He sighed with worry. “What about the breakfast that I’ve prepared for you this morning? Did you skip it?”
I scratched the tip of my nose and replied, “I ate, and I got hungry again soon after. I plan to eat more later.” The truth was, I did not eat breakfast as I was in a hurry.
He sighed once more helplessly. “You’re already a mother, yet you’re not taking good care of yourself. Should I get a nanny for you?”
I immediately rejected his offer. “We don’t need a nanny for now. I’m fine. I’m only two months pregnant. It would be better to wait till Summer’s recovery and at a later stage of my pregnancy. What do you say?”
He agreed as he knew that it would not be easy to convince me otherwise. “Sure. On the condition that you would start taking good care of yourself and our baby.”
I smiled, knowing that it was out of his concern for me. “Okay, I’ll take note. Let’s put this aside for now.”
While the waiter brought out the dishes, I took a bite and continued, “Do you know where the hospital is located? It’s within a factory in the suburbs. That building looked abandoned, but they built an operating theatre on the second floor of it. They had five doctors and a few wards as well. It’s inconspicuous – no passerby would’ve guessed it.”
“Hmm. An operating theatre in a factory – inconspicuous and could be shifted easily. It was indeed the perfect place. However, our focus now is to be careful. There had been several issues that occurred at the ports of Moranta. It seemed like the Murphys had intentionally caused the delay. Please be careful. Joseph will arrive within these few days. Keep in mind, safety first.”
I nodded in agreement. I had guessed that Armond had been keeping his eyes on the Fullers. He did not seem like the type to give up after one failure.
We chatted a while more before Ashton hung up, and I gobbled the food down. I planned to look for Hailey after.
If Armond chose to act up in Moranta while I create some trouble for Ashton in A City, he might not have sufficient energy left to deal with the issues at Moranta. Furthermore, Ashton had taken over the ports not long ago and need some time for things to settle down. Our plan had a high risk of falling through if Armond were to sabotage.
All of them were looking out for their own benefit. The illegal operating theatre was not a piece of substantial evidence to bring Armond down. We need to find a witness and the family members of those who supplied medical equipment to them as soon as possible.
At the hospital.
Upon arrival at the hospital, I saw Hailey packing while wearing a fur coat. I frowned and asked, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? What did the doctor say?”
She turned and was stunned to see me. “I’m fine. I’ve had this illness for quite some time already. I prefer to rest at home. I don’t like to be in the hospital.”
I sighed as I failed to convince her. “You need to take good care of yourself, especially now that you’re all alone. We have to accept that some things cannot be changed and carry on with our lives. You have to hang in there.”
She stopped her movement, turned to look at me, and replied, “Her name is Carmen.”
I was taken aback for a moment before I regained my senses and asked, “Did you manage to contact her parents? To compensate for the guilt you hold, why don’t you help to take care of her parents?”
She shook her head while her eyes started to turn red. “No. She’s an orphan. Dad brought her back from the orphanage. Her parents abandoned her at a young age, so Dad decided to let her stay with us.”
Orphanage?
Could it be that the child that Armond had been searching for came from the orphanage instead?
“Do you know which orphanage she came from?” That could be a clue as there would be records of the adoption at the orphanage.
She went through it in her head thoroughly and nodded. “Carmen never told me about it. She only briefly mentioned that she was from an orphanage.”
“Does your Dad know?” Hailey’s father might have gotten in touch with Armond. It could save a lot of trouble if he could stand in as a witness.
