“So, you just left Candace alone in the ward?” Linford stopped hiding his anger after hearing Jasper’s name, “Do you even give a shit about those journalists? Or Candace means nothing when it comes to your work. Or is Jasper Johnson so important to you?”
Cristelle didn’t know what to say anymore. Candace had been in danger so many times, and she failed to be with her every time. She blamed herself for being so stupid.
“You’re always, ALWAYS, like this, Cristelle. Can you take care of our children or not?” The coldness in Linford’s voice was daunting.
Cristelle’s eyes widened in shock, “What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly how you comprehend,” Linford huffed before he turned to Alfred, “Alfred, bring her out of the hospital. Don’t let her get close to Candace without my permission.”
Cristelle protested, “No! You can’t do this to me!”
Linford stared at her eyes for a second and snapped his fingers, “Take her to the mansion and keep her there. Send a couple of men to keep an eye on her. If you let her escape, you’ll be fired, Alfred.”
Alfred didn’t dare to say any words.
“No! You can’t take Candace away from me! Linford Bradley! We have an agreement! You can’t do this to me!” Cristelle screamed.
Linford whipped around, refusing to look at her, “Bring her away!”
As much as he hated this, Alfred still followed Linford’s order, bringing Cristelle away from the 15th floor.
“Let me go! Let me go! Linford Bradley! You massive liar! Candace needs me! Let me go!”
Cristelle’s scream died as the doors of the elevator slid close.
Candace’s eyes widened as she searched the room. Where was Mom?
“Mommy just got hurt, and she needs to be taken care of. She will be back when she gets better, sweetie,” Linford calmly lied as he stroked his daughter’s soft hair, “Mommy will be back if Candace tries to be a good girl.”
Candace pouted as her eyes went tearful again, but she still held back her tears, nodding quietly.
“This girl is so cute,” Lily smiled, “She has your mother’s eyes, Linford.”
Before she could finish the sentence, however, the door of the ward was pushed open. Mrs. Weston got in hurriedly, “Candace! Are you okay?”
Mrs. Weston had been away from the city. She had come back this morning and seen the news about Candace on her phone when she was still at the airport.
She came to the hospital instantly after that.
“Mrs. Weston, good morning,” Lily stood up from her chair.
Mrs. Weston’s eyes widened for a short second as she saw Lily’s face. And then, a bit of a smile showed up on her lips, “Lily! It’s been a while. It’s really good to see you again.”
They exchanged a couple of words, and Mrs. Weston went to Candace’s bed. Her heart was broken when she saw Candace’s leg, “What happened to the girl’s leg? Who would ever do this to a five-year-old?”
“Mrs. Weston, the girl is okay. You should probably go back and get some rest. I’ll take care of her,” Linford said calmly.
Mrs. Weston could tell that Linford wanted to spend some time alone with his daughter. So she nodded, “Candace, honey, I’m going back for now. I’ll be here to visit you soon, okay?”
Okay. Candace nodded silently.
“Don’t worry. Mommy’s gonna be fine soon. And Cody will also be here to see you. I promise that you can see her in three days. Don’t be sad, okay?” Linford explained to his daughter.
Candace nodded.
Linford could feel how scared the girl still was.
“Daddy will be here all the time, and those bad guys can never get close to you again, okay?”
Candace nodded, rubbing her eye with one chubby hand. As scared as she was right now, she still trusted her Dad.
Linford was glad to see the girl finally calm down a bit. But the sudden noise outside of the door made the girl shudder the next second.
“Are you blind? Get the fuck away and let me in!” Darwin sounded extremely angry about being kept outside.
Candace pulled the cover of the bed over her head.
Linford frowned before he leaned over and left a kiss on the girl’s forehead, “Don’t be scared, honey. Daddy will be back soon, okay?”
Candace nodded, one chubby hand clasping the sheet.
Linford called Lily out of the kitchen to take care of Candace, and then he went to the door.
When Linford pulled the door, it suddenly opened, and Darwin was still struggling with the guards.
“Can we talk outside?” Linford asked his father coldly.
“Can I at least see my granddaughter? She’s almost got killed,” Saying that, Darwin was about to burst in.
But Linford slammed the door close, watching the old man challengingly. Darwin took a step back involuntarily, “What do you want to do, Linford?”
“Candace’s scared. She doesn’t want to see you,” Linford warned.
“I am the girl’s grandpa. You have no right to keep me from seeing my granddaughter!” Darwin hissed.
“You have every right to see her. But not now. Look at yourself. Do you really want her to see you like this? It will give her nightmares,” Linford said calmly.
Darwin faltered. He knew how awful his temper could sometimes be. And the girl was easily scared. Linford was probably right.
Linford knew Darwin had given up the idea of seeing Candace. So he walked toward another ward.
Darwin hesitated for a second and followed.
****
“I’ve told you that you can’t trust that woman! Look what she did to you! Candace was in danger, but she somehow still went to see Jasper Johnson on a date,” Darwin couldn’t hold in his anger.
Linford’s eyebrow raised, “Where did you get to know this?”
“It’s all over the news right now! I’m not fucking blind,” Darwin laughed coldly, “What? You don’t even know this is on trend? If I didn’t pay those people to delete those posts, you would look even more stupid in the public’s eyes. The Bradley House has never been treated like a bunch of fools as this before.”
How come those journalists knew what had happened so well? Who told them about this?
Linford narrowed his eyes. He thought he had an answer already.