Chapter 34
A Price Paid in Blood
A few hours later.
Sion was dejected, his entire world crumbling after Safia rejected his proposal. Was it all just an act to get good grades? He never thought she could stoop so low. He felt a soul-crushing despair, as if there was nothing left to live for. That night, he drank without thought, his body growing numb, his mind hazy.
It was late when he began the lonely walk back to his room. He had sent Albert and the rest of his security away. Safia had already seen him at the club, and he was grateful she was too drunk to remember. He had wanted to explain everything to her himself, before questions could corner her.
The alcohol did nothing to dull the pain in his heart. His eyes were red with unshed tears as he stumbled along the empty street. A vehicle approached at a rocking speed, its bright headlights blinding him. The next moment, everything went black after a deafening sound of an impact.
Albert was in his room, waiting for Sion to return. His phone kept going to voicemail. Worried, he went to find him and found Sion lying unconscious on the dark, deserted road, completely covered in blood.
Albert saw red. Whoever had done it he was going to rip their bones out of the flesh. His fingers trembled as he held the phone. Prayer to heal, fear and anxiousness everything came at once on Albert. Sion was more like a younger brother to him than a boss’s son.
“Good evening, sir, Sion has met with an accident. His pulse is low, and I have called for an ambulance,” Albert immediately called Karen with pulsation as soon as he saw the latter's unconscious body.
“I am on my way with a team of specialists. Do not worry. Keep doing CPR to keep his heart functioning,” Karen replied hastily, his voice a low, commanding growl though his pressure was gone to maximum.
Ten minutes later, Albert saw a helicopter with "The Canes" written on it in bold letters landing a few meters away, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Sirens wailed as the medical team arrived and rushed to attend to Sion. He raced to the hospital at jet speed.
“His condition is serious. There is a lot of internal bleeding, and we have yet to check if there is any organ damage,” the doctor informed Karen before rushing back to the treatment room.
Karen paced the corridor for what felt like an eternity while Sylvia recited Bible verses and prayed. Finally, the doctor came out. “He had a miraculous escape regarding the organ damage being a werewolf with healing potency, but his face was crushed to pulp from the accident. A pointed object forcefully entered his ribcage, creating a hole in his heart. We need to operate on him immediately to fill the hole, and he will require plastic surgery on his face.”
“Please go ahead with the treatment,” Karen said immediately, and the doctor handed him an application. “We need your signature here in case anything happens to him. Had he been a human we wouldn't be talking about this now because he would have been dead by now. But still I will not give you a lot of hope. Your son’s condition is very delicate, and the chance of survival is 50:50. I can’t promise if he will be able to withstand multiple surgeries at the same time.”
Sylvia started to wail hearing the doctor. Karen couldn't find the energy to console his wife. Ignoring her whimpers, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked the physician, “Do we have any other option?”
“We can operate on his heart and let him recover. He is presently in a coma because of a head injury and internal bleeding. If he survives, we can perform the plastic surgery later.”
Karen couldn’t speak. His voice was choked, and he could only manage a nod. “Why is God testing us so much? We lost Citra when she was hardly a year old, and now Sion is fighting between life and death,” Sylvia's cries were unstoppable.
“Have trust in the Moon Goddess, sweetheart. Sion will come back to us,” Karen’s voice was low, though he was trying his best to act confident before his wife.
Half an hour later,
“Good evening, sir, I’m sorry to disturb you at this critical moment, but the information I have with me now is of pivotal importance,” Karen's private investigator spoke on the phone.
“What is it? You have only two minutes because I need to go and talk to the doctor about my son,” Karen growled with annoyance.
“The present situation of your son is not due to an unfortunate accident but a planned murder,” Vance Maze, the private investigator, was absolute in his information.
“What?” Karen's voice rose an octave, but he immediately controlled himself when he saw he was gaining attention.
He walked out of the hospital and asked Maze, becoming infuriated, “What are you talking about? Are you sure about this?”
“I have done my complete investigation, sir. It is not a hapless accident but a well-planned murder.” Maze was even firmer this time.
“Who is the culprit?” Karen was serious and precise.
“Soren Blacksmith . Safia Blacksmith’s father. She is your son’s girlfriend. He did not want Safia to marry Guild Wade because he hails from a poor family. But the girl was adamant in the advancement of her relationship with him. So Soren tried to kill him in the name of the accident.”
At that moment, Karen wanted to break something in his anger. He understood the whole situation concerning the false identity of his son. A nerve popped out of his throat, but he controlled his rising temper and spoke evenly. It was the call of diplomacy, not a fight. “Allow it to look like an accident. Guild Wade is dead, and Sion Canes has no connection with him. Borrow a dead body from a nearby hospital and cover it with blood. Nobody will recognize it. Spread the news and create a buzz among the students that Guild Wade died in the accident. Soren should never know the truth that Guild is alive. This is not the time for taking revenge. My first priority is my son. I want him to recover fully, and then I will show this scoundrel a hell on earth for rubbing me the wrong way.”
The next day, Safia heard the news. “Around eighteen hours ago, there was a major accident in the North Lane of the London School of Business. According to the transport department, no heavy vehicles are allowed in the location because the road is very close to university premises. So far, we have found no evidence regarding the accident, as the CCTV footage in the area was found nonfunctional. We see the body of a young adult covered in blood. The corpse is identified by his fellow students as Guild Wade, a second-year graduate student belonging to the university.”
Safia broke into a huge cry as soon as she heard the news about Guild, and Soren breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you sure he is dead?” He called the same person he spoke to earlier, who replied affirmatively.
For many days, Safia couldn't recover from the shock of Guild’s death, but Soren waited patiently for her to return to normalcy. A little bit of grief is bearable in place of a whole life filled with sorrow, he thought.
“Don't cry, my sunshine, everything happens for our good. Guild left this world, and he is a finished chapter of your life. Forget him.” After that day, Safi never talked or cried for Guild Wade before her father, and Soren thought she was over him.
Little did he know, true love never dies. Safia determined herself never to marry. She will stay Guild’s wife until her death whether she is married to him or not.
Days turned into weeks, but Sion wouldn't open his eyes. He had been in a coma for a month. The positivity in the Canes couple was slowly fading. “Will he ever recover?” Sylvia yowled as she asked the doctor.
“Have patience, ma’am. We have seen him improving from the scans and tests we conducted. His pulse has recovered, and his pressure has returned to normal, though the progress is slow. The heart surgery was successful. I am positive he will come out of the coma in a day or two.” The doctor spoke to Sylvia with sympathy.
As if heaven had followed his words, Sylvia saw Sion’s fingers move slightly after ten minutes. She immediately alerted the doctor.
If not for the millions Karen poured out like water for his son’s recovery, Sion wouldn't have lived to see the next day after the accident.
A team of physicians arrived in his room in a matter of seconds. The nurse gave Sion an injection, and Sylvia was ushered out. After a detailed examination, the group of physicians came out of his room. “He is out of danger now. Congratulations, your son will live. But he will not have his previous identity.” The doctor informed Canes.
“What do you mean?” Sylvia asked, shocked.
“We have to do plastic surgery on his face to make him look presentable. As I have told you earlier, his face was crushed in the accident. He is lucky that his brain is not damaged and he retains his memories. No amount of stitches will work. It is only grafting. That means we take a healthy tissue from another part of his body and fix it on his face. I would like to inform you in advance that this is more of a psychological recovery than a physical ailment. You need to be with your son all the time to boost his morale in facing this predicament. It is not going to be easy to accept himself with a new face he is not at all acquainted with.” The doctor was practical in his information to Sylvia.
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