Chapter 299
As soon as she stepped inside, Aiden and the others came out carrying basins of water stained red.
They looked surprised to see Patricia.
“Mrs. Bennett?” Aiden asked.
“How’s everything?” Patricia said, her voice steady.
“We just took the bullet out,” Aiden replied.
“I want to see him.”
Inside, Jackson was slumped in a chair while the doctor dressed his wound, quietly rattling off aftercare instructions.
Jackson glanced up and spotted Patricia standing in the doorway. He tried to sit up, startled, but moved too quickly and winced in pain.
“Just finish bandaging first,” Patricia said, settling into a nearby chair to wait.
When the doctor left, Patricia leaned in. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Miss. But what are you doing here so late? You should be getting some rest.”
“I just wanted to check on you,” Patricia said, then added, “Do you know who did this?”
“I’ll find out. The bounty’s posted online, shouldn’t be hard to track down. I’ll look into it tomorrow.”
“Can you check now?” she asked, her tone soft but urgent.
Jackson glanced at his arm, then over at Aiden, making it obvious he wasn’t up for the task and would need Aiden’s help.
Aiden caught on immediately.
“It’s late, Mrs. Bennett. Tomorrow’s soon enough,” he said. “Jackson needs to rest.”
Patricia thought about it, then nodded. “Focus on getting better. You don’t need to follow me around for a while. I’ll transfer you some extra money–think of it as a little bonus.”
Jackson looked startled. “Why send me so much? It’s not like I ever spend it. I don’t even have anywhere to go!”
He had no family, no friends, and spent every day at Patricia’s side. When would he ever need to spend money?
Patricia chuckled. “Come on, who complains about having too much money?”
***
The doctor was just packing up to leave when Johns called him back.
Downstairs, Oliver sat on the sofa, hunched over with one hand holding his head and the other hanging limply. Blood dripped from his knuckles onto the floor.
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18:48
Chapter 299
Every light in the room was on, harsh and bright. Oliver kept his palm pressed over his eyes, making it impossible to read his expression.
The tension was thick. The doctor, kneeling in front of him, was sweating and kept glancing at Johns for help.
Sensing things were about to get worse, Johns pulled Marian aside and led her out of the main house. “Go find Mrs. Bennett. Try to talk to her. Whatever’s going on, they need to talk it out. There’s no point in fighting like this.”
“All that affection wasted on a pointless argument. How are they supposed to go on like this?”
Marian gave him a strange look. “Are you blaming Miss for this?”
“Of course not. I just want them to be okay. Marriage is all about compromise. If you spend your whole life keeping score, how can you stand it?”
“When you’re upset, I step back. When I’m upset, you do the same. Once you both cool off, you can talk it out. That’s what real life looks like.”
Johns pleaded, “Please, just go talk to her.”
He knew the truth: Marian and Jackson saw Patricia as family. But Mr. Bennett? He was always on the outside. There was always a distance between them.
Marian caught up to Patricia a little ways from the main house.
Patricia looked surprised to see her. “It’s so late. Why aren’t you asleep?”
“With all this drama, how could I sleep? Mr. Padilla got hurt, the doctor just went in, and I was worried about you. I came to walk you back.”
Patricia’s eyes widened. “He’s hurt? What happened?”
18:48
