The doctor had seen countless patients with injuries, but had never seen anyone as severely injured as Elisa. The injuries all over her body were enough to chill anyone’s heart. To describe the person who tortured her as an animal would be an insult to animals.
After hearing the doctor’s words, Hamish seemed to lose consciousness, as if he had been isolated from the world. He was engulfed in darkness.
The doctor was too exhausted to observe Hamish’s expression and continued speaking, “I can’t imagine how she managed to survive until now.”
The doctor had a strong sense of empathy, and all the medical staff in the ICU frowned when they were trying to save Elisa.
“Mr. Burns, there’s something I need to tell you in advance. All ten of her fingers were filled with steel needles. Even if the wounds heal, she will be disabled. Her tone remained flat, but it pierced Hamish’s heart.
Hamish looked confused, “Disabled? What do you mean?”
“Her finger nerves are destroyed. She can live a normal life, but she won’t be able to be as agile as before. Writing and typing have become a challenge. The pain will accompany her for the rest of her life, especially in winter… The doctor stopped because, based on Elisa’s physical condition, she wouldn’t live to old age.
Hamish’s emotions were out of control. He remembered that he had just given Elisa a violin lesson not long ago, and she had played a piece. But now the doctor told him that her hand would be crippled and could never recover its former dexterity. Elisa might never be able to play the violin again.
Hamish couldn’t control his emotions, “You said her fingers were filled with steel needles?”
“Didn’t you notice?”
At that time, Elisa was covered in blood, but Hamish was too afraid to examine her closely, fearing that he would lose control of his emotions and go crazy.
“Yes,” the doctor murmured, “her fingers were covered in blood. The nails were cracked and fallen off. It’s hard to see the steel needles embedded inside without careful examination. Several doctors removed the needles and counted them. There were a total of 28 steel needles.”
Even tearing off a hangnail was excruciating, let alone inserting steel needles into the nail bed. It must have been incredibly painful.
Cutting off with a knife would be instantaneous, but using this method, the needles were inserted, the flesh was torn, and the nails were forcibly removed.
The doctor’s face turned even paler at the thought of that scene. “Can you imagine how we removed those tiny needles from her fingers?”
Hamish couldn’t imagine the surgical process, nor could he imagine Elisa watching her own hand being pierced by 28 steel needles, watching her nails detach from her fingers.
Hamish’s jaw tightened, and a dark image flashed through his mind. Elisa’s body was restrained, struggling, screaming in pain, convulsing on the ground.
With burning eyes and a freezing face, tears streamed down Hamish’s face. He dared not think about how Elisa endured over an hour of this.
This was Elisa, the proud woman of Bankshire, the woman who was supposed to be perfect and flawless, but now she was covered in wounds.
“Hamish, if I don’t come back, I hope you won’t trouble the Bakers and donate my alimony.”
“Hamish, never see each other again.”
Elisa had gone with the intention of sacrificing herself, but she hadn’t considered that she would end up worse off than dead.
The doctor was already exhausted and, after waking her up, had the nurse help her leave.
Hamish remained stiff in place. Another half-hour passed, and he watched as the surgical doors opened and the nurse hurried out to get a blood pack.
He remembered that he had prepared a blood pack when he brought Elisa in, and now they were bringing another one. It could only mean that Elisa was bleeding heavily or her blood oxygen saturation was dropping.
Hamish couldn’t bear it anymore and followed the nurse into the room.
The nurse stopped him as soon as she saw him following. “Sir, you can’t go in. You’ll disturb the doctors’ rescue efforts.”
“I won’t go in. I’ll just stay here and watch. There are windows and doors here where I can see what’s happening inside.”
The nurse didn’t have time to deal with him and quickly handed the blood pack into the room.
Hamish watched Elisa being rescued inside, her body connected to various machines. Wasn’t this scene in front of him the same as the nightmare he had that night?
Several doctors crowded around Elisa, and the room was soundproof. Hamish couldn’t hear anything, but with his good eyesight, he could read their lips. He faintly saw one of the doctors moving their lips, “The patient has stopped breathing.”
Hamish was stunned when he saw those words. He stared at Elisa, who was being resuscitated by the medical team. When a person is in extreme pain, their body automatically triggers protective mechanisms, and they seem to withdraw into a shell, losing all response to the outside world.
Hamish was like a malfunctioning machine, experiencing a breakdown. After a while, he suddenly went crazy and started pounding on the glass window, shouting with a trembling voice, “Elisa!”
The commotion was too loud, and the doctors and nurses had already noticed. They quickly came over to restrain him, telling him not to disturb the rescue operation inside.
Hamish seemed oblivious to their words. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and murmured, “Elisa, she’s not breathing. Let me go see her, let me see her…”
“It won’t help even if you go in.”
His eyes were held shut, but he stared fixedly at the door. Tears rolled down his face, and he kept calling Elisa’s name, his voice hoarse.
For a while, all that could be heard was Hamish’s choked sobbing, heavy and suppressed, as if he could cry out all the pain.
“What should I do if Elisa doesn’t survive?”
No one answered his question. Hamish was in unbearable pain, feeling as if the world was spinning. His mind went blank, and he looked at the doctor who was restraining him, desperately hoping for some comfort.