: Chapter 16 Theodore lay on the hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask, with an IV drip in his hand. His face was as pale as paper. Just a day ago, he suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where it took a full half hour of emergency treatment to stabilize his vital signs. The attending physician looked grave: "Mr. Bagnall has been overworked for years, and his body has long been in a state of depletion." "If Ms. Acrea hadn't been constantly massaging Mr. Bagnall, preparing nutritious meals, and reminding him to rest, his health would have collapsed long ago." "Recently, he hasn't kept up with his medication, missed check-ups, played death racing, and his emotions have been too volatile. The impact on his body is severe. He must take good care of himself from now on." After the doctor left, Derek and the others returned with heavy expressions. But they saw that Theodore had already woken up at some point, pulled out his IV, removed the ECG electrodes, and taken off his oxygen mask. Derek was startled and hurried forward to stop Theodore. "Theo, your body hasn't recovered yet. Lie back down quickly! The doctor said you can't move anymore!" But Theodore seemed deaf to everything, like, a walking corpse, stubbornly trying to get out of bed and leave the ward. "Katherine... Katherine..." he kept muttering, his eyes unfocused. It was only after Derek had tried to persuade him until his mouth was dry that Theodore suddenly seemed to regain his soul, gripping Derek's hand tightly. His voice was dry and hoarse, like an old man on the verge of death: "Derek, tell me, Katherine must be fine, right? It was all just a dream, wasn't it?" By the end, his voice, usually calm and composed, had completely broken down. His eyes were so red they looked as if they might bleed. Derek was famous in their circle for his cloquence; as long as he was at the negotiation table, the deal was secure. Because of this, he became Theodore's most trusted right-hand man, helping Theodore accomplish many things. But now, it was as if something was stuck in Derek's throat. He couldn't say a word and even lowered his head, not daring to look at Theodore. 0.0% 09:44 The last spark in Theodore's eyes was completely extinguished. He let his hand fall weakly and gritted his teeth, saying, "Take me to see that cliff." Derek and the others looked at each other. Although they wanted to stop him, they knew that once Theodore made up his mind, no one could argue with him, so they agreed. The past few days had been overcast, but not a single drop of rain had fallen. The tire marks from Theodore's reckless drive to the cliff were still there, leading all the way to the edge, where one misstep would mean plunging into a sea of clouds below. At the edge of the cliff, a large patch of dried blood had spread out, with countless bloody footprints crossing over it. In the overgrown weeds, scattered bloodstained sticks lay around. Some iron rods had even been bent and broken from the beating, making one's scalp tingle just to look at them. Theodore, who had struggled to climb to the top, had looked deathly pale just moments ago, but now he seemed to have recovered. He walked over with chilling calm, squatted beside the bloodstain, and stared at the marks of painful struggle in the fingerprints, as well as the resolute traces of her leap off the cliff. After a long time, a line of tears fell from his eyes, tinged with the red of despair. "Theodore, why are you pretending? Wasn't it you who abandoned her? You even said, 'Do as you wish with her."" Morgan's maliciously mocking voice sounded from behind him. Derek and the others stiffened, but Theodore showed no reaction. "As soon as Isabelle spoke, you handed your fiancée over to me yourself. With so many men around me, do you real- ly think she could have survived unharmed?"