Chapter 1026: Chapter 1025
In the blink of an eye, it was Friday.
Martin and Serena’s engagement party was in full swing at the Century Grand Hotel.
The internet was abuzz with news of their wedding, with Martin having invited over a hundred journalists to their engagement party, in addition to business partners and all his friends.
Except for Fitch, all his buddies showed up to support them.
He didn’t invite family or personal connections. Just the people Martin had met were enough to throw a lavish wedding.
When the auspicious moment arrived, Serena, dressed in a stunning wedding gown designed by a top designer and wearing a priceless tiara and jewels, was elevated from beneath the stage into the view of all the guests.
Today, she wasn’t in a wheelchair but had a supporting chair hidden under the voluminous skirt of her gown. Because her dress was so full, the guests couldn’t tell there was an issue with her legs and,
seeing her posture, assumed she was standing on the stage.
Led by the master of ceremonies, Martin walked down the aisle, holding Serena’s hand under the gaze of all the guests, uttering his vows with deep affection and devotion.
As petals rained down, Martin slipped a diamond ring worth a fortune onto Serena’s finger.
Amidst thunderous applause, they kissed. To avoid any slip-ups, Martin spoke only a few words of thanks to the guests before leading Serena off the stage, out of sight.
A celebrity took the stage to sing a fitting song titled "I Do," captivating the guests below.
Backstage, Martin asked Serena if she was tired, if it was hard to rely on the supporting chair. Serena shook her head gently; she wasn’t done making her mark yet.
Suddenly, Martin received a phone call that changed his expression. "What? Okay, I’ll be right there."
Serena, seeing him hang up, asked anxiously, "What happened?"
"My mom tried to jump from a building, she’s been taken to the hospital. I need to go."
Martin moved to leave, but Serena grabbed his hand, "I’m coming with you. I’m your wife now!"
After all, she was part of the Cooper family now!
Martin glanced at her flouncy wedding gown, knowing she was not easily mobile, "The engagement party can’t go on without you. I’ll check out the situation and get back to you. Stay here for now."
Serena watched his hurried departure without further protest.
At the hospital.
"Where’s my dad, my sister?" Martin asked.
Lana replied, "About an hour ago."
An hour ago?
Martin froze in his tracks.
It didn’t take more than half an hour to get from his house to the Century Grand Hotel. If his sister Diana had really gone to the hotel to confront him after learning of their mother’s accident, they would
have bumped into each other before he left the hotel. But when he had left just moments ago, there had been no sign of Diana.
Just then, his phone rang again. It was Diana calling.
"Diana," Martin answered immediately, anxiety edging his voice. "Where are you?"
"Hello, is this the brother of the phone’s owner? You were listed as a recent contact. I’m a nurse at Hope Hospital. The phone’s owner was in a car accident and was brought here by a Good Samaritan.
She’s in critical condition and needs surgery urgently. Could you please come and handle the payment?"
"What are you talking about?" Martin’s world rocked on its axis. "Which floor are you on? I’m on my way."
"Emergency, twelfth floor."
"Got it."
Without a second thought, Martin dashed to the elevator and shot up to the twelfth floor. He paid the fee and sought out the attending physician to inquire about Diana’s condition.
"The patient has multiple bilateral rib fractures, a sternal fracture, lung contusion, and a traumatic splenic rupture, among several other injuries. She was in severe shock upon arrival and is in critical
condition."
Martin’s heart clenched with worry, and he asked urgently, "When will she be out of the woods?"
"It’s hard to say. Even if she pulls through this, there are more hurdles ahead. Rest assured, our surgical team is doing everything possible to save her."
As Martin stared toward the operating room, lost in concern, his phone rang with a call from the family’s bodyguard.
"Mr. Martin, your mother’s attending physician would like to speak with you."
"Alright, I’m on my way." The thought of all three family members hospitalized in one night left Martin utterly drained.
"Mr. Martin," the doctor began upon seeing him, briefing him on Florence’s condition. "Your mother was in critical condition when she arrived. We performed a series of preliminary exams and symptomatic treatments. She was vomiting continuously, and before we had the test results, we were worried about increased intracranial bleeding and hematoma causing high intracranial pressure, so we had to intubate her and put her on a ventilator."
The doctor continued, "Her blood pressure kept dropping, and the internal bleeding wouldn’t stop. Her heart rate on the monitor was climbing, so we injected red blood cells and plasma and administered
norepinephrine to maintain her blood pressure. We also noted her potassium levels were below normal, so to prevent electrolyte imbalance, we administered potassium."
Martin didn’t fully grasp the medical jargon, but he understood his mother’s condition was grave.
"Is she in danger? When can she be cured?" Martin’s worry was palpable.
"It’s hard to predict. Even if this surgery is successful, there’s a high risk of complications afterward. It will be difficult for her to overcome each one." Updated at Draмаnоvеls.cоm
Heartbroken, Martin felt as if his world was collapsing. Grasping the doctor’s shoulders, he pleaded,
"Doctor, please, you must save her."
The maid, Lana, was scared witless, fearing the blame would fall on her. She rushed to explain, "I didn’t see anything."
Ever since Martin cut ties with his family, Florence was inconsolable and had gone home to recuperate.
"Mrs. Florence has been like a walking dead, numb and indifferent, sometimes even crying silently."
"Today is your engagement party, and Mrs. Florence hasn’t slept since last night. She hasn’t had a bite to eat or a drop to drink all day, and at 7 p.m., she silently went back to her room."
"We thought she was just tired and wanted to rest, but then there was this huge crash, and when we ran out, we realized that Mrs. Florence had jumped."
Lana, bowing deeply, quickly added, "Mr. Martin, I truly had no idea Mrs. Florence would take her own life. If I had known, I would have stopped her by any means necessary, staying right by her side."
She never imagined that when Florence argued with Martin and spoke in anger, she meant every word!
Florence had said that if Martin insisted on marrying Serena, she would jump into a river, off a building.
In short, she wanted to turn his joyful occasion into one of mourning.
She wanted to make him feel guilty for the rest of his life!
"When we found Mrs. Florence after she jumped, we immediately had the driver prepare the car and called for the master and Miss Diana. Mr. Ansel fainted on the spot when he saw Mrs. Florence’s condition, and Miss Diana ordered us to take Mrs. Florence and Mr. Ansel to the hospital, while she went to confront you on her own."
It was only moments ago, when Lana overheard Martin on the phone, that she learned Miss Diana had also been in an accident and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.
"She’s on the twelfth floor in surgery. Wait there for her, and let me know the moment the surgery is over," Martin instructed with exhaustion.
"Yes, sir," Lana said quickly, bowing and retreating.
After a while, Martin received a video from one of his men.
"Mr. Martin, this is the road surveillance footage of Miss Diana’s car accident."
Upon viewing the footage, Martin saw that on a mountain road, a truck driver seemingly fell asleep at the wheel, his vehicle swaying dangerously. Diana’s car was also speeding, and they were about to
collide head-on.
Diana’s frantic honking woke the truck driver, who swerved sharply, slamming into the mountainside.
Diana, in an attempt to avoid him, crashed into the guardrail, and her car tumbled down.
"This is a photo from the scene of the accident."
From the photo, Martin could see that Diana’s car was completely mangled.
His heart ached; if the car was in such a state, what were the chances she was unharmed?
Martin watched the surveillance video and the scene photos over and over, his heart heavy with grief.
The despair and fear his sister must have felt as she fell.
Just then, his phone rang. It was Serena.
"Martin, how’s Mom?" Serena’s concerned voice came through the line.
Serena, without a hint of blame, spoke with understanding, "I’ll come be with you after I’ve seen the guests off."