Chapter 121: Caroline’s Heart Sank

Twenty minutes later, Frederick sped into the hospital. By the time he arrived, Caroline’s wrist had been bandaged, and her emotions had stabilized; she lay asleep in the bed.

“General, Caroline’s wrist has been treated, and she’s currently unconscious,” Richard whispered, following Frederick into the room, careful not to wake her.

Frederick glanced at Caroline before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him. “What happened?” he asked Richard.

“This afternoon, after you fired those two shots, Caroline seemed a bit off. You asked me to look into it, so I had someone follow her,” Richard explained. “Fortunately, she collapsed alone on the stairs. Our people checked the surveillance footage and saw her leave her apartment, but then go into the stairwell and not come out for a long time.”

“They found her there after she attempted suicide. We brought her to the hospital, but she was already unconscious when we arrived,” Richard continued. “The doctors checked her over and said she’s fine for now. We’ll have to wait for her to wake up to understand why she did it.”

Frederick furrowed his brow as he peered through the glass at Caroline lying on the hospital bed. “What have you discovered?”

“We’ve only begun our investigation, but we’ve noticed that Caroline has been acting strangely in recent days. She often isolates herself at home and rarely goes out,” Richard reported. “When she does leave, she appears paranoid, constantly checking over her shoulder as if someone is following her. She seems particularly fearful of strangers.”

“She hasn’t been socializing at school either and hasn’t bothered with her appearance lately. Given her suicide attempt tonight, it’s clear she’s facing some serious mental health issues,” Richard concluded.

As Frederick absorbed this information, his hands instinctively clenched into fists, memories of Anna’s death flooding back to him. Four years ago, he had failed to protect Anna; now Caroline was in this state. How could Anna rest peacefully if she knew this was happening?

Frederick stood at the door of the hospital room, alternating between seeing Anna’s face and Caroline’s. Richard felt the heavy tension radiating from Frederick and remained silent beside him.

Three hours later, Caroline stirred awake with a gasp. Proderick had been standing at the door when he heard her; he quickly pushed open the door and rushed inside.

“Caroline? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t come near me! Stay away! Don’t touch me!”

Seeing Frederick made Caroline lash out in fear; she waved her arms wildly, trying to push him away.

“It’s me, Caroline! It’s Frederick!”

He grabbed hold of her flailing arms firmly yet gently.

“Frederick! It really is you!”

Caroline blinked in surprise before collapsing into Frederick’s embrace, sobbing as if the world were ending.

“What happened?” Frederick asked, his brow furrowing as he held her tightly while memories of Claire’s tears from yesterday clashed before his eyes. The sight of Caroline crying so desperately stirred a sense of unease within him.

She cried harder. “Frederick, just a few nights ago, someone was following me! I almost… Luckily, a police officer happened to pass by and saved me; otherwise… I would have…”

“Frederick, I feel like someone is watching my apartment! Lately, I’ve noticed someone following me everywhere! I’m really scared!”

Caroline didn’t explicitly blame Claire for what happened but knew that certain implications would lead Frederick to connect the dots himself. By mentioning that someone was watching her apartment, she knew Frederick would insist on moving her into Halfmoon Manor for safety. Once she was settled there alongside Diana’s plans and their schemes to feign illness, Claire wouldn’t stand a chance this time.

Just as Caroline reveled in her cleverness, Frederick turned to Richard and instructed firmly, “Richard, starting today, have someone watch over Caroline’s apartment all day.”

Caroline’s heart sank at his command!