Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 38: A Taste of War

’Beep, beep, beep...’

There was continuous beep in the luxurious ward of the hospital. Alaric exhaled once Aveline slipped to slumber. He carefully removed the headphones from her head and watched her relaxed, petite face.

But just a few minutes ago, there had been chaos.

~~~

Amelia started IV and administered the medicine. Then she connected the monitoring devices for Aveline’s kidney, heart, and blood pressure. But with every passing second, Aveline’s heart rate climbed dangerously.

The room was filled with haunting beeps of machines.

Within seconds, Aveline began gasping, struggling to even breathe, "Remove these... Remove these." She panicked, startling the nurses and Amelia.

Amelia was stunned. It hadn’t even been two minutes. Far too soon for such strong side effects.

Alaric quickly grabbed Aveline’s hands before she could yank out the cords. He hurriedly asked, "What’s happening?" Worry rang clear in his voice as he looked at her sweat-dotted face.

Aveline tried to cover her ears. Her voice was ragged between shallow breaths, "Beeps... Beeps..."

Without hesitation, Alaric turned off the machines.

Only when the beeps stopped did Aveline finally breathe. Slowly, she realized her erratic reactions.

The silence that followed was louder than the alarms.

Aveline composed herself under the several gazes. Amelia remained quiet, and Alaric simply gestured to Ezra for headphones from his car.

After what felt like an eternity, Aveline asked, "Are those required?" Her hand pointed towards the monitors.

Amelia nodded, "You must be monitored throughout the IV administration. I’m sorry, but it’s non-negotiable."

Aveline swallowed hard. She tried to convince herself it was a treatment, but her body trembled, remembering the day she died painfully.

Then Alaric stepped in closer, almost startling her. He gently placed the headphones on her head and handed her his phone with a music app open.

She stared at him. He didn’t speak. He nodded once.

Something inside her shifted. She didn’t want to feel it. Didn’t want to name it.

But the small warmth snuck in anyway, and she hated that it did.

She chose a random track and let the volume drown out the world. She closed her eyes and tried to breath, slow and steady.

Amelia switched the machines back on and relaxed only when all the readings stabilized. She nodded to Alaric and stepped out of the room.

Alaric followed.

"That’s PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." Amelia said quietly, "She needs a therapist, Ric."

Alaric could only nod. As far as he knew, Aveline had never endured something that could break her like this.

Should he ask her?

But the look on her face when she realized her own reaction had said it all.

No, he wouldn’t ask. And he didn’t ask Ezra to investigate her past either.

~~~~

Alaric barely sat when he heard a familiar voice, "You have become a Manny." He sat anyway.

Giselle’s eyes scanned the machines and the IV around Aveline, then turned to Alaric. Ezra had told her Aveline had fainted, hence they were in the hospital.

She nodded at her associate. "Please wait outside."

The man, likely in his late thirties, nodded and left.

Giselle sat across from Alaric, "This couldn’t be a small concussion." She demanded a response to learn why Aveline asked for her instead of resting.

Alaric gestured toward the reports on the coffee table.

As Giselle skimmed through each file, her face darkened. She slapped the file back down. "He should be hanged to death," she hissed.

She checked her wristwatch, stood, and walked out.

...

Fifteen minutes later, she returned with the cops.

They glanced at the sleeping woman on the bed while Giselle grabbed the reports from the table.

"These are the reports. I’m Aveline Laurent’s lawyer." She nodded towards Alaric, "CEO Lancaster admitted. By the time my client wakes up, please take the statements."

Alaric stepped outside to give a statement. Amelia followed, providing the full medical report. And Aveline remained asleep. Thus the police departed to start taking actions.

Henry, Charles, and Mike rushed into the hospital. Amelia, still stuck after her shift, explained everything again to the three.

Shortly after, Margaret arrived, panicked and shaking. Henry was already losing his composure after hearing about the slow poisoning, but when Margaret collapsed from the shock, he had to tend to her.

Mike clenched his jaw. He had received a message long ago, warning him to keep the secret. So he did, other than making calls as Henry directed.

...

In the room, Charles sat watching Aveline rest. He turned to Alaric, "Thank you, CEO Lancaster. We’ll take care of Aveline from here forward." He subtly bowed, showing respect and gratitude for everything he did for Aveline.

Alaric refrained from punching Charles in the face. Not because he was asked to leave. Charles just had to ask his own friends about Damien to learn about Vivienne Sinclair. It could have saved Aveline from this nightmare.

Anyway, he spared Charles because he did love his sister.

He glanced at Aveline, who was faking her sleep, and quietly left the room. Then the hospital.

Aveline opened her eyes once Henry returned with calm Margaret.

"Lina..." Charles, sitting beside her, stood. Relief eased on his face, "I’ll call the..."

Aveline stopped him, her hand weakly reaching for his, "It’s- It’s alright. I’m fine."

She tried to sit up. Charles gently pressed her back and raised the upper bedrest.

Margaret and Henry rushed to her.

"Lina...." Margaret wept, gripping Aveline’s hand. "What happened to you, sweetheart? How could I stay angry at you?..."

Aveline could see the shine of tears in Henry’s eyes as he caressed her head.

"Mom, I’m fine. I will be fine." Her feeble voice was almost perfect.

However, it fueled Henry’s rage. But he didn’t say or ask her anything.

It took a while for Aveline to coax her mother when there was a knock on the door before it opened.

Damien’s secretary nearly collapsed as Henry stormed forward.

"Chairman Laurent..." The secretary tried to speak.

Henry slammed the door in his face.

"You won’t take the complaint back, Lina." Henry’s tone was icy.

"Complaint?" Aveline blinked, feigning innocence. Whereas she could guess, Giselle understood her plan.

"Yes, until we find out who was poisoning you," Marget’s tone hardened, "None of the Ashfords should sleep in peace."

’Damien will get a taste of the Laurents.’ Aveline thought, still looking confused.

Charles turned to Aveline, "I believe CEO Lancaster called Giselle Lancaster. Once the doctor started the police procedure, she took over the case." They didn’t change the lawyer as Giselle was the best in her job.

Aveline couldn’t believe Giselle and Alaric dealt with it so smoothly.

"Damien!?" Aveline asked, almost sounding worried.

Henry’s jaw clenched. "He let you poison under his roof. I don’t care who poisoned you, he let it happen."

His voice dropped, lethal. "Let him count the bars."

Aveline’s head dropped. But her eyes glinted, sharp and cold.

Damien wasn’t her target of the plan. He was just a catalyst.

The real list was longer, and the war had just begun.