Everyone Can Hear My Thoughts, and Now They're Panicking

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Now My Goal Is Truly Achieved

The expression on Claire Sheffield’s face gradually grew solemn. Others might have been lucky enough to avoid it, but that wouldn’t necessarily have been the case for him.

Today’s outcome was only possible because someone had intervened.

"Miss Lancaster, there’s no need to be so modest. I truly do owe my life to you." Claire Sheffield’s tone grew much more solemn.

When reviewing the events of that day, he had deduced there was a high probability he would have run right into the suspect. But a part of him had still clung to the hope that his luck wouldn’t be that bad.

But after hearing Jasper Sterling’s speculation, he had an inexplicable premonition that events would have undoubtedly unfolded in that very direction.

It was a foregone conclusion, a fact already set in the future. The spindle of fate had dropped, and he could not afford to indulge in the slightest bit of wishful thinking.

Claire Sheffield considered this. For such a profound debt, today’s thank-you gift felt far too trivial.

"Miss Lancaster, a life-saving debt demands a profound repayment. Once my hand is healed and I return, you must give me the opportunity to repay you properly."

Jasper Sterling smiled and poured a cup of tea for Claire Sheffield. "Dr. Sheffield knows how to repay a debt of gratitude. The future will surely be peaceful and prosperous for you."

Jane Lancaster, however, looked unconcerned. "What life-saving debt? Bumping into Lawson that day was an accident."

She paused before adding, "If you must thank something, thank my purse. The only reason I got into a tangle with him was because Lawson knocked it to the ground."

Claire Sheffield watched her, his brow slowly furrowing. "Is that really what happened?"

Jane Lancaster didn’t bat an eye. "Of course. You have no idea how much I love this purse. Genuine leather is terrified of water. Lawson thought he could just walk away with a simple apology? No way I was going to allow that."

There were no security cameras, either outside the hospital or in the fire stairwell. If she didn’t admit it, there was no evidence.

’I specifically avoided the cameras. If there really was evidence, the police would have found me by now.’

’After all, if I’d acted like I knew in advance that the stabbing was going to happen, they would have suspected me and interrogated me over and over again.’

Jasper Sterling was speechless.

’She wasn’t wrong. The police had indeed come close to suspecting her.’

’Her timing had been too coincidental, after all. It was inevitable that people would grow suspicious.’

’What he knew, and the police didn’t, was that Ethan Carter claimed she knew the suspect had a knife in his bag.’

’He had suppressed that detail. If she wanted to disappear from this whole affair, he could erase all traces of her involvement.’

’But how could he tell her that there was no need for guilt or self-reproach? The act of saving a person was, in itself, never wrong.’

’No one knew the suspect would be carrying two knives. Some bloodshed was unavoidable.’

’No lives were lost, and no irreversible harm was done. To have managed that with such limited information... she had already done an incredible job.’

"Very well." Claire Sheffield raised his tea, took a sip, and said nothing more.

—

After dinner, Claire Sheffield started to go settle the bill, but then he thought for a moment and turned back.

"This is a bit awkward. I may have to trouble you, Mr. Sterling." He gestured with his gauze-wrapped hand.

Jasper Sterling rose and followed him out.

Claire Sheffield stopped in front of the restaurant’s screen wall and looked up at him. "So? Did you achieve your objective today?"

That investigative file—it was Jasper Sterling who’d had it delivered into his hands.

Without it, this dinner might never have happened.

Jasper Sterling chuckled. "Dr. Sheffield, why be so defensive? At least the information I gave you was real. And as for my earlier speculation... if that had come to pass, it would have been a dead end for you."

Of course, Claire Sheffield knew he was telling the truth. The other man’s investigative file was no different from the information he already possessed.

That was precisely why he had insisted on hosting this dinner today, despite the inconvenience.

Seeing Claire Sheffield’s silence, Jasper Sterling suddenly asked, "What if I told you, Dr. Sheffield, that your original destiny was to be grievously injured, spend several months recovering in the ICU, and then, after cheating death, find you could never again hold a scalpel?"

Claire Sheffield’s pupils contracted sharply.

"On one side, a cold death. On the other, the price of a single hand. Which would you choose?" Jasper Sterling didn’t say any more.

He saw the answer in Claire Sheffield’s eyes.

Claire Sheffield’s voice was a bit hoarse. "I understand. Thank you."

If his predetermined fate was to lose a hand, he would rather die.

As the youngest and most promising chief physician, Claire Sheffield was utterly obsessed with medical research.

He had no interest in most things, kept no social circle, and wanted nothing more than to spend his days treating patients or working on research projects.

Ethan Carter had spread those rumors about Claire Sheffield out of pure resentment, feeling it was unfair. He believed that for Claire to be promoted so quickly at such a young age, he must have been acting as some wealthy patron’s pretty boy.

He’d also looked into Claire Sheffield’s family background: a single-parent household from a dirt-poor county. His own family was leagues better, yet this guy had somehow climbed right over their heads.

He couldn’t believe Claire Sheffield could be that exceptional, so his only recourse was to attack his family background and good looks.

But Claire Sheffield knew the truth: it was the result of him pushing his professional skills to their absolute peak.

He was lauded as a medical genius, but that came at the cost of sacrificing all social life and entertainment.

If he could no longer practice medicine or conduct research, he wouldn’t know what meaning his life had left.

As Claire Sheffield was preparing to leave, Jasper Sterling suddenly spoke up. "Now, my objective has truly been achieved."

Claire Sheffield turned to meet his gaze, surprised by the frankness in his eyes.

"Is that so? Congratulations, then."

As Claire Sheffield walked out of the restaurant, someone quickly caught up and began tailing him.

"Who sent you?" Claire Sheffield frowned.

"The family was worried. After all, your hand is injured, and besides, that man’s intentions are questionable..."

From their perspective, that investigative file from Jasper Sterling seemed to have malicious intent, no matter how you looked at it.

The family didn’t object to repaying a debt of gratitude, but not if it meant being used or manipulated by someone with ulterior motives.

"This is Jasper Sterling we’re talking about. The man is unfathomably cunning. Countless people have been ruined by him. We must be careful..."

"Is that so? I, on the contrary, find him to be someone worth associating with," Claire Sheffield said calmly.

’Unfathomably cunning? Sometimes, you can’t trust rumors.’

The person behind him paused, then added, "Also, about that eldest daughter of the Lancaster family, there have been some unsavory rumors lately..."

Clearly acting on instructions, the person spoke in a rush: "How can things be so coincidental? How does she just happen to run into every violent incident? And happen to be the hero every time? There are too many suspicious elements to this story..."

"There is nothing suspicious about this matter," Claire Sheffield interrupted, clearly displeased.

"She is my savior. That is beyond doubt. If anyone else wants to question her motives, they can take a knife, cut themselves a few times, and then come back and ask."

Complete silence descended behind him.

Claire Sheffield understood his family’s concern and suspicion. They thought he was showing too much concern for Jane Lancaster.

He had always been one to maintain professional boundaries, never getting too involved with patients. His interest in Jane Lancaster was because she was a special case.

The doctors and nurses at the hospital had sighed in envy more than once, remarking how fortunate Miss Lancaster was. She had a good family, three doting brothers, and a wealthy fiancé who was unfailingly devoted to her.

If he hadn’t been one of Jane Lancaster’s attending physicians, he might have thought so, too.

After Jane Lancaster woke up, she spent three months in rehabilitation before she could finally go home.

The rehabilitation process was long and painful, like having your bones broken and reset over and over. Even the most resolute person would struggle to withstand it.

Therefore, crying, breaking down, getting frustrated, and complaining were all perfectly normal. Pain, after all, requires an outlet.