up. It’s clear someone tampered with it. The more they try to hide, the more we know there’s something wrong,” Carol said.
She handed over her phone. Camilla watched as Elise walked into Daisy’s hospital room, the video stuttering right before cutting to Elise collapsing. But she could tell—Elise had walked in confidently, not the least bit unsteady.
“Could you send me the video, Carol? I’ll have someone try to fix it,” Camilla asked.
She was shaking with anger. The smell of the food Barnard brought drifted from the container, but to Camilla it was no different from poison. She knew Davina couldn’t mess with the security footage. It wasn’t even a question now who was covering for her.
Five years with Barnard, sharing everything, and every sweet word turned out to be a lie. Every promise was a hidden knife. Now she finally saw him clearly—Barnard had never loved her at all. Even her mother’s life meant nothing to him.
When Camilla stood up, her legs threatened to give out, and Carol quickly caught her so she wouldn’t fall. “Restoring tampered footage isn’t easy. Let me handle it for you. What you need most right now is to rest and get your strength back if you want to fight them,” Carol said.
“Carol, why are you being so good to me?” Camilla suddenly blurted out. From the first time they’d met, Carol had always been kind. Even now, when her mother was in danger, she’d shown up without hesitation, taking this burden onto herself.
Carol looked at her seriously, almost as though she was thinking of someone else entirely. “Camilla, there are some things I just can’t explain to you yet. But Elise’s problems are my problems too. I’ll make sure we get to the bottom of this. Come on, let me get you home to rest p>
Carol was helping Camilla out the door when they ran into Lance.
He walked straight up to Camilla. “How’s Elise? I’ve called in the best medical team from overseas. I won’t let anything bad happen to her p>
Carol gave Lance a quick once-over, picking up on his genuine concern and filing it away in her mind.
“Thank you, Lance. I really appreciate this. I p>
“No need for that right now. Have you figured out what happened? If you want, I can go fetch those two pieces of trash and bring them here for you to confront,” Lance said, clearly having heard some gossip and convinced that Daisy and Davina were behind it all.
He stood in front of Camilla, radiating a fierce protectiveness, as if all she needed to do was nod and he’d drag Daisy and Davina to her right then and there.
Camilla shook her head. “No, thank you, Lance. I want to deal with this myself.” She felt certain that once she had the truth, she’d have everything she needed to finally leave Barnard.
“I’ve got something else to handle. Since Lance is here, I’ll leave Camilla in your care,” Carol said. She could see there was more to Lance and Camilla’s relationship than met the eye. After a brief hesitation, she placed Camilla in his hands.