Chapter 52

Vance gave Abigail a meaningful glance, then turned to Gabriel and said sternly, “Mr. Gibson, please remain quiet in a hospital–loud arguments are strictly prohibited. Today, a senior executive is coming for an inspection, and if he sees a commotion like this, it’s going to reflect very badly. He is known for his unyielding principles. If he finds out about this, not only will the transfusion be out of the question, but the hospital might not even admit her at all.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of the Gibson and Fletcher families turned pale. Gabriel shot Abigail a furious glare but said nothing, his face dark with displeasure.

Vance then looked at Abigail and said gently, “Miss, if you don’t feel comfortable here, you’re welcome to come to my office. Don’t worry. Our hospital would never allow forced blood transfusions.” It was clear that he was trying to reassure Abigail.

Abigail’s heart stirred at his words. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Vance had come here for her. This confused her, as she didn’t know him at all. Still, she could tell he didn’t mean her any harm. And the idea of going to his office seemed a lot better than staying here. So after only a brief hesitation, she agreed. “Alright. Thank you, Mr. Hampton.”

Recalling the instructions he had been given, Vance immediately beamed. “You’re welcome. Let’s go.”

Abigail walked away decisively, not caring at all about how upset her family looked. On the way back to his office, Vance watched as Abigail looked around. With a smile, he asked, “Ms. Gibson, how do you find our hospital?”

Abigail froze for a moment and then realized something. “Wait, Mr. Hampton–how did you know my last name?”

Vance’s smile stiffened, and his eyes darted away. “I took a lucky guess. You look somewhat like Mr. and Mrs. Gibson.”

“Is that so?” Abigail said with a slight frown. She didn’t see any resemblance between herself and the Gibsons, but she acknowledged that others might.

“Yes, of course,” Vance replied hurriedly, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Abigail glanced at him and remarked, “Mr. Hampton, you seem nervous.”

“No, no, not at all. I’m just a little warm,” Vance said quickly.

Abigail gave him a knowing look but let it slide. Vance finally let out a relieved breath, but before he could fully relax, Abigail suddenly asked, “How is Daniella’s condition?”

Abigail couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. My parents and Stephen let me leave with the director so easily. The only explanation is that Daniella is not as badly hurt as they claimed, she thought.

“It’s not that serious,” Vance replied. “Although we don’t have any Rh-negative blood in our blood bank at the moment, it won’t take long to get it transferred here. Ms. Daniella Gibson could certainly wait, but…”

“But they didn’t want to wait and forced her to come here for a transfusion,” Abigail finished for him. Anyone who didn’t know better would be touched by the deep love Gabriel and Bianca had for Daniella. If I weren't their real daughter, she might have felt so too.

Her mind drifted back to three years ago, to the exact moment her parents learned of Daniella’s car accident. They’d left her behind, bolting to Daniella, utterly forgetting her existence. She’d felt like some discarded toy, never loved.

Vance, who knew about her family situation, looked at her with deep sympathy. “Ms. Gibson, some people simply don’t deserve to be parents.”

Abigail forced a faint smile, taking a deep breath to steady her emotions. ‘They have what it takes to be parents,’ she thought, ‘It’s only me they don’t want to take parental responsibility for.’

Her eyes grew a little misty, but she swallowed hard and forced the feelings back. A moment later, she was calm again. “Thank you, Mr. Hampton.”

Vance looked uneasy and waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, no need to thank me. I’m just following orders. Ms. Gibson, my office is right up ahead–go on in. I have to report to my boss now.”

Abigail asked instinctively, “Who is your boss?” She immediately regretted asking and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Hampton, I didn’t mean to pry…”

Vance smiled, “Ms. Gibson, my boss prefers to keep a low profile. Please, go on inside.”

Abigail pressed her lips together and shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m leaving now. And regardless of whether you’re just following orders, I still want to thank you–and your boss.”

Hearing this, Vance grew visibly anxious. “Why leave so soon? Don’t you find the surroundings pleasant? If you’d rather not go to the office, perhaps you’d like to take a walk around instead?”

‘The boss didn’t say if he wanted to set up a chance encounter,‘ Vance mused, ‘but given the special attention he’s giving Abigail, he’s definitely got a thing for her. His resolve to keep Abigail there grew stronger.

Abigail studied him, confused. ‘If I’m not mistaken, Mr. Hampton seems unusually eager to keep me here. Is it because of his boss?‘ she thought.

Then she said, “Alright, I’ll take a walk downstairs. Don’t worry about me, Mr. Hampton–you go ahead and report to your boss.”

Relieved at last, Vance nodded with a smile and hurried off without waiting for Abigail to leave. As he walked away, Abigail’s gaze instinctively followed him, and she glimpsed a familiar figure darting past. When she looked again, the figure was already gone.

‘Was I just seeing things?‘ she wondered, freezing in place. ‘Could that have been him? It doesn’t make sense. He asked if I was free today–he wouldn’t have planned to bring me to the hospital, would he? So, I was just seeing things?‘

But no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, Abigail just couldn’t shake the feeling that the person just now was the person she believed.

‘But if it was him,’ she thought, ‘why would he be avoiding me? We’re not exactly close, but we’ve never had a problem.‘

Biting her lip, she pulled out her phone, tapped open the message window almost unconsciously, and sent a message.