CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 68: SHE LEFT THE MANOR

He suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, "Oh no! Madam has been stood up again!"

Madam... waited there alone for a whole five hours!

"Hurry! Hurry!" While sprinting outside, he took out his phone to call Aiden Fordham.

"The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..." The cold message came through.

He then quickly dialed the driver, Mr. Warren.

The call was connected quickly, and Mr. Warren’s voice was urgent: "Special Assistant Lindsey! I was just about to report to you! President Fordham went to rescue Miss Kensington! The situation is urgent, he just took a speedboat out to sea! Luckily... Mr. Lockwood also sent people to follow!"

Keegan Lindsey felt his vision darken, nearly collapsing.

"My goodness!" He shouted all the way, jumping into the car with the butler, flooring the accelerator as they raced towards the riverside.

The car’s headlights pierced through the darkness, illuminating the curled-up figure by the roadside.

Stella Grant was leaning against a stone pillar at the roadside, her face as pale as paper, her lips bloodless, and the sleeve of her left arm soaked in blood, a dark red that was shocking to the eye.

Keegan’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly braked and jumped out of the car.

"Madam! Madam, how are you?" He rushed forward, his voice full of regret and apology, "I’m sorry, Madam! It’s all my fault! I’m late! I’m sorry!"

He carefully helped the nearly unconscious Stella into the back seat of the car.

The next day, when Stella woke up, she found herself lying on a soft big bed.

Her left arm had been properly treated, fixed with a splint.

She moved slightly, feeling that yesterday’s fall had completely reopened her healing wound.

Keegan had been by her side all along, and seeing her awake, he leaned over immediately, his face full of guilt.

"Madam, how do you feel? The doctor said you lost quite a bit of blood, plus fatigue and catching a cold..."

Stella didn’t listen to the rest of his words, only hoarsely asked, "Where’s Aiden Fordham?"

Keegan’s eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice:

"President Fordham... there was an emergency situation at the company yesterday, so he rushed back to handle it."

Stella’s complexion didn’t change at all, only her eyelashes trembled a bit.

"It’s about Corinne Kensington, right." She stated.

Keegan was momentarily speechless, knowing he couldn’t hide it, he had to brace himself and say:

"Yes... it was Miss Kensington, she was kidnapped, President Fordham... President Fordham went to save her. The situation was very complicated, and since last night, there hasn’t been any definitive news about President Fordham..."

He hadn’t finished speaking when the phone suddenly rang with a message alert.

Keegan glanced at it, so startled that his phone fell to the ground.

Stella quickly caught a glimpse of the entertainment news flash.

The headline was striking — #Aiden Fordham spotted late night carrying Best Actress Kensington into Central Hospital, covered in blood, suspected of being attacked#

The accompanying picture was exactly of Aiden Fordham carrying a pale-faced Corinne Kensington, hurriedly rushing into Central Hospital, his own white shirt stained with a large patch of blood.

Stella’s gaze fell on the phone screen, and then, she suddenly let out a gentle laugh.

That laughter was low, yet heavily laced with sarcasm, along with an unspeakable helplessness, and a sense of utterly giving up.

Her eyes seemed to have been covered with a layer of dust, losing the brightness they once had.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice eerily calm.

"Keegan. Please arrange for someone to take me home."

Keegan was stunned: "Madam, your injury..."

"Take me home!" Stella interrupted him, with a tone that brooked no argument.

Keegan hesitated: "But over at President Fordham’s side..."

Stella turned her head, looked steadfastly at him, her gaze cold and yet determined:

"If you don’t want me to have any more accidents, making it hard for you to explain to him, you’d better arrange a car to take me out right now."

Keegan looked at her pale yet resolute face, ultimately had to concede.

He lowered his head: "Yes, Madam, I will arrange it immediately."

They arrived downstairs in the hall.

The butler and a group of servants were all standing at the door, looking at Stella with longing eyes, eyes full of reluctance.

Stella paused, took out a delicate small box from her small bag, and handed it to the butler.

She said softly, "Please give this necklace to Butler Fletcher and have him wear it."

After a pause, she added, "This necklace has been blessed by God, I hope it will keep him safe and healthy."

The butler took the box with trembling hands, his eyes reddening, speaking a long string of sincere blessings to Stella.

The car slowly left the luxurious yet cold manor.

When the car reached the grand gates of the manor, Stella saw through the car window a very familiar black Maybach, and the familiar tall figure by the car.

Stella’s heart suddenly clenched.

"Stop the car." She told the driver.

Once the car stopped, she opened the door, enduring the pain in her arm and leg, walking limping towards that figure.

Andy Lockwood saw her almost the moment she got out of the car, and he quickly approached.

Seeing her pale face, the splint on her arm, and her staggering steps, his heart seemed to be fiercely twisted, painfully.

He rushed to her, saying nothing extra, just extending his arms, embracing her tightly with utmost care. That grip was as if wanting to meld her into his very bones, yet fearing to hurt her.

The next second, he bent down, carefully cradling her in his arms, and steadily walked towards his Maybach.

The car sped away, carrying all of Stella’s injuries, even more than when she came...

Afternoon.

Corinne Kensington’s condition finally stabilized.

Only then did Aiden Fordham belatedly remember, that his phone seemed to have been smashed to pieces during last night’s brawl with those bastards.

He casually picked up the security guard’s phone beside him, dialing Keegan Lindsey’s number.

Once the call connected, he immediately asked.

"Stella Grant, is she okay? What’s she doing?"

On the other end, Keegan’s voice sounded almost broken, heavy with nasal tones.

"Boss... I’m sorry... It’s my fault..."

Keegan began to incoherently confess, saying he had been too careless, letting Madam be alone in the cold wind on the riverside for five hours.

Finally, it was she herself who ran out to find help, accidentally falling, and the already unhealed wound tore open again.

When the doctor re-dressed her wound, she had already fainted completely, knowing nothing.

Listening to Keegan’s fragmented report, Aiden Fordham’s heart tightened painfully.

Pain.

That dull, sharp-barbed kind of pain.

A flood of overwhelming guilt, almost suffocating him, swept over him.

When he rushed to save Corinne Kensington yesterday, he was only anxious and seething with anger, never having felt this kind of heart-wrenching pain.

"Where is she?" His voice was dry and hoarse.

Keegan paused for a moment on the other end, his voice even lower, sigh, the little goodwill Madam had painstakingly built up, probably vanished into smoke.

"She was taken away by Andy Lockwood, now... now don’t know where she is."

Aiden Fordham’s fingers gripping the phone, his knuckles turning white, he didn’t know when he had become so attached to her, but whoever she went with, it couldn’t be Andy Lockwood!

He said nothing, directly hung up the phone.

Then, he tried to dial Stella Grant’s number.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is turned off..."

The cold prompt sounded like a bucket of ice water, pouring from head to toe.