As soon as Frederick spoke, everyone’s gaze turned towards Miranda. Vaughn, Slocmore’s richest man and Hazel’s father, glanced coldly at Miranda, hummed indifferently, and remained expressionless without saying anything. He knew very well that his daughter was with the beautiful chairwoman of Lowe’s Pharmaceutical at that time. He chose not to speak when faced with inquiries from others, relying on his status.
However, the reactions of the others varied upon hearing Frederick’s words. Many people in Slocmore’s business community, who claimed to have a good relationship with the Beckman family, began criticizing Miranda.
“It was her who was with Hazel?”
“What exactly happened to Miss Beckman? How could this happen?”
“What does it have to do with you?”
“Why are you fine? Can you stand there unscathed?”
“That’s right, Miss Beckman lost an arm, but you’re unharmed?”
The crowd bombarded Miranda with questions, insinuating that she was somehow at fault for Hazel’s injury. Miranda’s face turned cold and her beautiful eyes glared at Frederick with a mix of disgust and resentment. In the next moment, she bit her lip and raised her voice, saying, “Yes, I was with Hazel at that time. I did my best to protect her, and it pains me deeply that she lost an arm.”
Being in a foreign place and facing the scrutiny of so many people, Miranda, despite her strong personality, couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of injustice. Even though Shelly and the accompanying employees tried their best to explain and defend her, it couldn’t stop the torrent of accusations.
Watching this scene, a satisfied smirk appeared on Frederick’s face as he pointed at Miranda and shouted, “Miranda, I heard that Miss Beckman was in talks with you for a collaboration. How coincidental that something happened when you were together? Did the conditions of the collaboration not go your way, so you orchestrated an accident to harm Miss Beckman?”
With his question, it seemed like a spark had been ignited. In an instant, all the business people present who had connections with the Beckman family, regardless of their motives, intensified their condemnation of Miranda.
“Nonsense! Ms. Lowe was getting along well with Ms. Beckman. How could she harm her?”
“Don’t spout nonsense!”
Shelly defended Miranda indignantly.
“Oh? Is that so? Then why is Miranda unharmed? I heard the accident was severe and serious. In such a situation, look at Ms. Lowe, without a scratch on her. Who would believe it wasn’t orchestrated by her?” Frederick aggressively questioned.
Regardless of the validity of his analysis, he stubbornly accused Miranda, shifting the blame onto her. At this moment, with Hazel in trouble, Vaughn was undoubtedly filled with negative emotions. Miranda became the perfect target for everyone’s negative emotions. As long as someone set the tone, Miranda was bound to be resented.
No one cared about how hard she had fought to protect Hazel at that time. All they saw was that Hazel was injured while Miranda remained unscathed, and that became Miranda’s fault!
As the voices of discussion and accusations continued, Miranda looked at the faces of these people under Frederick’s influence, and a surge of anger welled up within her. She wished she could kill these people and silence them forever.
“Alright, that’s enough. Stop talking.”
At this moment, Vaughn, with a troubled expression, waved his hand and said in a deep voice to the crowd, “A person who doesn’t act for their own sake is doomed to destruction. Under those circumstances, it’s understandable for Ms. Lowe to choose self-preservation! Quiet down, there’s nothing more to say.”
Upon hearing this, the voices of the crowd gradually subsided, but their gazes towards Miranda remained filled with dissatisfaction and hostility.
As for Miranda, upon hearing these words, a mocking smirk appeared on her beautiful face.
“Heh… A person who doesn’t act for themselves, doomed to destruction? If I hadn’t used my own body to shield Hazel from the initial impact and blows, Hazel would have died long ago. I was desperately protecting Hazel at that time. As for her father, Vaughn, despite his constant insistence on not discussing it further, his words are truly disheartening.
If possible, Miranda truly wished she could retrieve the surveillance footage from that time and make these people see the whole process, shutting their mouths. But this is Slocmore, and her resources are limited.
At this moment, a uniformed man who had come along with Frederick glanced at Miranda and moved his lips. However, he shook his head and chose to remain silent.
His name was Hamza Brooks, responsible for counter-terrorism in Slocmore’s disciplinary department. He had seen the recording of the incident and was well aware of the situation back then. However, his position predetermined that he wouldn’t speak up for Miranda; instead, he would even support Frederick and target Miranda.
There was no choice. After all, Frederick was the adopted son of Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Brooks.
Just then, the door to the operating room opened, and several doctors in white coats walked out. Upon seeing this, everyone’s expressions tensed up. Vaughn hurriedly stepped forward with a nervous and expectant look on his face.
“Dr. Dell, how is my daughter?” he asked urgently. “Can her arm be reattached?”
Miranda’s eyes also filled with a glimmer of hope as she looked at the doctors. After all, Hazel’s arm had just been severed, and Miranda had immediately brought it to the hospital along with her.
With the advancement of medical technology and Slocmore’s top-notch medical standards, perhaps… it could still be reattached.
Among the doctors in white coats, the leader was a foreign expert. His name was Dell, a renowned authority in the field of limb reattachment. He had been highly paid by Slocmore Hospital.
With him overseeing the operation, everyone held high hopes. However, Dr. Dell’s expression became extremely grave as he faced the expectant gazes of the crowd. It seemed that he had encountered a very difficult and unsolvable problem.
“Reattaching your daughter’s arm is no longer possible. We can only attach a prosthetic limb as soon as possible!” Dr. Dell sighed.
Upon hearing this, Vaughn’s face instantly darkened, and his body trembled. His eyes showed deep disappointment and fear.
Miranda furrowed her brows, her expression freezing. It couldn’t be reattached?
“Why? Why can’t it be reattached? Aren’t you a top expert in this field? My daughter’s arm was just severed. Did you not do your best?” Vaughn asked anxiously, grabbing Dr. Dell’s shoulders with a pale and desperate face. “How much money? Name your price! As long as you can reattach my daughter’s arm, I’ll pay any amount.”
Upon hearing this, Dr. Dell seemed to feel insulted in some way. He coldly snorted and shrugged off Vaughn’s hand.
“I said it can’t be reattached, and money has nothing to do with it. Are you implying that I lack money? Hmph!” As a top doctor in the world, Dr. Dell certainly wasn’t short of funds. Vaughn’s words made it seem as if he hadn’t given his best effort, causing Dr. Dell to feel displeased.
“Why? Why is that the case? Dr. Dell, that’s not what I meant. What I meant is… is there really no hope for my daughter’s arm?” Vaughn asked with bloodshot eyes. Losing an arm would be an immense blow to his daughter in the prime of her youth. It would undoubtedly cast a dark shadow over her entire life.
“There’s really no way. I’ve done everything I could. Normally, there would be a possibility of reattachment when a person’s arm is freshly severed. But the abnormal thing is that her severed arm completely decayed in an extremely short period of time. It was as if it had been corroded by some kind of toxin. I really want to know what happened at that time. What caused the victim’s arm to be severed?” Dr. Dell’s face showed suspicion and bewilderment.
The victim’s severed arm had already turned completely black and even emitted a stench of decay. The tissues and cells had almost entirely necrotized. This situation didn’t resemble a recent amputation at all. It was extremely eerie!