Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Instantly Lost Consciousness

Rory Linden walked over. "Hello, officers. I’m the attending physician for the patient in bed 137. She just underwent an artificial heart transplant, and her condition hasn’t stabilized. What is it you need to ask? Perhaps I can help."

She was afraid Charlotte Rhodes wouldn’t be able to handle any bad news from the police.

The police weren’t very clear about why they were there.

They only said they needed Evan Hollis to assist with an investigation. Since they couldn’t locate him, they had come to ask Charlotte Rhodes for information.

This was more or less what Rory Linden had suspected.

The police don’t just arrest people for no reason. If they were looking for Evan Hollis, the investigation must have been nearly complete.

She just hadn’t expected Evan Hollis to have already fled.

Rory Linden truthfully explained what she knew, then added, "The patient in bed 137’s condition is very unstable. She is extremely close to Evan Hollis and might not be able to handle such a blow."

She paused, then said, "May I call the caregiver out? The caregiver for bed 137 is here every day and has had a lot of contact with Evan Hollis."

After getting the police’s approval, Rory Linden found a nurse to call the caregiver out.

This caregiver was responsible for looking after Charlotte Rhodes at home and was also quite familiar with Evan Hollis.

A short while ago, after Charlotte Rhodes left her care, her health had suddenly deteriorated. When Evan Hollis prevented her from seeking medical attention, it was this same caregiver who had notified Sean Harrison.

After a few brief questions, the caregiver told the police everything she knew.

Naturally, this included the time Evan Hollis had refused to take Charlotte Rhodes to the hospital.

An officer asked one last time, "Are you sure the last time you saw Evan Hollis was on August 15th?"

"Yes."

The caregiver nodded earnestly.

"What’s wrong?"

Charlotte Rhodes’s voice came from behind them.

Somehow, the elderly woman had managed to walk over, supporting herself against the wall!

The caregiver, Rory Linden, and the other nurses saw her and immediately rushed over!

"Auntie Rhodes, you can’t leave your room in your condition."

Rory Linden quickly grabbed Charlotte Rhodes’s arm to support her.

In her condition, a fall could be fatal!

The caregiver and a nurse also carefully supported her.

Another nurse ran over with a wheelchair and helped Charlotte Rhodes sit down in it.

After sitting down, the first thing Charlotte Rhodes did was ask the nearby police officers, "Officers, is there any news about Evan Hollis? Has something happened to him?"

Rory Linden said, "Auntie Rhodes, Evan Hollis’s phone is off, and the police can’t find him either."

Charlotte Rhodes looked at the police, her fingers gripping the armrests of the wheelchair. Her voice trembled as she said, "Officers, Evan Hollis isn’t a bad person. I can vouch for him. If there’s some misunderstanding, please make sure you investigate thoroughly."

An officer looked at Charlotte Rhodes. "Do you know what he’s done?"

Charlotte Rhodes said, "I don’t. But I know you wouldn’t be looking for him for no reason."

Her health was already poor. Having just forced herself to walk over, her face was now deathly pale, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably.

Her voice was so weak it was barely audible.

Seeing her condition, the police didn’t say anything more, only instructing them to notify them immediately if Evan Hollis made contact.

After the police left, Rory Linden and the caregiver escorted Charlotte Rhodes back to her room.

After this recent ordeal, Charlotte Rhodes had grown much weaker, so thin she was nothing but skin and bones.

Rory Linden was able to help the elderly woman onto the bed by herself.

Charlotte Rhodes looked at Rory Linden and asked, "Dr. Linden, can you tell me what Evan Hollis did? Why are the police looking for him?"

"The police only asked us about Evan Hollis’s situation. They didn’t tell us what he did specifically."

Rory Linden hid the truth.

The police had just stated it clearly: Evan Hollis was involved in illegally smuggling prohibited drugs, espionage, and so on.

For these crimes, prison would be a light sentence.

When he got out of prison, he would surely be deported and never be allowed to return to Celestria.

If Charlotte Rhodes found out about all this, she surely wouldn’t be able to accept it.

Charlotte Rhodes looked at the caregiver beside her. "What did the police ask you?"

The caregiver stared nervously at Rory Linden.

She was terrible at lying and didn’t dare say a word.

"The police just asked what Evan Hollis used to do here, where he would go besides the hospital, and if we’d ever seen him contact or meet with anyone else."

Rory Linden answered for the caregiver.

Charlotte Rhodes clearly didn’t believe her, her face filled with obvious suspicion.

Rory Linden resorted to the same line of reasoning. "Auntie Rhodes, Evan Hollis is just temporarily out of touch. But he was the one who saved up the money for your new heart. You have to take good care of it and not let his efforts go to waste."

Charlotte Rhodes could be unreasonable about some things.

But with Evan Hollis’s sudden disappearance, the police showing up, and everything that had happened before, she could guess what was really going on just by putting the pieces together.

The hospital room was very quiet.

Charlotte Rhodes sat quietly on the bed. After a long time, she finally nodded. "I know."

’In any case, I was the one who performed her surgery. I have to ensure she recovers well and is discharged safely. After that, if she doesn’t take care of herself, there’s nothing I can do.’

Rory Linden left the room and immediately called Sean Harrison to tell him about the police visit.

Evan Hollis had not only specifically mentioned Leo to her, but he’d also told Charlotte Rhodes about Leo’s existence. No matter how she looked at it, he clearly had ulterior motives.

"Make sure someone is with Leo at all times. Don’t let him wander off," Rory Linden instructed seriously. "I’m on the night shift tonight, so I’ll have to leave him in your care."

Sean Harrison agreed. "Okay. You be safe, too. If you need to leave the hospital for any reason, remember to have the driver take you."

Hospitals were hotbeds for disputes.

Especially after several nationally sensationalized cases of patients’ families stabbing doctors.

Now, cameras were being installed everywhere in the hospital.

And plenty of security guards patrolled 24/7.

’Evan Hollis definitely wouldn’t make a move inside the hospital. As long as I’m here, I’ll be safe. I don’t even have to worry about the night shift.’

Rory Linden wasn’t going to leave the hospital. She wasn’t worried about herself, only about Leo.

Leo had already been involved in a kidnapping at his preschool. If Evan Hollis targeted him again, she was afraid it would leave her son with deep psychological scars.

A little after midnight, a patient with a type A aortic dissection was brought to the hospital.

The patient’s condition was extremely critical.

The arrival of this patient sent the entire cardiac surgery department into a flurry of activity.

Rory Linden operated all night.

By the time she walked out of the operating room, it was the next morning, and the nurses had already completed their shift change.

Rory Linden was exhausted and sleepy.

Still, she forced herself to stay alert, completed her rounds and finished her remaining work before changing and leaving the inpatient department.

The driver Sean Harrison had arranged for her had been waiting in the underground parking garage for two hours.

As soon as Rory Linden got in the car, the driver started the engine.

The car slowly drove out of the hospital.

They had missed the morning rush hour, so the roads were no longer congested.

Rory Linden was exhausted after the long night. Sitting in the back seat, she leaned against the seat back and drowsily fell asleep.

She didn’t know how much time had passed...

CRASH!

Following the enormous sound, she felt a violent impact.

Her body was thrown around as the car rolled over and over.

Rory Linden’s mind wasn’t fully awake yet when her head slammed hard against the grab handle above the back seat, and she instantly lost consciousness.