"When he wakes up, let me know. I’ll schedule our appointment at the courthouse."

Chloe Reed’s voice was cold as she finished, and she hung up immediately.

"Chloe..."

Nathaniel Monroe was stunned. He wanted to say more, but all he heard from the other end was the BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of a dead line...

’So heartless!’

’To just hang up like that!’

’Walker’s been hurt for her sake so many times, yet she’s this cold!’

’They were together for eight years. How could she just throw it all away?’

Nathaniel Monroe was fuming. He tossed his phone aside and looked at Walker Grant, still unconscious on the hospital bed.

Dylan Finch, at his side, also had a grim look on his face.

"How exactly did Walker get hurt?" Nathaniel Monroe asked, staring at Walker Grant’s left arm in confusion.

Dylan Finch shook his head. "I honestly don’t know."

Nathaniel Monroe rubbed his temples. At that moment, his phone rang. He took it out and saw it was a call from Judith Pierce.

"Hello, Aunt Judith," Nathaniel Monroe said, forcing some cheerfulness into his voice.

"Has Walker woken up yet?" Judith Pierce asked.

"Not yet," Nathaniel Monroe sighed. "The doctors said he lost a lot of blood. There’s no telling when he’ll wake up."

After a brief hesitation, Judith Pierce said, "I’m coming to see him now."

"Okay."

Nathaniel Monroe felt that something was off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Before long, Judith Pierce arrived, carrying Noah Grant in her arms.

"Aunt Judith, why did you bring Noah with you? What if he gets scared?" Nathaniel Monroe said, stepping forward and naturally taking the boy into his own arms.

"Uncle...?"

Noah looked at the unconscious Walker Grant on the hospital bed, then turned to Nathaniel Monroe, his big eyes filled with confusion.

Nathaniel Monroe smiled. "Your uncle’s just sleeping. Why don’t you wake him up in a little while so he can play with you, okay?"

"Okay!"

Noah Grant nodded enthusiastically. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Judith Pierce looked at Walker Grant’s pale face, her gaze falling to his left arm. A flicker of guilt and self-reproach flashed in her eyes.

She regretted it.

’I must have been completely out of my mind!’

’How could I have come up with a plan like that?’

Her original intention was just to get Walker Grant away from Chloe Reed so he wouldn’t be in danger.

But who would have thought that after everything, he’d be the one getting hurt again.

Judith Pierce’s heart ached so much that tears started to fall.

"Aunt Judith, do you know something?" Nathaniel Monroe asked, looking at her with suspicion.

Judith Pierce wiped her tears and shook her head. "I don’t know anything. It’s just seeing him unconscious like this... It’s just so sad, and painful, and frightening."

The fact that she had drugged her own son to make him sleep with her older son’s wife—his own sister-in-law—was something she could never bring herself to say out loud.

So, she could only deflect with a vague excuse.

Nathaniel Monroe didn’t press the issue. Instead, he held Noah in his arms and playfully teased him.

"Uncle."

Noah leaned over the edge of the bed and gently pushed Walker Grant’s arm, calling his name in a small, childish voice.

But the unconscious man showed no reaction.

Judith Pierce picked Noah up. "Let’s just sit quietly with your uncle for a little while," she said. "He’ll wake up on his own when he’s had enough sleep."

Noah Grant nodded obediently. "Okay."

「As dusk fell」

The man, who had been unconscious for a full day and night, finally opened his eyes.

"Uncle!"

Noah, who had been staring intently at the bed, cried out in delight when he saw him wake up.

Judith Pierce and Nathaniel Monroe both turned to look.

"Walker, you’re awake? How do you feel?"

"Walker, you’re finally awake! You have no idea, you scared the hell out of me."

Walker Grant frowned slightly. The pain in his left arm was a constant throb. He closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. "I’m fine."

Then, his gaze fell on Judith Pierce’s face.