Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 75: Emergency

King jerked me to him and pulled me into his lap. His grip belied how injured he really was.

"King, let me go."

"I want to, but I can’t. I’ve tried over and over again, but every time I do, you show up again. It’s like your mom is determined to make me keep my promise."

If King believed that, I could use it to get him to the hospital.

"King, if you’re going to keep your promise to my mom, then you should let me take you to the hospital. You can’t take care of me in this condition."

"But I’m better off dead."

I turned in his arms to face him. "Why do you think that?"

"Mom—no, Lettie—is a career criminal. When all this comes out, Heavenly Enterprises will be bankrupt."

"So? You’re young and talented. You start over with a clean conscience. People do it all the time. Min will help. So will Ben, but you have to stay strong. We all do."

"Will you help me, Teela? After everything that’s happened, can you ever forgive me?"

Before King tried to destroy evidence, it would have been so much easier to say yes, but now, I couldn’t even spew a lie to save an injured man’s life. So, I did the next best thing.

"King, I won’t be blackmailed into forgiving you. If you want forgiveness, go to the hospital for treatment. Sober up and testify against Lettie. I’m capable of anything once Lettie gets what’s coming to her."

King nodded, his head resting on my shoulder.

"Then let me up and let Min and Ben help you to the car."

"Are you coming with me?"

"Yes."

Min and Ben got King up and headed to the door. I ducked into the bathroom and found a clean towel to wrap King’s arm in for the trip.

Jake was still sorting through the paperwork.

I asked Jake, "Are you okay here? Do you need help?"

"I’m good. I found a couple of boxes in the copy room. I’ll be out of here before you get King buckled into the car." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

I nodded. If Jake said he’s got this, then he’s got this.

By the time we arrived at the car, King was pale and sagging between Min and Ben. He slumped into the backseat with me while the others rode upfront.

We weren’t out of the garage yet when King slid sideways until his head rested in my lap. Sweat beaded across his face, and he moaned as he cradled his injured wrist. Fresh blood seeped through the new towel.

"Should I be putting pressure on the wound or something? He’s still bleeding."

Min said, "Hold on to him, Teela. I’m driving as fast as I can."

Ben said, "We could call an ambulance."

"I can get us there faster than an ambulance would arrive," Min said. "Trust me, Ben, I’d never let anything happen to King. He’s as much a brother to me as he is you."

Ben put a hand on Min’s arm. "I trust you. Just hurry."

Meanwhile, I’m in the backseat wondering if we could be better off with Jake driving.

By the time Min rolled up to the emergency room, King was non-responsive, and my legs were numb from supporting his dead weight.

Ben rushed inside and came back with medical staff and a stretcher. The staff supported King long enough for me to get out of the way before getting King out of the car and onto the stretcher.

By now, the new towel was soaked through. At this rate, King would get his wish and die before he ever had to face Lettie’s arrest. But he didn’t deserve to go like this. He was an innocent man.

Well, mostly innocent. I’d never forget how blind he was to my abuse. Even so, cluelessness wasn’t a crime punishable by death.

We followed the stretcher inside. Filling out the admissions paperwork was a team effort. As the wife, I signed all permissions, even though I felt like a fake. Yeah, legally, I was King’s wife, but I didn’t feel like it. I felt like the man who had bled all over me fell somewhere between acquaintance and friendly enemy. Either way, he was a human, and I wasn’t about to let him die if I could help keep him alive by doing something so simple as signing a few papers.

And then we waited while the staff fought to stabilize King.

While I waited, Min and Ben filled me in on more of the story.

Min said, "I dropped King off at the office last night and took Ben home. I didn’t think anything about it. King has said more than once that he thinks better at the office, and it was obvious he was upset with you.

"The next morning, I reported to work as usual. The damage to the office was already done. King was well into his second bottle of bourbon.

"I thought I’d talked him into giving me the bottle, but he broke the bottle and cut himself. I struggled with him to take away the broken glass. He took some superficial wounds, but Teela, at that time, the damage was minor. I swear.

"I ended up knocking him out to give him first aide."

"But the cuts were bleeding so badly," I protested.

"They weren’t at that time. So, after I bandaged him up, I called you and Ben.

"While King was out and you guys were taking your time arriving, I looked over the papers on the desk. If I had to guess, what set him off was finding out how far back Lettie’s crimes went. Combined with the sheer number of victims, Lettie journaled about taking three little boys in who were too weak and useless to sell.

"Teela, King, Joshua, and Ben are all victims. We all are. Everyone Lettie and Daniel comes in contact with are victims."

"How did the documents end up destroyed?"

Ben said, "That was my fault. When I showed up, I set King off. He was trying to protect me. From the truth, I think, but honestly, Teela, it’s a relief. Lettie has hated me since I was little. One of my first memories is of her forcing cough medicine into me so I’d sleep.

"I remember I was so loopy already, that I was afraid I’d never wake up if she gave me more. King stopped her. It wasn’t the last time. He’d bumped her arm and took the punishment she’d dished out. By the time she was done with him, she’d forgotten me.

"King’s always been like that, standing up for me, taking the heat for me, trying to save me from pain. He started shredding papers as soon as he saw me looking at them. I tried to stop him. We both did, but he was crazy determined. It took Min everything he had to get King into the bathroom."

Fuck Lettie. She disgusted me. People weren’t messed up like that for no reason. What had happened to Lettie to make her into this monster she’d become? Fuck King. Why did he protect Ben but not me? He let his mom put me through so much before I escaped.

Min took over. "I tried to just lock him in the bathroom, but when I heard the mirror break, I knew I’d made a mistake. That’s when he made the deep cuts to his wrist. I rushed in as fast as I could, but he was already bleeding. I did the best I could to restrain him while Ben bandaged him up again, and that is when you showed up."

The doctor came out to find us. "Mr. Heavenly is resting. We’ve sutured the wound and given him something to sober him up. I’m more concerned about how a man of his stature ended up with wrist wounds that deep."

Min and I exchanged a look. If we told the doctor King cut himself, they would lock him up for observation and evaluation. He’d be safe while he got his shit together. On the other hand, a visit to the psych ward would destroy his reputation. On top of all the drama coming down on him, it could make the situation worse.

So, I made something up. God, I hated lying.

"It was an accident, Doctor. He was drunk and seeing things. He broke a mirror and fell back into the shards. He’s lucky not to be injured more than he is. If you can get him sobered up, we’ll take him home. I’ll have a private nurse hired before nightfall to help until he’s better."

I could tell the doctor didn’t buy my story, but I also knew money bought a whole lot of cooperation in an organization that subsisted on donations.

"I’m sure the Heavenly family would be appreciative for any cooperation that you could afford us."

The doctor looked into my soul. Whatever he saw there must have been enough. "If you’re willing to sign a Discharge Against Medical Advice."

"Of course. Anything for the best interest of King, and I do think he will rest better at home."

The doctor left to secure the proper forms.

Min said, "You’ll have to move back into the condo. King listens to you."

"Yeah, I know."