Chapter 475: Embracing Reality
By this time, Mr. York had just fallen asleep not long ago. Hearing his phone ringing, he woke up groggily. Once he saw Michael’s name on the screen, he became alert.
When the call was connected, without waiting for Mr. York to say anything, Michael spoke immediately, "Gather everyone immediately to find Wendy."
"Okay," Mr. York replied instantly when he heard that Wendy was missing.
After the call, Michael turned to the nurse and said, "Bring me to the surveillance room. I want to see the footage." If Wendy left the hospital, the surveillance cameras would have captured that and he would know what time she left.
"Erm..." Although the nurse was a little intimidated by Michael, she was still only a nurse. She said cautiously, "I don’t have the authority to lead you to check on the surveillance footage."
"Then bring me to someone who has the authority," Michael demanded. It would be the most efficient way to see when Wendy left the hospital and which direction she went.
He brought a hundred bodyguards. Despite the number of people he could mobilize, Rheinsville City was huge. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, especially when they had no clue where she went.
"At this time, the hospital only had doctors on duty. I..." Michael did not have the time and patience to listen to the nurse. To him, every second was crucial. Wendy had not been stable emotionally the past few days, and Michael did not manage to talk to her properly. Furthermore, he was not sure what Todd told Wendy. Michael was worried that Wendy would do something rash. It was also why Michael insisted on keeping watch personally outside the ward.
He had never thought that Wendy would sneak out when he fell asleep. Michael blamed himself for sleeping too soundly. He should not have slept in the first place.
Michael went behind the nurse swiftly, and with one hand, he gripped her neck from behind. With a threatening tone, he said, "Take me to the surveillance room now.
Otherwise, don’t blame me for getting rough."
"Mister, this is a hospital. What you are doing is illegal." The nurse was very terrified that she trembled. "I can contact the authorized personnel, but at this time, they were probably asleep."
"I don’t have time for this. Bring me to the surveillance room." Michael did not have the luxury of waiting for the nurse to contact the so-called personnel. It would take up a lot of time for approvals.
Michael tightened his grip a little more, and the nurse quivered more.
Michael retorted, "Don’t worry. As long as you bring me to the surveillance room, I won’t hurt you. Besides, the patient has gone missing from your hospital. If anything happens to her, I will sue the hospital until it goes bankrupt."
The nurse knew that she could not convince Michael otherwise, and it was a fact that the patient went missing in the hospital. There was no way the hospital could get away with it. Finally, she gave in. "I’ll lead the way."
Soon, Mr. York reached the hospital as well. From the surveillance footage, it showed Wendy leaving the hospital at 12:45 AM. Michael looked at his watch. It was 1:25 AM.
This meant that Wendy left 40 minutes ago. From the footage, they could tell that Wendy exited from the north wing entrance.
Michael turned to Mr. York. "Send more people to search the vicinity near the north wing, and Wendy was wearing the patient gown. Tell them to look out for it."
"Yes, Mr. Lucas." Mr. York nodded and started making calls at once.
...
The surveillance cameras only captured footage within the hospital. They could not track Wendy once she got out of the hospital compound. Michael did not waste time looking through the surveillance footage as the information they could get was limited.
Before leaving the surveillance room, he said to the hospital personnel, "The patient went missing from your hospital. I hope you can send some resources to help look for her. If anything happens to her, you are going to have a hard time too."
In the middle of the night, there were not many staff in the hospital, except for those on duty. The nurse and the security guards exchanged glances and nodded.
Michael could not be bothered to wait and see if they were really going to help or they were just patronizing him. He walked briskly toward the exit as he wanted to go look for her personally. The more people they had in the search party, the higher the chances of finding Wendy. He wouldn’t be able to sit around and wait for news.
Michael’s pace quickened. He mumbled to himself as he walked, "Why did I fall asleep? I shouldn’t have done so." As he mumbled, he suddenly gave himself a slap in the face.
Mr. York, who was right behind Michael, saw his action and comforted him immediately, "Mr. Lucas, don’t be too hard on yourself. No one expected this to happen. You have not rested in the past few days. No matter how strong your body is, it is inevitable that you rest."
"There are so many of you. Why did no one notice Wendy leaving the hospital?"
After blaming himself, he directed his frustration to Mr. York.
"Erm..." Mr. York did not know what to say. Michael was the one who told them he would keep watch himself. Though they had a hundred manpower on hand, they could not possibly stay on guard outside the hospital all day long. Mr. York was aware that Michael just needed to vent it out as he was really worried for Wendy, so he kept quiet.
"Oh, have you made a police report yet?" Michael questioned. "If not, please do so now. They should be able to send some help."
"Not yet. I will take care of it." With that, Mr. York picked up his phone to make the call.
Michael was walking fast. His mind was racing, but he tried his best to remain calm.
His biggest worry was that Wendy would commit suicide because she could not take the shock after knowing the truth about that night. Hence, it was critical for Michael to find her as soon as possible.
’Oh, right, there is also Todd...’ Michael thought of him.
Todd had some influence and connections in Rheinsville City, so he could provide some help too.
But he fell out with Todd... Michael did not hesitate any longer. He pulled out his phone and dialed Todd’s number. To Michael, Wendy was more important than their personal grudge.
The phone rang for a while before someone picked up.
Todd saw that it was Michael calling. He answered in disdain, "Mr. Lucas, a call from you late at night. What a miracle."
Michael disregarded Todd’s contempt and went straight to the point, "Wendy is missing. Can you send some people to help find her?"
"What did you say?" Todd was awakened by the call earlier. Now, he was completely awake. "Why did Corrine go missing? Aren’t you at the hospital the whole time? How can you let her go missing?"
"There is no time for this. I am begging you to send out all your resources to help look for Wendy." With hopes to find her as soon as possible, Michael had put his pride aside. He could even beg Todd, the one he had just quarreled with.
Todd would not want something to happen to Wendy too. The call from Michael in the middle of the night showed how serious the matter was.
...
Todd did not say anything more and hung up. He called his assistant and got him to gather all the manpower available to look for Wendy. He then got out of bed.
Without changing out of his pajamas, he grabbed his car keys and left the house.
Michael had already run out of the hospital. He stood at the exit of the north wing for a while. He glanced around, clueless of where Wendy could go. Michael was not familiar with Rheinsville City and Wendy’s lifestyle in this country. He had no idea which spots she frequented. The surveillance footage was of little help.
Michael said in a low voice, "Wendy, where are you exactly?" Despair and helplessness were apparent in his voice. He set off and started his search in the night.
There were only a few people out on the streets. Michael looked around carefully near the north wing exit. After a while, Mr. York received a call from one of their men. "You found Mrs. Lucas?" Mr. York asked agitatedly.
Michael was way ahead of Mr. York, anxiously looking around so he did not hear what Mr. York said on the phone.
Mr. York ran up to Michael and shouted, "Mr. Lucas, they found Mrs. Lucas!"
"Really? They found her?" Michael stopped in his tracks when he heard Mr. York. He turned around and grabbed onto Mr. York’s shoulders and asked frantically, "Where is she?"
"She is sitting by the river there." Mr. York pointed to the riverbank ahead of them as he replied.
Without any delay, Michael dashed toward the river. Indeed, Wendy was sitting by the riverside alone. Although he could only see her back view, Michael could tell instantly that it was her. The bodyguard who found her stood a distance away from her.
Wendy looked lonely and weak from the back. Her patient gown fluttered as the night wind blew. Wendy was really slim. She looked as if she could be blown away by the wind.
"Wendy!" Michael shouted.
The next moment, Michael ran toward her and said, "Wendy, why did you come out all by yourself? Luckily, you are alright..." Michael’s voice started to waver. When he realized that Wendy was missing from the ward, he was really terrified. He was afraid that Wendy would do something silly and he would never see her again. Michael pulled Wendy into his embrace and hugged her tightly.
"Wendy, I know it’s not easy to move past what Clement had done to you. But that is in the past. Let’s leave it behind us and move forward together, okay?" he comforted Wendy. "Don’t you ever think about ending your life. Even if it is not for me, think about the kids, Leah and Jake. They have been waiting for us to go back to Lake City."
Wendy felt a little suffocated by Michael’s tight hug. She tried to break away, but she realized that Michael did not have any intention to loosen his grip.
Wendy heaved a sigh and said, "I wasn’t thinking of ending my life."
"Right, right. Of course not," Michael replied. "That’s good then."
Wendy could tell from Michael’s tone that he did not believe her. She raised her hand to nudge Michael. "Can you let go of me first? I can’t breathe."
Michael released his grip and let Wendy catch her breath. "Sorry."
Under the street light, Wendy saw how worried and tensed up Michael was. She thought for a while and explained, "I really wasn’t trying to end my life. I just couldn’t sleep, so I came out for some fresh air."
...
Michael looked at Wendy seriously. Subsequently, he looked towards the river.
"You didn’t think I was going to jump into the river, did you?" Wendy said.
Michael hesitated but nodded his head eventually. When he saw Wendy sitting alone by the river, he was really afraid that Wendy would jump down.
"I was too bored at the hospital, so I went out for a walk. I chanced upon this river and decided to sit here for a while," Wendy explained again.
"Then why didn’t you tell me?" Michael asked worriedly.
"You were deeply asleep. I did not want to wake you up." When Wendy stepped out from her ward, she saw Michael sitting on the floor by the door. A tall man with his body leaning against the wall and curled up into a ball..." he must really be exhausted. Wendy did think about waking him up and getting him to sleep in the ward instead, but she knew if she had done so, she would not be able to take a stroll outside. Besides, he was finally able to rest after a few days of sleepless nights.
What if she woke him up and he had a hard time going back to sleep afterward? That was why Wendy decided to come out on her own. But she did not expect to cause such a big commotion.
Michael observed Wendy carefully. He could not tell if Wendy was telling the truth.
Even if it was the truth, he was still bothered. He could not let anything happen to Wendy. If she had any mishaps, he would not be able to forgive himself for the rest of his life. Afterall, Wendy sneaked out while he was keeping watch.
"Wendy..." Michael held on to both Wendy’s hands tightly. He said seriously, "No matter what you were thinking, I am begging you, promise me that you won’t do anything rash. Think of me... think of the kids... If anything happens to you, what will become of us?"
Wendy looked at this man who was so worried about her. His eyes were bloodshot, and the warm hands holding hers were trembling uncontrollably. She knew for a fact that Michael was truly concerned about her.
She looked down slightly as she did not dare to look Michael in the eyes. Wendy said apologetically, "I’m sorry. I did not think too much into it. I merely wanted to come out for some fresh air."
"Do you still want to stroll? Is there anywhere else you want to go?" Michael asked.
"Let me accompany you."
Seeing how thin Wendy’s patient gown was, Michael let go of her hands and took off his jacket. He threw his jacket over her shoulders.
Wendy took a deep breath. In her heart, she knew Michael had been worried the past few days. There were things that she had to face eventually. Running away from them only provided short relief. They needed to talk things out.
"Michael, let’s have a chat." This was the first invitation from Wendy to have a proper chat with Michael since the incident. Previously, every time she saw Michael, she would get agitated and anxious. She had thought through many things in the couple of days. It was time to embrace reality. No matter what the outcome was, there had to be a closure.
"Okay," Michael agreed immediately without hesitation. It was a good start that Wendy initiated to have a chat. Michael feared that she would spiral down in her own emotions and refuse to communicate. If that happened, Michael would not havethe chance to guide her toward the right direction.
If she had been willing to talk to Michael earlier, he would not have to pin his hopes on Todd.
