“There are many routes, take any as long as we aren’t discovered. This batch is crucial, we need to discuss it thoroughly. I’ll be there.”
With Leland Burns involved, Henry felt much more at ease.
Leland Burns said, “After this task is done, it will be my wedding with Winifred Dawson.”
Henry calculated the time. “Is the wedding in mid-April?”
“Yes, it’s set for April 15th. I had someone check, it’s an auspicious day.”
“Pfft-” Henry couldn’t hold back and sprayed water while drinking. Even Wesley, who usually showed no expression, slightly frowned with a peculiar gleam in his eyes.
Henry put down his cup, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He held his stomach with one hand and pointed at Leland Burns with the other. “Did I hear wrong? Auspicious day? Aren’t you a materialist? How can you believe in this?”
Leland Burns kept a stern face. When it came to matters concerning Winifred Dawson, he wanted everything to be perfect. Though he never believed in such things before, the thought of marrying Winifred Dawson made him consider everything, even choosing a good day with the best weather.
Some things were beyond belief; internal and external factors could change outcomes. Leland Burns tried to make amends wherever possible. If he randomly picked a day to quickly marry Winifred Dawson and something went wrong later, people would blame the poorly chosen date.
Henry calculated again. The delivery date was April 10th, and the round trip plus delays would take at least three days, conservatively four. So they would get married right after returning without rest?
Leland Burns was really in a hurry.
Curious, Henry asked Leland Burns, “What about the child?”
Henry thought his previous suggestion was good: have a child first and then marry to tie Winifred Dawson down completely. Although it was somewhat “dirty and disgusting,” it was effective.
To tie down a woman, you must take what she values most. Winifred Dawson had already lost her important father; giving her something new would be both solace and a lifeline.
Henry expected Leland Burns to act immediately on his suggestion but was surprised by repeated refusals.
Leland Burns said, “It’s not that I don’t want her to have a child; her body isn’t fit for it now. She can’t even take care of herself, let alone a child. Pregnancy isn’t like other things; it takes ten long months, and any slight mishap could cause a miscarriage, which would severely harm her body. I can’t gamble on that.”
Leland Burns saying “can’t gamble” was unexpected. Since Winifred Dawson’s memory began to falter, Leland Burns had already lost without fighting in this gamble, repeatedly compromising and yielding to her.
This version of Leland Burns was not what Henry or Wesley wanted to see. Honestly speaking, if they had known how deeply Winifred Dawson would affect him, she should have died in the cemetery back then.
Procrastination only leads others to use all means necessary.
“So how will you keep her? After she recovers suddenly from her illness, will you rely on wedding photos and certificates?”
Leland Burns shared his plan: “I’ll find a surrogate. After marriage, I’ll treat her well. There’s a term called ‘love after marriage,’ right? With a child and marriage as leverage, she might willingly stay.”
Henry found it risky. If it were him and he discovered his father was killed by you while you took advantage of my confusion to create a child unrelated to me and married me…
Henry fully immersed himself in this scenario. If it were him, he might strangle Leland Burns with a tie while he slept and hang him outside the window for sun and rain exposure to vent his anger.
Leland Burns frowned; he felt Henry’s gaze was odd but didn’t think much of it.
Regarding surrogacy, neither Henry nor Wesley had the right to interfere. Leland Burns was their boss; as subordinates, no matter how close they were, they couldn’t meddle in their boss’s personal affairs.
Leland Burns acted quickly. By late March, he took Winifred Dawson to the hospital for egg retrieval.
The process of egg retrieval looked frightening-requiring fine needle punctures that local anesthesia couldn’t completely numb-and the visual impact alone could cause nightmares.
Leland Burns had researched beforehand; seeing such long needles enter the body made him hesitant but thinking that egg retrieval pain was temporary compared to ten months of pregnancy steadied his resolve.
Early one morning without telling Winifred Dawson what they were doing at the hospital, he took her there.
Winifred Dawson naively thought Leland Burns was taking her for another full-body check-up regarding her condition.
To her shock, Leland Burns brought her directly to the gynecology department where doctors reassured her not to be too nervous.
Winifred Dawson was puzzled until she overheard their conversation about egg retrieval. She couldn’t believe it and turned to run…
Naturally, she couldn’t outrun Leland Burns; within steps, he caught her around the waist.
Winifred Dawson almost broke character; she thrashed wildly: “Let me go… I don’t want to be here… I don’t want this… I’m scared… Let’s go home!”
Leland Burns desperately tried to soothe her: “Winifred Dawson, don’t you want our own child? Egg retrieval doesn’t hurt; pregnancy does. We’ll find an international surrogate so you won’t have to bear it yourself.”
Was Leland Burns even making sense? Winifred Dawson lowered her head; this time tears weren’t faked-they fell uncontrollably as she trembled at the thought of having an unwanted child with Leland Burns through surrogacy-a morally corrupt practice.
Without basic human decency left in him, Winifred Dawson tried escaping but was forcibly restrained despite all resistance and cries for help until she was tied down with restraints.
Leland Burns had informed them beforehand; doctors quickly prepared anesthesia which needed time before starting egg retrieval once effective.
When doctors brought out their tools for egg retrieval, Winifred Dawson glanced once before closing her eyes tightly-this reaction startled everyone present.
They initially thought she fainted from fright but then noticed red rashes appearing around where anesthesia was injected-
It turned out Winifred Dawson was allergic to anesthesia.