Winifred Dawson didn’t want to worry Mrs. Protich, so she forced herself to stay strong. However, her face was too pale, and even when she tried to smile, she looked weak and unfocused. When the doctor came to check on her and give instructions, she only half-listened, missing parts of the conversation. Fortunately, Mrs. Protich was there to take notes.
During the day, Winifred mostly slept. At night, when the lights were off, she appeared to be asleep but kept her eyes open, staring into the darkness. The rustling of the curtains in the night wind would startle her. She worried that even the slightest noise she made might wake Mrs. Protich, so she endured her fear and pain in silence.
She was no longer the pampered young lady she once was. The pitch-black night made her mind wander to terrifying thoughts: a strand of hair falling from nowhere, a drop of blood, a hand reaching out from under the bed, a face appearing behind her, or a doll crawling out from under the covers. These thoughts scared her more than any ghost could.
What terrified Winifred Dawson most was Leland Burns. During the day, she had completely confirmed through Wesley Henry that Leland Burns was still alive. When news first spread of his death, she didn’t believe it. Having spent so many years with him, she knew how capable he was.
There’s a saying that your enemy knows you best, and it held true for her. In her mind, someone like Leland Burns wouldn’t die easily. So when she was told he had died, her first reaction wasn’t relief but tension and fear. She dreaded that he might suddenly appear before her when she let her guard down.
When she saw Henry and Wesley holding an urn, she tried to convince herself not to be afraid-maybe Leland Burns was really dead. If he were dead, she could live peacefully without any worries. But fantasies are just fantasies; once you wake up from them, you have to face reality.
Leland Burns wasn’t dead; he was the one who saved her from Liam Burkhart. She should have been grateful for being rescued, but knowing it was Leland Burns filled her with resistance and fear. She wanted to leave this place as far as possible.
She knew too well how vindictive Leland Burns could be. If he hadn’t died and came back for revenge, she could only imagine what would happen next.
The more Winifred Dawson thought about it, the more terrified she became. She couldn’t control her trembling body; her teeth chattered from fear, and her breathing became erratic. Fortunately, Mrs. Protich’s steady breathing indicated she was still asleep.
Winifred clenched her fists and bit her fingers to stay awake through the pain. Thinking about what happened during the day made her wonder if she could get through this ordeal.
Losing the child unexpectedly saddened her but wasn’t enough to break her spirit completely or cause extreme emotional distress. What truly pushed her over the edge was confirming that Leland Burns was alive.
What should she do? Winifred Dawson put herself in Leland Burns’ shoes-if someone had deceived her like this and survived against all odds, she’d flay them alive.
Leland Burns must be thinking along those lines now. After leaving prison, he must have been following her closely enough to know about her pregnancy and plans for an abortion; otherwise, he wouldn’t have found and rescued her so quickly after Liam Burkhart took her from the hospital.
Did Leland Burns still have some feelings for her? Clearly not… He saved her only to exact revenge later.
Just thinking about it made Winifred Dawson’s back go cold; she started trembling again under the covers like a sieve.
During the day, all she could do was show reluctance about losing the child-a mother’s grief-and reminisce about Leland Burns nostalgically. Her behavior would surely be reported back to him by Henry and Wesley.
She was gambling that Leland Burns might soften temporarily and spare her for now if he believed these emotions were genuine.
After quietly analyzing everything, Winifred made another bold decision.
Leland Burns was still officially “dead” and would need a long time to establish a new identity. Henry and Wesley were trying their best to keep this hidden, indicating that Leland wasn’t in a position to come out publicly yet.
Many people were eyeing Burns Group now; he needed time and energy to reclaim lost assets and deal with numerous adversaries discreetly. Therefore…