“Imogen, it’ll be okay. The Russell family still has you,” Johanna said with a fleeting glint in her eyes, then sighed dramatically. “If only my brother were still around, he could’ve helped you too…”
Innopen fell silent, forcing a faint smile. “Alright, go on your date. Just don’t stay out toote and be safe.”
“Got it,”
+
Johanna turned to leave, but before she closed the door, she nced back at the woman sitting by the bed. She looked despondent <b>and </b>lost in thought. A mocking and ambitious smirk crept across Johanna’s lips before she walked away.
Her footsteps faded into the distance.
Imogen’s body stiffened. After a moment, she bent down, reaching into the trash <b>can</b>. She rummaged around for a while until her fingertips touched something cold. It was the small bottle she had just thrown away earlier.
The assistant who had delivered it said the medicine inside was Felicia’s creation, capable of restoring her sight.
Imogen held the bottle tightly, her emotions in turmoil. Earlier, in front of Johanna, she hadn’t even realized why she chose to hide the truth and lie.
Perhaps it was Johanna’s recent unusual behavior and changes that made her uneasy, prompting her to subconsciously put up her guard. But what was she guarding against? Compared to Felicia, wasn’t Johanna her family?
After a long silence, Imogen ced the bottle into the drawer of her bedside table and shut it with a heavy thud.
The loud noise startled the baby in the nearby cradle, who began crying loudly.
Imogen reached out instinctively, groping to hold andfort the baby. “Oh, don’t cry. Don’t cry, baby. It’s my fault for walding you. Don’t cry, my
sweet little one.
When she felt around, it became clear the baby’s diaper was wet and needed changing
Moments like this made Imogen resent her blindness. She couldn’t care for her baby on her own and had to call for help. The housekeepers and nanny entered quickly, taking over to clean and change the baby’s diaper.
After cleaning and changing the baby’s diaper, it was coincidentally the baby’s feeding time. After being fed and lulled back to sleep, the baby let out soft hurs before falling into a peaceful slumber.
Imogen’s heart meltedpletely.
A the nanny prepared to carry the baby to the nursery, Imogen hesitated, reluctant to let go.
A hou keeper tried to reassure her, saying, “Ms. Russell, you’re still in recovery. You need to take care of yourself first. Don’t worry about the baby. We have more than enough people to take care of him.”
Imogen nodded reluctantly.
The room grew quiet once more. She wrapped a shawl around herself and called for Andy and Stanley toe in.
“How’s Stephan doing? What did the doctors say? When will he wake up?”
Her questions came <b>in </b>rapid session.
Andy and Stanley exchanged nces. Finally<b>, </b>Stanley spoke up, “Ms. Russell, Mr. Russell’s <b>condition </b>is stable for now, but… <b>he </b>asionally has high <b>fevers</b>. The doctors say it’s a chain reaction from the toxins, but he should start to improve in a few days.”
Imogen’s face was filled with worry. She pressed on, “Has the news been contained? It must not get out. If those with an agenda against us find out, only stir unnecessary trouble!”
Of course, she wasn’t just referring to the external enemies of the Russell family but also certain opportunistic branches of the family itself.
Stanley hesitated but finally admitted, “Although we’ve tried to contain the news, it’s hard to keep everything under <b>wraps</b>. Especially since, after we left the rainforest, we stayed in the hospital for a few days. There were likely many eyes watching us. So rumors have <b>already </b>started circting.” There was no way they could’ve kept this a secret forever.
If they had returned to Seldvale immediately after leaving the rainforest, they might have sessfully kept Stephan’s blindness a secret.
But fate intervened–Imogen went intobor, forcing them to stay at a small, remote hospital for several <b>days</b>. There was no way to keep everything under wraps at that point.
<b>Now</b>, the outside world knew that the head of the almighty Russell family in Seldvale had gone blind.