I've Been There Before

Chapter 317: Madness in Despair

“By the way, I won’t go to the James Group tomorrow morning.”

“You got something else to do?”

“I’m a little tired. I want to take a rest. Vivian, I’ll let you take charge of the James Group. Don’t let me down,” Grace said with a tired look on her face.

She told the half-truths and stood up. “I won’t keep you for dinner. I’m going to sleep. I don’t know why I get tired so easily these days.”

Hearing what she said, Vivian looked at Grace with concerns. “Take good care of yourself. Alright, I’m leaving. There’s no need to rush to work. I got you.

You even gave me the shares of the James Group. You really don’t regret it?”

Vivian was suspicious. Grace might do so to win Vivian over. But in fact, even if Grace hadn’t given her the shares, Vivian would still follow Grace.

When Vivian reached the door, Grace stopped her, “Wait.”

“Is there anything else?”

“We are no longer in our early twenties. Vivian, time and tide wait for no man. We already have wrinkles around the corners of our eyes.”

“That’s right. I remember when we were young. We used to laugh out loud and feel carefree. Now, we stop doing that.” The two laughed, feeling delighted. “Anyway, I’m leaving. You should have a good rest.”

“I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

“Why being so polite? It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”

Laughing and joking, they left the room one after the other. The door opened and Vivian walked into the elevator. The moment the door was about to close, she looked up and saw Grace gazing at her with a smile. For some reason, her heart skipped a beat.

She shook her head, not knowing why.

Vivian left the building. On the way back, she felt a little uneasy.

But she had no idea what was wrong.

The next day....

A woman came to the hospital unobtrusively.

“Miss Grace, do you feel the same as you did yesterday?”

It was the same nurse who had injected her with the growth factor yesterday.

“How is his condition today?”

Grace asked.

“Please wait for a while. The hospital arranges medical examinations for Mr. James every day,” said the nurse, looking up at the clock, “Don’t worry. The report will come out soon.”

With that, a doctor in a white coat scurried over with a stack of documents in his hand, “Miss Grace, you just came at a good time.

This was Mr. Payne’s latest report.

Take a look here. This indicator deviates from the normal level.”

The doctor walked over to Grace, opened the report, and pointed at the results of the examination.

“Actually, Mr. Payne is getting worse day by day.

The test results indicate that … if his condition continues to deteriorate, he may need more than a bone marrow transplant. “

Grace blinked, “Tell me what’s going on.”

“The report shows he might suffer from kidney failure.” The doctor looked at the silent lady and pursed his lips.

Grace’s heart skipped a beat…. If she didn’t mistake what the doctor meant, Payne was….

“What are the consequences of kidney failure?”

With that, she clenched her fists tightly.

It couldn’t be….

“He would need a kidney transplant.”

She clenched her fists. Of course!

“I have been injected with growth factor. This’s the second day. Is his condition…?”

“I know what you want to ask. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

According to the current report, we could wait until the day of the bone marrow transplant. “

He paused for a moment before continuing,

“But we can’t guarantee what will happen.”

As he spoke, he took out another test report.

“This is your report, miss. In light of your condition…, we could only hope that Mr. James stays the way he is now.”

He made his point.

Grace understood him.

“Go on,” she said.

“Miss, do you really want to donate anonymously?”

The doctor asked suspiciously, “You and Mr. Payne are siblings. There is no need to remain anonymous at all. Besides, given your health condition, there is a risk of failure on your side.

And this is just one possibility. What if you are in danger during or after the donation?”

Grace was caught off guard by the question. She hadn’t thought about what would happen after she donated her bone marrow.

She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her gaze was firm. “Please continue to inject me with growth factors.”

God, it was like a joke.

Grace, however, didn’t seem to be afraid of death. She acted as if she didn’t care about anything, as if she left everything behind. She acted like she had… given up on herself.

There was hope that she had never dared to speak out…. She wanted…. She never gave up.

The cold needle went into her flesh and bone. She was like a dead tree, or a specimen, allowing the nurse beside her to poke the needle into her.

With a huge bang, the door was pushed open with force and smashed into the wall with a loud noise.

The nurse trembled. Just as she turned around and was about to reprimand the person who pushed the door, she saw a tall man. His face was so icy that the nurse trembled with fear. “Why did you break into the….”

He shot her a sharp gaze. The nurse was so scared that she almost bit her tongue.... The man was so terrifying!

Grace looked at the man in disbelief. Her heart skipped a beat and her hands were trembling. She tried to calm herself down, but her muscle seemed to have memories of itself and wouldn’t stop trembling.

The man approached step by step with a terrifying look on his face. His handsome face was ferocious and daunting. He gritted his teeth as if he was going to tear her apart.

She bit her lips and tried all she could to stable her trembling arms. She struggled to straighten her back. She wanted to face him. She wanted to show him that she was not afraid of him.

She tried her best to resist him. However, what she was doing was ridiculous and childish and meaningless to him.

His leather shoes thumped on the cold ground. The sound they made seemed to come from the depths of hell. She stood up suddenly and was about to escape in panic.

Bang!

There was another deafening sound.

He pressed her down with force and pushed her into the chair. He hit the back of the chair with a heavy punch but avoided her.

“Is this the so-called ‘leave you alone’?” The man gritted his teeth and asked. Even so, his twitching cheeks showed that he was trying his best to suppress his anger.

Grace froze and blanched at his icy words.

“Are you escaping again?”

The man suppressed his wrath and whispered in her ear.

“You want to escape again!” He clenched his teeth with certainty.

If she had listened carefully, she would have noticed that apart from endless anger, there was also sadness and despair in his words!

Yes, despair!

The man’s thin lips were slightly curled up.

“You fled to Erhai Lake.

Where are you going to hide this time?”

The woman’s lips gradually turned pale, and she was still trembling.

“Hush!” He pressed down on her trembling lips with his slender finger, smiling. “Three years ago, you fought to escape to Erhai Lake.

Now… are you trying to run away from me through death?

Are you going to run away from me by dying?”

The woman remained silent, sweat dripping down her forehead.

The man was laughing, but his eyes were cold.

“Grace, I’m asking you. Where are you going this time? Huh? Answer me!”

She wanted to look away. She... didn’t dare to look at those scarlet eyes!

“I’m asking you a question! Look at me and answer me. Where are you going?” He grabbed her chin.

He stared at her. They were so close, but there was no heat emitting from him.

He closed his eyes and opened them again. “Grace! You’re really something!” She wanted to run away from him, even at the cost of death.

You were really something!

“Let me tell you. If I say you will be alive, you will stay alive. If I say you are about to die, you will be dead! You’re still a Shaw. Do you think death is a way out for you?

No matter where you go, heaven or hell, if I don’t let go, you won’t be able to escape!”

Her face was pale.

He bent down suddenly and picked her up. “Go with me!”

“No!”

“It’s not up to you!” The man sneered as he carried her and strode away.

The nurse realized what was happening and tried to stop him, “Sir, you can’t….”

Before she could finish speaking, she was stopped by Caden’s bodyguard.

Only then did Grace realize that Ladd had come back.

Her heart sank as she looked at his determined face. “Caden! Let go of me!” Her voice was hoarse and tired.

“No way.” The only response she got was a snort. There were pain and despair in the depths of the man’s eyes.

There was also … madness!