Chapter 9 Gathering Evidence

She was waiting for her baby to be born.

She had desperately hoped to see the child grow up!

It was her only hope.

Ella's heart raced as her wrists trembled feebly against the hospital mattress.

Tears fell in large drops, soaking a patch of the bedsheet beneath her.

Before long, Ella regained her composure and summoned the willpower to carry on.

She noticed her phone on the bedside table.

Ella picked it up and immediately dialed Sarah's number.

Sarah answered quickly.

"Ella, where are you right now?" Sarah's anxious voice came through the line.

Bypassing explanations, Ella asked, "To make it short, can you help me investigate someone?"

"Who?"

"Xavier, an obstetrics chief. Can you follow him for me?"

Sarah asked, confused, "What exactly happened?"

"My baby is gone."

Silence fell on the other end.

Ella could clearly hear the static of the connection.

She spoke through gritted teeth, "These bastards have gone too far. I can't move around easily right now, and you're the only person I can trust. Sarah, please help me, will you?"

"Leave it to me. I'll make them pay for this!"

Sarah cursed angrily.

At least Ella wasn't completely alone.

While recovering in her hospital bed, Ella watched television reports about a sudden blaze that had erupted at a charity gala, an event that was now the talk of the town.

A single individual was listed as missing from the gala, triggering a thorough investigation by law enforcement.

Ella sat in her ward watching the coverage, a bitter smile forming on her lips.

Thanks to this gala, she'd made the news.

Become momentarily famous.

Ella had shut herself off from the world, consumed by the crushing grief of her miscarriage that left her shattered and inconsolable day after day.

While signing out of her social media, she unintentionally caught sight of a message an old college senior had posted on her wedding announcement.

[Are you doing alright back home?]

She froze, surprised that Anthony Gonzalez still followed her updates.

She had always assumed he hated her.

After all, certain things had happened between them years ago.

A notification suddenly appeared on her phone screen from Sarah.

[The private investigator I hired has been following him for two days. He finally got nervous today, and we caught him red-handed. By the way, isn't he supposed to be an obstetrics chief? Why does he have such a suspicious relationship with your housekeeper, Yasmin?]

She looked at the message and scrolled down to the attached photos.

Opening and enlarging them, she could clearly see Xavier and Yasmin talking in a café.

Ella saved the photos and typed back.

[What else did you find?]

Sarah quickly replied.

[Today, his account received a deposit of one million dollars. This huge sum doesn't match his income level, and the investigator traced it back to Yasmin as the source. Wait, how much money has Yasmin been skimming as a housekeeper to afford such a massive payment? Seriously, let me come work as your housekeeper instead!]

Ella was far from joking. She looked down, quietly processing the circumstances with a level head.

She didn't have any personal issues with Yasmin, so she couldn't understand why Yasmin would want to hurt her.

It appeared that Yasmin had been positioned within the home to act as a spy right from the start.

Someone wanted to hurt her.

The true mastermind hadn't been uncovered yet.

She lowered her gaze and, after a moment, typed:

[Can you send me the records of the financial transaction?]

[Got you covered.]

It was almost time to remove her stitches.

Ella remained on the bed while the nurse carefully removed the gauze from her legs.

"Has Dr. Hoffman ever been involved in taking bribes?" she asked suddenly.

The nurse froze, looking up with shocked eyes.

Ella continued, trying to draw her out. "A renowned obstetrics specialist like him must have done some questionable things. It can't be easy working under him, right?"

"Ms. Brooks, please don't put me in this position. I'm just a nurse," she replied, trembling.

Ella pressed her hand on the nurse's, looking into her eyes earnestly with tears forming. "As women who have faced unfair treatment, shouldn't we stand together against those who truly deserve legal punishment?"

"Ms. Brooks, I really don't know anything," the nurse insisted, shaking her head without meeting Ella's eyes.

Ella braced herself and tried to get on her feet, even with the crusting sores covering her legs.

Leaning on the nurse’s arm, she managed to take a single, trembling step forward.

"I have evidence," she said firmly.

The nurse froze.

Ella patted her shoulder. "He's sexually harassed junior nurses and interns using his position; he's established illegal surrogacy networks with unlicensed clinics... Are you going to keep pretending not to see these things?"

The nurse remained silent, her hands trembling as tears fell onto the floor.

"I lost my baby, and countless young women have been used as breeding tools. Some might never be able to become mothers again," Ella said, her own tears falling as she thought of her unborn child. 

She hugged the nurse tightly. "I've left the evidence in the bedside drawer. Reporting him is just one decision away. I have more important matters to attend to."

With those words, Ella released the nurse and painfully lifted her foot. 

A searing wave of ache, numbness, and throbbing pain radiated from deep within her bones, jolting through her entire nervous system.

Blue veins protruded as she bit her pale lips and determinedly walked toward the door.

Ella left the hospital and took a taxi home.

She went straight to the mansion and saw a servant cleaning the living room floor.

Ella lunged forward and grabbed Yasmin's wrist.

"Mrs. Raymond, what are you doing here?" Yasmin asked, her face showing surprise before quickly recovering with a nervous smile. "You're... you're back?"

"What's wrong? Disappointed you didn't see my corpse?" Ella coldly challenged.

"What are you talking about? You're saying things I don't understand," Yasmin responded, trying to maintain composure.

Ella's gaze hardened. "How did you get acquainted with Dr. Hoffman ?"

"What doctor? I don't know what you mean," she replied, averting her eyes, guilt written across her face.

Ella let out a cold laugh, twisting Yasmin's wrist until the bones made a cracking sound.

She cried out in pain, "Mr. Raymond! Mrs. Raymond has gone mad! Mrs. Raymond, she's trying to kill me!"

Austin rushed out of his study at the commotion. 

A flicker of shock, and maybe even a trace of relief, flickered across his features when he spotted Ella, though it vanished almost instantly.

Austin saw Ella forcefully twisting Yasmin's wrist while Yasmin sobbed in pain.

He strode down the stairs and commanded, "Ella, you come back and act so high and mighty! Let go of Yasmin!"

"So you knew I disappeared for half a month?" Ella looked with contempt at the man who had abandoned her in her moment of need and hadn't even bothered to search for her.

Of course, why would he look for her? Austin would probably be delighted if she died.

Then he could rightfully be with Judith, couldn't he?

Austin was about to explain when Yasmin immediately added fuel to the fire. "Mrs. Raymond attacked me the moment she returned. I don't know what I've done to upset her."

"Mr. Raymond, please help me. I've served the Raymond family loyally for ten years. I've always been careful, but Mrs. Raymond is falsely accusing me."

With that, she burst into loud, theatrical sobs.

Ella had never seen such a seamless performance—sitting on the floor, wailing dramatically.

Had she learned this from Judith?

Austin's expression darkened as he looked at Ella, not understanding what she was doing.

"Is this all you can do, Ella? Taking out your bad mood on Yasmin?"