The man wore a black shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hands were in the pockets of his trouser pants, exuding an innate aura of nobility, like a god descending from the heavens.
His cold, handsome face showed no trace of sympathy as he strode over to her. He paused, raised his hand, and George, standing behind him, handed him a document.
Leo flung the papers at Toria's face.
With a rustling sound, several medical reports scattered across Toria's face and fluttered down onto the bed. Toria shot Leo an annoyed glance before picking up the reports and reading them again. It was clear, they read "positive." She was pregnant.
"Heh."
For some reason, a wave of unexplainable bitterness surged in her heart, and her eyes reddened.
She had been so close to finding the real culprit behind her adoptive parents' car accident, but the private investigator had been brutally beaten, and the hit-and-run driver had been rescued and disappeared without a trace.
Now, she was unexpectedly pregnant and had to terminate it. Perhaps, this was her fate. Even if destiny was unfair, she had no choice but to accept it.
"What are you laughing at?" Leo's brows furrowed deeply, his face full of displeasure. Toria sniffled, hiding her sudden surge of grievance.
She smiled as she tossed the reports onto the table and glanced at her watch.
"It's 1 pm now. Schedule the surgery. This way, it won't affect my work tonight."
Leo's eyes narrowed slightly. He had expected Toria to ask to keep the baby, but her reaction was completely beyond his expectations.
The petite woman turned to the doctor and said proactively, "Doctor, let's proceed with the surgery now."
With a deep breath, Toria stepped into the operating room. At that moment, she felt a sudden urge to become stronger. Only with enough strength could she protect the people she cared about, instead of being trapped in her current situation, surrounded by enemies with no ability to fight back.
Lying on the operating table, it wasn't long before Toria drifted off into a hazy sleep. She thought she was undergoing surgery, but in reality, she had just taken a nap. Leo had never intended for her to lose the baby.
"When she wakes up, make sure to give her the 'medicine' we prepared.
You know what to do with the rest," Leo instructed.
The 'medicine' he referred to was nothing more than some supplements to help sustain the pregnancy.
"Yes, Master Carter," the doctor nodded.
Leo cast a meaningful glance at Toria before turning to leave. Behind him, George asked with confusion, "Boss, if you want to keep the baby, why not let Miss Kingsley know?"
"A greedy woman like her, if she knew I wanted to keep the baby, would only become more reckless. It's better she doesn't know," Leo replied.
Despite his words, Leo was also testing Toria. He wanted to see if she would keep her promise to terminate the pregnancy if she became pregnant.
In the end, he had underestimated her.
"But with pregnancy comes morning sickness; she'll find out sooner or later."
"That's why this period is my observation of her," Leo said, pausing in his steps before instructing George, "Tell the club to let her off work at midnight every night."
"Miss Kingsley is always working part-time delivering food. If she gets off work so early, won't she just go back to delivering food?" George recalled, considering her signs of a potential miscarriage.
Leo's thin lips curled slightly, "Everyone has their fate."
…
Over half an hour later, Toria woke up.
She shook her dizzy head, looked at the IV drip hanging beside her, and asked the nurse nearby, "Is the surgery done?"
"The surgery is done. But you need to come in for a week of anti-inflammatory IV drips and a follow-up in a month."
The nurse spoke earnestly to Toria, then advised her seriously, "You've had a 'miscarriage.' Remember to stay in bed for three days, avoid heavy lifting for half a month, and absolutely no smoking or drinking.
Otherwise, you might end up with postpartum complications and could never get pregnant again."
The 'anti-inflammatory IV' the nurse mentioned was just an excuse to get her to come in for the prescribed medication to stabilize her pregnancy.
"That serious? Okay, I'll be careful."
Toria nodded vigorously.
She was still so young and couldn't afford to lose her ability to have children. Otherwise, she feared she might never get married.
After Toria calmed down, she placed her hand on her stomach, feeling a wave of sadness wash over her.
This was her first child, and now it was just... gone.
Once the IV drip was finished, Toria stood up and moved around a bit, but to her surprise, she felt completely fine, as if nothing had happened.
"Nurse, why don't I feel anything after the surgery?" she asked, puzzled.
The nurse's eyes flickered slightly, and she gave a sheepish smile.
"A miscarriage procedure is a minor surgery. It may not hurt much, but you still need to rest."
As she spoke, she handed a bunch of medication to Toria.
"These are the medicines you need to take. The instructions are marked on them."
"Okay, thank you."
After returning to her rented apartment, Toria took three days off from the club, and her request was readily approved.
She felt a surge of gratitude.
"The club manager is so kind, it's so easy to get leave."
Last time, she had taken three days off to visit the Carter Family estate, and it was approved without a hitch. Now, she got another three days off without any questions.
For the next three days, she rested at home. Every day, she would cook meals and take them to the hospital for her mother. She would also take her mother out for walks to get some sun and massage her comatose father.
Apart from these activities, she went to the hospital for her anti-inflammatory IV drips and spent the rest of the time resting at home, not even daring to order takeout.
One day, while lying at home and scrolling through her phone, a news notification popped up on her news app: "Body of a Red-Wanted Criminal Found in New Orleans Bay."
Curious, she clicked on the eye-catching headline.
The photo of the body was blurry, but it included a picture of the criminal from before.
"This guy... he looks so familiar," Toria murmured to herself. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. She quickly pulled out the photos her private investigator had sent her a few days ago.
Comparing the images, she gasped and shot up from the floor.
"It's him!"
The man exposed in the news as the deceased was the same driver who had hit her foster parents with his car. He was also the one who had been rescued from the private investigator's grasp.