Five years ago, Caitlin almost lost her life in a fire, dragging Dominic down with her.
Five years later, she couldn’t let such a tragedy repeat itself!
Bruce, Mommy is coming!
Without hesitation, Caitlin dashed toward the source of the fire.
She jumped over the courtyard wall and rushed to Beatrice’s residence, where the fire had grown quite large.
In a panic, Caitlin shouted, “Someone! Someone! There’s a fire… there’s a fire…”
Her cries alarmed the servants of the Vanderbilt Family, who rushed out upon hearing her, seeing the flames at Beatrice’s main house. They quickly grabbed water buckets and fire extinguishers to try and put out the fire.
Caitlin also found a fire extinguisher and sprayed it toward the entrance.
Just thinking about her son being inside, possibly unaware of the fire because he was asleep, her heart tightened.
Her anxiety was overwhelming.
Bruce couldn’t be harmed!
Xavi, who had been instructed by Sebastian to keep an eye on Caitlin, saw the fire and Caitlin trying to extinguish it.
“Caitlin! The house is on fire!”
“Xavi! Quick! Help me put out the fire! My child is still inside! Hurry…”
Caitlin was nearly in tears, wanting to charge into the flames herself, but the terror from the fire five years ago left her too afraid to face the intensity of the blaze.
Her fear was crippling.
At that moment, someone came toward them with a wet blanket. Xavi grabbed it, draped it over himself, and said, “Caitlin, don’t worry, I’ll go in and find little Howard!”
With that, Xavi rushed into the fire, while others continued to help by dragging hoses and spraying water into the building.
The smoke inside was thick, and the flames were raging, causing Caitlin to feel her heart racing with fear.
After what felt like an eternity, Xavi finally emerged from the fire.
“Xavi!”
Once Xavi stepped out, the others helped him remove the charred blanket from his body. Caitlin then saw Xavi holding a barely conscious Bruce in his arms.
“Caitlin, I found little Howard. He’s unconscious.”
“He might have inhaled too much carbon monoxide. We need to get him to the hospital, quickly! Is there anyone else inside?”
“I’ve checked everywhere! No one else!”
Xavi rushed out with Bruce in his arms, and Caitlin immediately followed. The remaining servants continued battling the flames.
Bruce was rushed into the hospital’s emergency room. Caitlin and Xavi waited outside, both feeling anxious and upset. Tears welled up in Caitlin’s eyes.
Xavi took the opportunity to call Sebastian, informing him of the situation.
Sebastian was at the Vanderbilt estate when he received the news about the fire. He was shocked and immediately tried to make his way to the hospital.
“How could this happen?” he wondered, feeling unsettled.
Unable to wait, he struggled to get out of bed and into his wheelchair. As he moved, he kept bumping into walls and even fell down the stairs as he left the Vanderbilt estate.
“Someone! Lucy! Lucy…”
Lucy rushed out upon hearing him and saw him on the ground.
“Mr. Vanderbilt, what happened?”
“Help me up! Take me to the hospital! Howard’s in trouble!”
“Okay, okay!”
Lucy, shocked, immediately alerted the driver to prepare a vehicle and rushed Sebastian to the hospital.
At the hospital, Caitlin was still waiting anxiously. Fortunately, Simon, the doctor on duty that night, had already treated Bruce.
When Simon finally emerged from the ER, Caitlin rushed up to him. “Simon, how is my child?”
“He’s suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, but it’s between mild and moderate. Thankfully, we got him here in time, or it could’ve been much worse. He’s stable now.”
Caitlin let out a long breath of relief, but her legs felt weak, and she almost collapsed.
If she hadn’t rushed to Beatrice’s house tonight… What would have happened to her son?
She couldn’t even imagine it!
She had already lost one daughter; if she lost her son as well…
Simon quickly steadied her and urged her to sit down and rest for a moment.
“How did the fire start?” Simon asked, looking concerned. “Was there no one with the child at the time?”
“I wasn’t there…”
Caitlin shook her head. Now that she was starting to calm down, she began to question everything. How had the fire started? Why was Bruce the only one inside Beatrice’s room?
Where was the servant who was supposed to be taking care of Beatrice?
There were too many questions, and Caitlin was determined to get to the bottom of this once she returned to the Vanderbilt estate.
“Don’t blame yourself too much,” Simon said, trying to comfort her. “The nurse will be taking the child to the ward soon.”
“Okay, you go ahead and handle your work, Simon,” Caitlin replied, her voice still strained. She waved him off as new patients were brought into the ER.
A little while later, Xavi arrived with Sebastian, pushing him into the ER.
“Caitlin, Mr. Vanderbilt is here!” Xavi informed her.
Caitlin slowly lifted her head and saw Sebastian, dressed in his pajamas, barefoot and disheveled, his clothes dirty, looking distressed and lost.
Without his sunglasses, his eyes were unfocused, but his face was filled with concern.
“Caitlin, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“How is Howard?” Sebastian asked, his voice full of worry.
“He’s lucky to be alive,” Caitlin said, her heart aching. “He almost didn’t make it.”
She felt a pang of pain, and for some reason, her emotions overwhelmed her. Tears filled her eyes, though her voice remained cold.
“Sebastian, you know what this is, don’t you? This is the result of you forcing Howard and me apart.
“My child almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning! Do you know that?”
Sebastian didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want anything to happen to Bruce either, but Bruce was his son. Shouldn’t he be the one to feel heartbroken? Why was Caitlin acting like his son was hers?
“I understand. I’ll have someone investigate this thoroughly,” Sebastian said, his voice strained.
After that, there was silence, and they all waited as the nurse brought Bruce out of the ER.
“Little master is out!” Xavi called.
Caitlin quickly stood up and rushed to the gurney.
Bruce looked pale, his face devoid of color, and Caitlin couldn’t hold back her tears as she gazed at him.
Xavi noticed the way Caitlin was acting, and a thought crossed his mind.
Caitlin seemed to care for Howard as if he were her own child. She really was the most devoted stepmother.
“Push me over there!” Sebastian ordered suddenly.
Xavi quickly obeyed and pushed him to the hospital room.
Bruce was already lying in bed, and the nurses had left with the gurney. The detox medicine was hooked up to him.
Caitlin sat by the bed, holding Bruce’s hand, watching him silently.
Sebastian entered the room, feeling his way around. He found the bed and, following the edge, his hand brushed against what he thought was Bruce’s hand. But it was Caitlin’s hand instead.
Her hand was soft and small, and it fit perfectly in his.
Curious, he held it for a moment.
Feeling the warmth of his hand around hers, Caitlin immediately tensed.
“What are you doing?”
She hated being touched!
Caught, Sebastian cleared his throat awkwardly, “Ahem… I was just holding my son’s hand. What’s the problem?”