Take My Breath Away

Adriana grabbed Damon by the ear and dragged him out of the ward. Even when the door was shut behind them, everyone could hear him pleading as she led him along the hallway. "Honey, be gentle. I just happened to drop by... Pepper Nian, that vicious bitch! Why did she bring you here? Oh, my ear..."

Inside the ward, Debbie grinned. 'Good. That's one down.'

Then, she shifted her gaze to Blair. Making eye contact with Debbie, Blair got the hint and bashfully walked towards Wesley, who had been staring at her the whole time. She held his hand and asked, "Go shopping with me? You promised. It's been too long since I had a new outfit." She winked at Wesley as she said this, hoping that he wouldn't call her out in front of the others. That would be embarrassing.

Wesley detected a slightly flirty, bratty tone. That was a rare thing for her. He wondered when he had promised to go shopping with her. But then, he cast a cold glance at Debbie. The woman was smiling innocently. Realizing what was going on, he turned to Blair and said icily, "Megan isn't safe yet. We'll go later."

'Megan again! He always puts Megan first.' Pulling a long face, Blair glared at Megan. The sick girl had been silent the whole time—probably out of fear. She didn't feel safe with Debbie here. The next second, Blair loosened her grip on Wesley's arm and pursed her lips. "Fine, forget it. I'll go on my own."

And with that, she spun around to leave.

Wesley reached out his hand to grab hers but the angry woman danced away. He couldn't believe it. 'What the hell? Her moods change quick.'

Despite that thought, he quickly followed after her. When he walked past Debbie, he cast a warning glance at her.

With a smug smile, Debbie raised her eyebrows and looked towards Blair's receding figure, beckoning him to follow. She had quite a head start.

'And that's two down, ' Debbie thought, discreetly giving herself a thumbs-up. Now, it was time to deal with the big boss. Without saying a word or doing anything, the big boss was powerful enough to send shivers down her spine with just a look.

When no one said anything, Yates broke the silence. Hands in his pockets, he walked towards Carlos and said casually, "Hi Carlos, I went to your company but they said you weren't in. Surprise! You're here. Guess who I bumped into today? Debbie! So what's up?"

'Bumped into? Are you kidding me?'

Carlos sneered, "Megan got food poisoning."

"Oh, I see. Sorry to hear that. How'd that happen? Is it bad?"

Yates asked Megan, feigning concern.

Megan shook her head. "No. Not fun, but not bad enough for the doctor."

Yates seemed relieved. "Good to hear it. It's just a little food poisoning. No sweat. I remember Debbie was hospitalized for stomach bleeding. She was there a whole week. But she didn't tell anyone." Yates deliberately brought up this to compare the two women. After he did, you could see the difference.

Both Megan and Debbie were at a loss for words.

'Stomach bleeding? Stayed in the hospital for a whole week?' This information caught Carlos' attention. On the outside, he was stony-faced as usual, but deep down, he felt his heart ache. He couldn't understand why.

The ward was quiet again. To stifle the awkward silence, Yates decided to open his mouth again. "Debbie, let's go. I don't get why you had to come here in the first place. Let's go see Piggy now." Yates took Debbie's wrist and led her towards the door.

"Stop!" Carlos' cold voice rang behind them.

There was power in that voice that froze their blood in their veins. His barked command was so laden with menace they stopped in their tracks and turned to look at the man.

"Debbie, explain yourself now." Carlos wasn't going to make things hard for her. But she had better have a good reason for everything.

Instead of responding, Debbie grinned and looked at Megan. "You want me to explain?" she asked.

In a fluster, Megan shook her head vigorously. "No. Uncle Carlos, it's not Debbie's fault..."

"Megan!" Stephanie finally opened her mouth and chipped in, "You're scared of something? You shouldn't. Your uncle Carlos is here."

Megan decided to clam up. She was afraid of the video on Debbie's phone.

Debbie walked up to Carlos and tidied him up. She straightened his collar, brushed lint off his shoulder, and tightened his tie. She smiled. "Time is money, so I'll be brief. You asked me to come here. So I'll turn the question around. Why did you want me here? To apologize to Megan? Or do you miss me?"

Stephanie's face darkened. "Just say what you're going to say. Don't touch my fiance."

"I touched your fiance?" Debbie didn't heed her warning but instead, wrapped her arms around Carlos' waist and leaned against his chest. She teased, "Do you want to know how your fiance touched me?"

Stephanie clenched her jaw, eyes burning with rage. How she wished she could strangle that slut!

'You bitch! You hit on him right to my face, ' she cussed in her mind.

Carlos pulled away from the naughty woman. "Get off me!" He straightened his clothing. "Megan's in the hospital thanks to you. Since your lawyer's here, you can ask him about the sentence for attempted murder."

"No. It's okay, Uncle Carlos. I'm fine. She didn't mean to do it," Megan hastily chimed in. Debbie had that incriminating video on her phone. She had Megan over a barrel. If they pushed too hard, the truth about the eggs would come out.

Megan's unusual reaction aroused Carlos' suspicions. It wasn't like her to give in like this, particularly to someone who bullied her. 'Let me guess...' he thought.

On the other hand, Debbie was still angry at Carlos' words. 'Get off me? Really? Why didn't you say that last night? Humph! Such a jerk!' she thought furiously. Taking a deep breath to calm down, she said to Xavier, "Mr. Huo's right. So, Xavier...what would the charge be for assault?"

Megan became visibly agitated, fidgeting and wincing. She pleaded, "Please, don't ask. Debbie, I'm sorry. I apologize. It's my fault!"

Nonetheless, Xavier cleared his throat and explained in his best professional manner, "Assault carries a sentence of no less than three years imprisonment, detention or public surveillance. But how this applies to Miss Lan..."

He paused and looked at Debbie. "Debbie, if you want, you could probably have her locked up..." Megan went as white as the sheets she lay on. "If you decide press charges, that is," he added. Of course, what Megan had done wasn't really that serious. But she pissed Debbie off. And now, that was the wrong move.

'Three years?' It reminded Megan of what happened with the hit-and-run car accident three years ago.

Panic-stricken, she began to pant, her face drained of all color. In no time, her breathing became faster and faster.

"Mr. Huo, stop staring at me. Take care of Megan. She's going into shock. Call the nurse," Debbie reminded Carlos coolly.

That was when everyone else finally realized that Megan had difficulty breathing. Carlos hastily pressed the nurse-call button to summon help. "Megan, you okay?" he asked with concern.

Wincing in pain, Megan curled up in the bed and stuttered, "I... I don't want to... go to jail..."

The doctors came in and gave Megan some first-aid treatment, and got her oxygen. Then, they wheeled her to the emergency room.

After that, Carlos glared at Debbie, who was idly leaning against the wall. "You've gone too far this time."

"Too far? Like three years ago? You don't get a say in this, old man. I'm filing charges," Debbie insisted. It had been three years, but Megan hadn't changed at all. She still was queen of the malicious bitches. Debbie aimed to knock the crown from her head.

"Xavier, do you seriously condone her behavior?" Carlos looked at Xavier with his dark eyes. The lawyer seemed to have a magic to make people forget his existence when he didn't speak.