Chapter 123
The bodyguard was forced to pry open Irvin's small hand before carrying him away. Three hours earlier, Derick had covered Irvin's mouth and nose, causing him to faint. He then placed Irvin in a trash bag and carried him to the roof, subsequently throwing him into a cistern.
After sinking into the water, Irvin felt the cold and regained consciousness. Fortunately, Joanna had enrolled him in swimming lessons as a child. He quickly surfaced, but his small frame lacked stamina. He clung to a water pipe for three agonizing hours before the bodyguards finally rescued him.
"He's out!" someone shouted.
"Irvin!" Joanna rushed forward, her energy seemingly boundless.
Irvin was drenched and pale, his eyes wide with terror.
"Irvin, it's Mommy!" Joanna scooped him into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mommy?" Irvin, stunned and frightened, eventually broke down in tears. He had relied on sheer willpower to survive those three hours in the cistern, finding solace only upon seeing his mother. "Irvin, baby, it's alright! It's all Mommy's fault. I'm so sorry!" Joanna cried.
Bruce's heart ached as he witnessed her distress, his own eyes welling up. He embraced both Joanna and Irvin tightly. "Irvin is weak. We need to get him to the hospital immediately."
"Right, right! The hospital!" Joanna hurriedly carried Irvin toward the stairs. He was dangerously cold.
At that moment, she couldn't bring herself to blame Derick.
They rushed to the hospital. Twenty minutes later, Bruce, Joanna, and the others arrived.
"Doctor, please save my child!" Joanna pleaded.
Irvin was immediately taken to the emergency room. He was severely traumatized, but thankfully, his life wasn't in danger. Joanna, however, collapsed from exhaustion, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Joanna, are you okay?" Bruce caught her as he summoned a doctor.
Within a minute, Joanna was also admitted to the emergency room. Bruce paced anxiously outside, his heart pounding. After a while, the doctor emerged.
Joanna was then wheeled out by nurses.
"Doctor, is she alright? She was trembling uncontrollably," Bruce asked.
"She's suffering from hypoglycemia, exacerbated by the aftereffects of a sertraline overdose," the doctor explained.
"Sertraline? What's that?"
The doctor frowned. "It's a prescription medication; many women use it to treat depression."
Bruce's brow furrowed. Does Joanna have severe depression? But how is that possible? She's so strong.
"She's being admitted to a ward and given intravenous glucose. Her hypoglycemia is severe, so recovery will take time," the doctor added.
"I understand," Bruce replied.
Joanna was given an IV drip. Before the first bottle was finished, she awoke, wincing in pain as she accidentally touched the needle.
Bruce gently restrained her. "Don't get up. You're too weak."
Joanna, however, was consumed by worry for her son. Throwing off the pillow, she said, "I need to see my son! How is he?" She rushed out of bed, barefoot, toward Irvin's ward.
"He's fine, just frightened," Bruce assured her.
"No, I need to see him myself."
Unable to dissuade her, Bruce accompanied her to Irvin's ward. Irvin slept soundly, an IV line in his arm, unconscious but stable.
"Irvin, it's all Mommy's fault!" Joanna wept, clutching his hand. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him.
Bruce gently comforted her. "Joanna, don't cry. Irvin is safe now."
Suddenly, a new wave of anger washed over her. "Where's that bastard Derick? I'll kill him!"
"He's at the photography studio. I have people watching him," Bruce replied.
Joanna gritted her teeth, her body trembling with rage. "That crazy bastard will pay!" It's fine if they hurt me, but not my children!
Ingrid was still dealing with her cousins, who had brutally violated her, forcing her to undress and taking indecent photos, then subjecting her to humiliating "games." They had demanded two million dollars each for their silence, leaving her physically and emotionally broken.
Just as she was heading home, her phone rang, displaying several missed calls from an unknown number.
"Hello?" Ingrid answered.
"Mrs. Haynes, has Derick come home yet?" a frantic female voice asked.
Ingrid bristled at the lack of introduction. "Who is this? Introduce yourself."
"Oh, I'm Derick's girlfriend!"
Ingrid softened slightly. "Oh, you're the star."
"Some men in black took Derick away! They said Mr. Everett sent them. They were terrifying. He hasn't called me back, so I called you."
Ingrid felt a chill. "Men in black? Who are they?"
"I don't know," the girl sobbed.
Ingrid hung up, a dreadful premonition settling over her. Ignoring the pain, she raced to the garage and called Shaun.
"What? Lost all your money?" Shaun asked, surprised.
"No! Is Rick home?"
"No."
Ingrid's heart pounded. "Someone said Bruce took Rick!"
"Bruce? Why?"
"I don't know! Get Roxy to call Bruce and find out what's happening!"
Roxanne, overhearing, anxiously asked Shaun what was going on. He relayed the message, and she immediately called Bruce. After numerous unanswered calls, he finally picked up.
"Yes?" Bruce's voice was curt.
"Bruce, did you take my brother?" Roxanne asked, her voice trembling.
"What about it?"
Roxanne, sensing his anger, carefully asked, "Why? Did he make you angry?"
"No," Bruce replied.
"Where is he?"
Bruce glanced at Joanna, who remained silent and grim.
"Rick did something stupid. He'll probably be in jail for life!"
Roxanne was stunned. She questioned him again, but Bruce hung up.
Soon, Derick, bound to a stool in his underwear and badly beaten, was brought to the hospital's underground parking lot.
"Joanna, I brought Derick!"
Joanna kicked him, fury in her eyes. Derick fell, his head hitting the ground.
She grabbed a folding stool and began to violently assault him. "You bastard! Why did you hurt my child?!"
Bruce intervened. "He's guilty of attempted murder. He'll get twenty years."
Ingrid, Shaun, and Roxanne arrived, horrified by the scene. Ingrid's heart ached at Derick's condition; she confronted Joanna.
"Joanna, you bitch! You kidnapped my son!"
Joanna retorted, "Ask him what he did."
Shaun nervously approached Derick, who weakly cried out for help.