Chapter 13 Catching Thea Being Intimate With Another Man

Skylar questioned Lucy, "Are you sure it was Elaine who transferred you that money?" He knew better than anyone how much Elaine cared about Eric. If she had a hundred thousand dollars, she would've paid Eric's hospital bills herself yesterday. Seeing Lucy momentarily speechless, Thea interjected softly, "On the way here just now, Lucy told me that a man with the last name Middleton transferred her the money. He even called afterward to confirm. Lucy, you must be mistaken. I'm sure that gentleman has nothing to do with Ms. Shelton. Why would Ms. Shelton ever ask you to do something like that?" Lucy instantly seized the cue. "Yes, yes, that's right! I just panicked and forgot. Ms. Shelton said she'd send me money, and it really did come through. After that, a man called to check whether I had received it. I remember hearing someone calling him Middleton in the background…" Elaine gave a cold laugh. "You're not trying to say it was Dr. Marcus Middleton, are you?" Lucy immediately nodded. "Yes, yes! Now I remember. They called him Dr. Middleton." Elaine sneered. "Thea, you really are disgusting. Fine, let's bring Dr. Middleton here and confront him. Have the bank check his transfer records. A hundred thousand dollars isn't a small sum. There's no way there wouldn't be any record, right?" Thea hadn't expected Elaine to truly be unable to produce a hundred thousand dollars, so she casually dragged Marcus into it. Naturally, this matter wouldn't hold up under scrutiny. Skylar's expression darkened as he cut her off. "Enough. If he wanted to help you, he could've used someone else's bank account. There might not be any records at all. Elaine, I saw him pay a hundred thousand dollars in advance for Eric's hospital fees yesterday. It'd be easy for you to ask him for another hundred thousand, wouldn't it?" At this point, he no longer cared about the truth. Whether Elaine had bribed Lucy or whose foot had stepped on Elaine's hand simply didn't matter to him anymore. What mattered was that Marcus had dropped his own work to bring Elaine to the hospital. He personally cared for her and even incited her to divorce Skylar by introducing a lawyer to her. An outsider like him had no right to meddle in their marriage. He could hardly imagine how Elaine had secretly pleased Marcus to make him willingly fork out a hundred thousand dollars for Eric's hospital fees. The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. "There's nothing left to investigate. Elaine, I believe Thea and Lucy. You've been faking pity and seducing that doctor over and over again. I'm warning you, don't use the excuse of 'finding out the truth' to secretly meet that doctor again. Otherwise, not only will I bring Agatha's ashes back, but I'll make sure Eric gets kicked out of this hospital too!" Thea swayed slightly, leaning against Skylar. She pressed her pale fingers to her temple as she murmured, "Sky, don't say that. It's all my fault. I'm the reason things have spiraled into this mess between you two. I… I really…" Lucy hurried over and played along. "Ms. Lancelot, what's wrong? Are you having stomach pains again? Yesterday, the doctor said that your body suffered serious damage after your miscarriage. You might never be able to have children again." Thea immediately interrupted her, "Lucy, don't say any more." Skylar frowned. "Is that really what the doctor said?" Lucy nodded fearfully and said nothing more. Skylar supported Thea as they headed toward another ward. Before leaving, he cast a cold glance at Elaine. "You'd better make sure I never catch you secretly meeting with him again. Stop putting on that pathetic look." Elaine turned her gaze away and didn't look at him again. Her chest ached so badly that she couldn't tell if it was from her illness or pure rage. Sometimes, she wondered if she had committed some grave sin to deserve the torment Skylar was putting her through. The ward finally fell quiet. The air inside was dry and warm. Elaine was utterly exhausted and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. At some point, a nurse came in to change her dressings, but she barely woke up. By the time she opened her eyes again, it was already night. The sky outside the window was pitch-black. She struggled to sit up, wanting to go downstairs to check on Eric's condition. She slipped on her shoes and left her ward. She passed the ward next door and saw that the hallway was deserted. The door to the adjacent ward was slightly ajar. Inside, she heard Thea talking to a man. The man's voice sounded oddly familiar, although Elaine couldn't recognize it at first. She had no intention of eavesdropping, but then she heard the man's words drifting into the corridor. "After all, that was our child. It's a pity we lost them. But hey, that idiot Skylar wanted you to carry the child anyway, right? You could've just pretended to nearly miscarry and used it to make him punish Elaine for you. Why go as far as taking pills and losing the baby for real?" That was a bombshell. Elaine quietly stood outside the door, leaning closer to catch what was being said inside. At that moment, she finally recognized the man's voice. It was Elliott Nagel, Skylar's stepmother's younger brother. After Skylar's birth mother passed away, his father, Joshua Frey, married a woman only a year older than Skylar. She had once been Joshua's mistress but eventually became his legal wife. Thea cooed, "I know you care about this baby, but the doctor told me before that the pregnancy wouldn't last. I have a tendency to miscarry. Speaking of which, isn't it your fault? You never used protection all those years abroad. Didn't you know that too many miscarriages would make it impossible for me to conceive a healthy pregnancy?" Elaine felt a loud buzzing in her head. No wonder she had overheard a doctor saying that Thea's injuries shouldn't have been severe enough to cause a miscarriage after the car accident. It turned out she had taken abortion pills in advance and was prone to miscarriages to begin with. Elliott laughed as he soothed Thea. "Alright, alright, it's my fault. Don't worry. We can always try again for another baby. It's not like Skylar's even touching you these days. Next time you get pregnant, just find a way to get him drunk and say the baby is his. With that kid as leverage, maybe we'll figure out a way to get our hands on Frey Holdings someday." Stealthily, Elaine switched on her phone's recording function. Inside the ward, Thea's voice rose again. "I'm afraid there won't be another chance. The doctor told me in private that after this miscarriage, I wouldn't be able to have children at all. I've miscarried too many times. Lucy is with me as my housekeeper now. I've already told her to let Sky know. He must hate Elaine to death right now." Elliott sounded displeased. "Sky? Why are you calling him so affectionately? Thea, you're not lying to me, are you? Don't tell me you're thinking of getting back together with Skylar now that he trusts you and cares about you again." Thea pouted playfully. "Don't be silly. You know exactly how I feel." Their voices faded away, replaced by muffled moans and intimate sounds. They were clearly starting to kiss. Elaine felt a wave of nausea. Her phone was still recording when an advertisement text message suddenly popped up. By the time she realized her phone wasn't muted and fumbled to silence it, the door to the ward had already been thrown open. At this late hour, the hospital floor was nearly deserted. It was the VIP floor, with few patients around. The nurses at the station were half-dozing off. Elliott and Thea stepped out, exchanging a look before silently advancing toward Elaine. Before she could cry out, Elliott clamped a hand over her mouth. He grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her into the nearest ward. Elliott had once practiced martial arts alongside Skylar to win his favor. Besides, as a grown man, he was far too strong for Elaine to fight off. He hauled her into her own ward and shoved her down onto the bed. Pressing her beneath him, he gave a chilling smile. "Ms. Shelton, since you've heard things you weren't supposed to…"