Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“From now on, the Collins family and she go our separate ways, with no further ties,” Louisa stated with an icy finality.
“Yes.” Martin knew Serena had committed an unforgivable error, and he spoke with sincere remorse, “Over the years, Serena has caused everyone trouble, and I’ve thanked Mr. and Mrs. Collins, as well as everyone in the Collins family, for all the care and nurturing you’ve given Serena. I will always hold your care and sacrifice for Serena in the past eighteen years close to my heart, and I will never forget.”
“Remember your words. If one day she survives and becomes a threat, we will not only eradicate the problem at its root, but we will not spare the Cooper family either,” Louisa warned.
Her words stunned Martin momentarily, but he quickly responded with politeness, “Yes, ma’am, I will always remember your words. Now, Mrs. Collins, Mr. Collins, my dear elders, Mr. and Mrs. Griffith, I must take my leave.”
He bowed in gratitude to everyone present.
Two of Martin’s men each carried a hefty box, following closely behind as they left the grand estate.
The moment Martin stepped out of the main building, tears betrayed his stoic facade, streaming freely down his face. His steps quickened into a desperate run.
His voice trembled with pain and sorrow, “Serena, hang in there.”
No matter what, she had to hang in there!
“I’m Martin. I’m taking you home!” He feared the woman in his arms might slip away with each passing second. He wanted to hold her tight, yet he dreaded causing her more pain.
The RV was parked just outside the villa.
As he sprinted out, the door swung open, welcoming him inside.
Inside the RV lay the most advanced medical equipment, alongside the top-notch doctor he had hired for a fortune.
“Save her. She’s burning up!” Martin carefully placed Serena on the prepped stretcher.
The RV door closed, and the doctors immediately began examining Serena, while the vehicle roared to life.
Martin’s gaze drifted to the window, catching sight of the Collins family’s servants tossing Serena’s used linens, clothes, and personal items into the trash bins outside.
The bins were overflowing, with piles of belongings heaped on the ground like small hills.
“Mr. Cooper, Serena’s wounds weren’t treated in time and have become severely infected, leading to a high fever. This is critical, and we need to get her to the hospital immediately. Please prepare yourselfmentally for what’s to come.” The doctor’s voice drew Martin’s attention back.
“What do you mean?” Martin asked, his voice shaking.
“She has been feverish for two or three days now. Her body temperature is so high that her digestive, nervous, and circulatory systems are showing signs of abnormality, which could lead to organ damage.
This injury could cause elevated transaminases, a drop in platelets, and abnormal clotting functions, among other issues. In short, the prognosis isn’t good.”
It was as if a thunderbolt had struck Martin. He knew that bringing Serena back and keeping her alive had slim chances, but he hadn’t expected the situation to be this dire.
“Furthermore, her forehead, palms, and the back of her hands are swollen from untreated wounds, some bleeding, others purulent. Additionally, the shards of glass in her knee are deep, and without timely cleaning and medical attention, the joint has swollen, and she can’t straighten her leg. We’ll need an X-ray at the hospital to see if there’s any glass left inside. If there is, the situation could be worse.”
“What are we waiting for then, save her!” Martin was terrified of wasting even a second!
His eyes returned to Serena. Back at the Collins residence, he hadn’t taken a good look at her. Now he noticed her face was so swollen it was nearly unrecognizable.
“Her face is injured, too?” Martin asked.
As they tended to her wounds, the doctor explained, “It looks like she’s taken quite a few slaps, and there are even burns that look like they’ve been caused by hot water.”
“What did you say?”
Burned with hot water?Had the Collins family resorted to scalding her?
No, it couldn’t be. They couldn’t be that cruel.
If they intended to scald her, why only her face?
“Was the water extremely hot?” Martin asked, the pain in his heart intensifying.
“Not extremely, but hot enough to cause burns, especially since facial skin is delicate.”
Martin speculated, could it be that upon hearing what she had done, someone in a fit of rage had thrown their cup of hot tea at her, resulted in the burns.
“Hey Doc, what the heck happened to her forehead? Why are there so many gashes?” Martin asked, pain etching his voice.
“There’s a bunch of glass shards in Serena’s forehead. doesn’t look like they just splashed on her, seems like she was banging her head against something.”
Martin was in disbelief, “You’re telling me she did this to herself?”
“If she had just fallen face-first, the cuts wouldn’t be so deep, cover such a large area. It looks like she repeatedly hit her head to embed the glass deeper into her skin. Some of these wounds look like she tried to dig out the glass herself, which only made the infection worse. Mr. Cooper, brace yourself, if she pulls through, these scars might be permanent.”
And such scars couldn’t be removed by laser treatment.
At those words, Martin’s heart clenched with agony, unable to fathom the helplessness and pain she must have felt.
Serena always cared so much about her looks, whether in life or death, he couldn’t bear the thought of her being scarred.
“Plus, if there’s glass in her knee that’s been there for a while, even surgery might not spare her from walking problems.”
The doctor hadn’t finished when Martin’s shocked gaze stopped him.
“What did you just say?” Martin’s heart took another hit. Did he mean that his Serena, even if she survived, might be left limping? Or worse, confined to a wheelchair for life?
“Is it really that bad?” Martin asked, struggling to believe it.”We’ll need a comprehensive exam at the hospital to be sure.”
The doctor couldn’t offer a definitive diagnosis.
While the RV was equipped with medical gear, it was no match for a hospital. All they could do was tend to her wounds and try to keep her alive.
Martin longed to hold Serena’s hand, but only then did he notice, her palms and the backs of her hands were a bloody mess, with glass shards embedded in the flesh, catching the light.
How on earth did her hands get so badly injured?
Did she fall into the glass, or?
Cutting away her clothes, the doctor revealed bruises and cuts all over her body.
“Looks like she was beaten with a bat or something.”
Shoulders, arms, chest, back – no part was spared.
Martin’s tears fell anew, unable to fathom what she had endured.
How utterly desperate she must have felt.
Back at Reflections Villa.
Louisa ordered every trace of Serena to be wiped clean, not a single item left.
She even called the decorators, planning to repaint Serena’s old room, the walk-in closet, even the basement, changing everything.All the staff knew that the lady of the house wanted to erase every last trace of Serena, like rubbing out a misspelled word, completely, utterly.
“Dig up all her favorite flowers in the garden.”
At Louisa’s command, the staff uprooted the precious plants, once imported at great expense and rushed over by plane because Serena had taken a fancy to them.
But now things had changed.
Louisa returned to her bedroom and glanced at the crystal chandelier. She and Serena had picked it out together years ago at a lighting store. Serena had adored it, said it would suit her room perfectly, even wanted to buy it with her own money as a gift.
Although Louisa didn’t let her pay in the end, the chandelier always reminded her of the times they’d spent together, shopping for lights, home decor, all sorts.
“Take down that chandelier,” she ordered.
The remnants of Serena’s presence in the bedroom had been discarded, piece by piece, until now there was hardly anything left.
The servants hadn’t expected Louisa to order the removal of even that lamp.
They dared not disobey, so they quickly took it down and replaced it with an old one from the storage room until they could get a new one.
Louisa’s gaze drifted towards the master bedroom, now completely purged of any trace of Serena.
Later, Hans arrived at the gates of Reflections Villa in his assistant’s car. He couldn’t help but notice the nearby trash bins overflowing with items associated with Serena.
Recalling the tumultuous events at the abandoned construction site, he could imagine his parents’
anger and disappointment.
He had planned to catch a flight back home the very day the security footage was exposed, but urgent matters abroad had forced him to stay. Now, three days later, he was finally here.
The lights at Reflections Villa had dimmed, signaling that most had retired for the night.
The security guard at the gate hurried to open it for him, “Welcome back, Mr. Collins.”
“Yeah,” Hans nodded in acknowledgment, “Thanks for staying up.”
“No trouble at all,” the guard said with a smile, bowing slightly as he welcomed Hans inside.
Hans noticed the servants packing up plants and flowers to be thrown out, all once favorites of Serena.