On my way to the hospital, numerous questions kept running through my mind.
Who did this?
Was his condition serious?
Is he all right?
I literally jumped out of the car the moment it stopped in the hospital’s parking lot.
After I hung up in a panic, I tried calling Randy again to ask for the location and ward number, but my calls kept going to voicemail.
"The Knights only go to one hospital, Premier Care Hospital; it’s a hospital under Knight Corporations. Cassian should be admitted there," Joel had said when I told him and Estelle what happened.
They were shocked to say the least. I mean, it’s Cassian Knight we’re talking about.
It’s obvious he has a lot of enemies due to his social standing, but for someone to be brazen enough to actually go through with it?
It was something else entirely.
I made my way to the reception desk when I heard Eric, the driver who had brought me here under Joel’s instructions, shutting the door, followed by his hurried footsteps behind me.
"Let me handle this, Miss," Eric said and approached the reception desk.
"Good evening, what is the room number of Mr Knight? He was admitted here approximately 3 hours ago," he asked one of the nurses.
The nurse exchanged glances with another nurse at the side and then turned to face us again, her eyes scanning our clothes.
She must have noticed the Quinn crest on Eric’s coat and my ridiculously expensive branded clothes because the sceptical look she had receded into politeness in the blink of an eye.
"Erm, sorry, I’m guessing you have a relationship with the patient?" She began.
"You see, according to our hospital policy we cannot disclose the room number without proper identification, but VVIP rooms are located on the 13th floor."
"Okay, thank you," I said softly and turned to the elevator.
Eric was following after me. I paused, turning to face him.
"Eric, thank you, but I’ll take it from here. Can you wait for me in the car?" I said.
Eric looked hesitant, but he nodded anyway. "Okay, Miss, I’ll wait for you."
I nodded and approached the elevator, entering it when it opened.
When it reached the 13th floor, I walked out only to bump into something hard—a body.
I didn’t even look at the person and apologised in a hurry.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t—"
"Yvette?" The voice above me spoke, and I froze.
I slowly lifted my gaze to look up at the person, and my heart nearly stopped.
It was James Anderson.
He was Nathan’s friend and classmate. We used to hang around when I was in high school.
There were times Nathan picked me up from school in the company of James.
"Um... sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong person," I said, my voice sounding steadier than I felt.
"What are you saying? You—"
"Miss Quinn. I’m sorry the phone went off. Did you just arrive?" Randy’s voice came down the hallway; he was approaching us.
"Miss Quinn?" James repeated in a dazed voice, looking awkward as he stood there.
I sidestepped him, intending to move towards Randy, but he moved again, blocking me.
"No, that’s impossible... There’s no way I’m mistaken...You even sound like her."
No, no, no.
"Step back, Mister, before I’m tempted to press legal charges against you for your harassment."
"Miss Quinn, is something the matter?" Randy asked, his eyes moving between James and me with confusion.
Before I could answer, James spoke first.
"I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, Miss. You look like someone I know; it’s uncanny," he said and then turned to Randy. "Where’s his room?"
My heart did a somersault at seeing James address Randy with such familiarity.
The question left my lips before I could even stop myself.
"You know each other?"
Randy nodded.
"I think I should introduce you. Young Master James is the boss’s cousin... Young Master, she’s Miss Isabelle Quinn, the boss’s fiancée."
I didn’t hear anything else after I heard the word ’cousin’.
How did James become Cassian’s cousin?
If he recognised me... if someone heard him say my name out loud again... I’m gone!
I could still feel James’s gaze on me the entire time, but I schooled my features, trying to act calm even though I was inwardly panicking, and smiled at James.
I’m sure it came out as a grimace.
"Nice meeting you, Mr Anderson. I’m Isabelle Quinn."
James took my hand, a glint in his eyes as he brought my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
"The pleasure is all mine," he said, but his hold still remained. I had to tug my hand out of his.
"How’s Cassian? Where is he? I want to see him," I said to Randy.
"The boss is awake, Miss. Please come with me."
We walked towards Cassian’s ward with my muscles tensed and every second feeling like an eternity because I could feel Jame’s gaze boring holes through my back.
We approached the door with a group of bodyguards standing in front of it. Four of them in total.
They stood like military personnel, chin up, shoulders squared and eyes alert.
Just seeing their deathly protective stance made me straighten instinctively.
Maybe it was because I was in Randy’s company, but they parted to allow me to pass the moment I approached.
I was about to push the door open when I heard a low murmur, the word "Quinns" making me pause.
"Calculating from the time the information was released, it matches the time you dropped the young mistress at the Quinn Estate. Everything points back to them as the mastermind," the voice said.
"I don’t want hints. I want irrefutable evidence. Something the Quinns can’t deny when I’m ready to exact my revenge," Cassian’s cold voice cut in.
His tone was so cold I could feel a shiver run down my spine even from where I stood.
They are suspecting the Quinns? Why would the Quinns even harm Cassian?
"The hackers are working on it. We should be updated in an hour."
"Miss, aren’t you entering?" Randy said from behind me.
"Um, yes, I am." I finally pushed the door open and froze.
Cassian’s cold and emotionless eyes fell upon me. His whole demeanour exuded a dark and chilling aura; the room temperature had dropped ten degrees.
For a moment, I was caught off guard as to whether to advance or retreat. I’ve never felt such fear just from locking eyes with anyone before.
"Isabelle?" He called out, his voice soft. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d have thought I had been hallucinating.
"Come here," he added.