Chapter 0308

"No, don't tell me that," Sasha shook her head, her hand flying to her mouth. "Please don't tell me that, Rafael. Please, no. Tell me he's going to be fine."

Rafael's eyes glistened with tears as he answered, "I'm sorry, but I can't lie to you, as much as I wish things were different. His condition is very grave. The bullet pierced through some vital arteries connected to his heart. He lost a lot of blood as well, so he's going to need a blood transfusion."

"A blood transfusion? I remember him saying he was A+," Sasha said.

Desiree stepped forward. "I'm A+ as well. I will donate if it's necessary."

Rafael shook his head. "No, fortunately, his blood group is fairly common, and we have some in our blood bank. Even if we didn't, you wouldn't be able to donate blood due to your pregnancy."

"So, you have blood available for the operation?" Sasha questioned anxiously, and Rafael nodded. "Does that mean he's going to be alright once he gets the blood?"

Rafael looked even more tortured now as he answered. "It's not that easy, Sasha. His body might not even react well to the blood, and that could lead to further complications in the surgery."

"Oh, God! Oh, God!" Sasha cried out, turning towards Desiree. "He's dying, Des. He's dying."

Desiree immediately wrapped her arms around her best friend, rubbing her palm on her back soothingly. "Please calm down, Sasha. Damian is going to be fine, you'll see."

"Is he?" Sasha questioned in a voice so broken that they all exchanged looks. "I could've stopped him. Before he left, he asked me whether I was worried about him. I could've told him to stay with me, but I was so rude and cold to him."

"None of this is your fault, Sasha," Rafael assured her. "I know my best friend, and he's stubborn once he gets an idea inside his head. He would've appreciated your concern but would've still been restless without doing what he wanted to do."

Gerald could see that Sasha was shaking, so he looked at Desiree and signaled for her to have them sit on one of the couches.

"Sash, come here. Let's sit down for a bit so you can relax," Desiree said and slowly led the reluctant Sasha to the couch.

"She loves him," Rafael noted in a low tone after the ladies were seated.

"She does," Gerald nodded in agreement.

Just then, he noticed a grim-looking Matamoros emerging from one end of the hallway. Gerald quickly met him halfway so that they would be out of earshot of Desiree and Sasha.

"What is going on, Matamoros?"

He knew the man wasn't there because he was worried. He didn't exactly 'care' about Damian, so whatever had made him come must be another important reason.

"I had my men search in the bushes down the cliff where Liam Vidal fell, and guess what? They found no body. That bastard has gotten away," Matamoros gritted out under his breath, sounding pissed that he hadn't successfully killed Liam.

Gerald balled his hands in disbelief. After wounding his best friend so badly, that bastard had managed to get away despite being shot and falling down such a height?

"Are you sure they searched thoroughly?" Gerald questioned.

"My men are no incompetents," Matamoros hissed. "They found blood residues and trails on the ground, but they didn't find the bastard. From all indications, he was badly wounded, so he couldn't have escaped all on his own. He obviously had help waiting."

"Is something wrong?" Rafael asked as he stepped beside Gerald.

"They didn't find Liam Vidal's body. That bastard managed to get away," Gerald replied, his voice filled with carefully controlled rage and disbelief.

"Another one?"

Gerald looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"While you were away, Winter managed to knock out the officer that was guarding her door, and she has also escaped."

Gerald fumed. This was all he needed.

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Liam Vidal was lying in a bedroom on a bed in one of his secret cabins that only a few people knew about. He'd been 'operated' on just about two hours ago with the two bullets taken out and his shoulder bandaged, his arm in a makeshift sling.

He hadn't been able to risk going to a hospital, and there hadn't been enough time to call his personal doctor because he'd been in a lot of pain and was losing a lot of blood, so he'd allowed Renzo to operate on him instead with a knife and some stitches which were still on the nightstand.

Now he was in a hell of a pain, but he knew it could be much worse.

After Matamoros had shot him and he'd fallen down the cliff, he'd landed on a thick collection of bushes, which had cushioned his fall a bit.

Once he managed to catch his breath, he walked until he got to a road. With his gun in hand, he'd managed to stop a car and force the driver to drive under gunpoint because he felt too weak to drive.

He'd called Renzo on the way, and Renzo had swiftly come to get him. He'd had Renzo kill the driver afterwards because they couldn't risk any witnesses even though the driver had sworn that he wouldn't tell a soul.

A knock sounded on the door, and it opened to reveal Renzo who had his hand gripped around Winter's arms as he dragged her into the room.

“I brought her like you asked, boss,” Renzo said.

“Good,” Liam said as he braced his uninjured arm on the bed in an attempt to sit up. Still, the pain was immense, causing him to groan.

Renzo instantly rushed to his side. “Are you okay, boss?”

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Liam said, holding up his arm in rejection when Renzo tried to help him up. Groaning, he managed to get up himself before saying to Renzo, “Leave us alone. And don’t come in until I call for you.”

Nodding, Renzo walked out of the room, leaving Liam and Winter alone.

“My men said you refused to come when they told you I wanted to see you. Why is that?”

He stepped closer, but Winter recoiled, causing him to pause with a frown. “Why did you move away? Are you scared of me?”

“Do you have to ask?” Winter scoffed even as her eyes scanned him warily.

“No, you don't have to be scared of me, Winter. I'm not going to hurt you,” he said gently. “Butler told me that the day I gave you the fake results to give to him, he took you to another hospital, but the results there came out positive. Why didn't you tell me that you were really pregnant?”