Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 203: Strings in the Shadows

At Springfield Hospital,

Doctor Amelia Gray had already been waiting, alerted by Alaric’s call. The stretcher was ready at the entrance, nurses hovering, but Alaric didn’t let go of Aveline even for a second. He carried Aveline himself, his jaw set, his arms wound tight around her slight frame.

"What happened to her?" Amelia asked, checking if they needed to prepare something or head her for any tests.

"She was handling everything at the scene." his voice was low, urgency evident as they moved. "Then she fainted out of nowhere. I tried to wake her, but she didn’t respond. There are no serious wounds on her body, just some scratches. But she wouldn’t wake up."

He laid her down once they reached the private suite reserved solely for Aveline.

Amelia didn’t waste words. Her hands moved quickly and practiced as she checked Aveline’s vitals.

Aveline’s heartbeat was steady, but her breathing was shallow, though even. Her body temperature was a bit cold, and her pupils were normal.

Amelia exhaled through her nose, relief softening her features before she spoke. "She is weak. Her body probably couldn’t handle more shock, that’s all." She glanced at Aveline. She had been watching the news when Alaric had called. She had feared the worst.

She added, "Her mind pushed her body until it couldn’t take it anymore. She needs rest."

Alaric’s shoulders were still tense when Amelia patted his arm, her tone assured, leaving no space for doubt. "Let her rest. She will be fine. Don’t force her awake... sleep will heal more than medicine right now."

She gave instructions to the nurse, set up an IV to replenish her strength, and stepped out. She met the Laurents outside the door.

Margaret’s worry had aged her years in minutes. Henry stood rigid, Charles beside him already firing off calls.

Amelia offered them the same reassurance. "She’ll be fine. She just needs to sleep. Watch over her, nothing more." Then she excused herself.

Inside, Alaric failed to ease himself. He knew what was waiting for Aveline when she woke up. But could he solve it before she had to face it?

Margaret hovered close to her daughter’s bedside, her hand brushing over Aveline’s head. "Lina... why are problems just not stopping in your life?" She cried, recalling how Aveline was fighting to survive the troubles one after the other.

Henry released a long breath, relief visible for a fraction before his phone buzzed again, dragging him back into PR damage control.

Charles’s brow furrowed deep as he pulled up draft statements, but the lines of tension across his face told the truth. The words wouldn’t save Aveline from this storm.

Alaric cut in before they decided on anything. His voice was heavy. "Somebody caused it."

Henry’s eyes snapped up, sharp. Charles muttered under his breath, bitterness coating his voice, "I knew it. I told you, she doesn’t overlook any details."

Alaric pulled up the photos on his phone. The power cables sliced with deliberate precision, the partition connectors damaged and forced out of place, the wreckage staged like a death trap.

Henry and Charles’s expressions darkened, but even evidence wasn’t enough. If they released anything now, it would only inflame the media’s and netizens’ frenzy.

"We need the perpetrator first," Alaric said flatly.

None of the media houses was answering their calls. It was as if they had suddenly stopped recognizing them. And Alaric was even more sure it was planned... planned for days, and Aveline had played right into it.

"The security cameras?" Henry asked.

"Confiscated by the police." Alaric’s jaw flexed. His gaze zeroed in on Henry. "Chairman Laurent, if you know anyone trustworthy in the department... someone powerful, you need to call them now. We can’t let the wrong hands spin the evidence."

Henry stepped aside, already dialing.

Scarlett and her boyfriend rushed inside. Scarlett went to Aveline, and Nate reported to Alaric. "A team has formed, and they flatly refused when I or my colleagues tried to get involved."

His voice dropped to avoid the ladies when he continued, "It was as if they knew something was going to happen. I have never seen an investigation team form in just a few minutes, and all the team members were surprisingly free of any emergency cases."

Alaric understood the words Nate didn’t utter. They couldn’t trust the investigation team. They weren’t there to find the instigator but to pin everything on Aveline.

Alaric instructed Nate, "Get me the list of all the cops in the team."

Nate nodded firmly as he added, "With their dirty secrets." He rushed out without another word. He knew Alaric was going to use unconventional methods, and even as a cop, he wanted to help them.

Because the Aveline he knew, the Aveline his girlfriend loved, would never risk anybody’s life.

With one less worry, Alaric dialed a string of numbers as he glanced at Charles in the corner, firing instructions to staff across the company.

His voice dropped low and cold when he instructed his team, "Sweep everything. Visit every employee of Cullens if you have to. Get all the video clips, back-up drives, eyewitness records, and media leaks. Nothing gets buried. Steal the devices from cops if you have to."

Then, he made another call. His voice turned lethal, without a hint of patience. "I want every single Astor and Theodore Marston traced. Their activities, communications, and digital footprints. Leave nothing unchecked."

Because those were the ones who carried grudges against Aveline and him. And tonight’s sabotage reeked of vengeance.

Damien Ashford crossed his mind. He could make Damien spill the truth, but he wasn’t allowed near him. His jaw hardened. There had to be a way to reach Damien.

Another man appeared in his mind. Leo Silvers. A man who sold his loyalty to the highest bidder.

He went closer to Aveline. She was sleeping, but oddly, she didn’t look peaceful. If only he could solve everything as soon as possible.

Scarlett was comforting Margaret when he spoke. "Mrs. Laurent," he said quietly, "stay with Sunshine. I need to step out for a while."

Margaret nodded, her hand never leaving her daughter’s arm. Scarlett responded, "Don’t worry about Aveline."

Alaric was at the door when Henry reentered, his frown deepening with every word. "They refused. None of my contacts in the department wants to touch the case." It was as if Aveline Laurent was the criminal, and nobody wanted to be involved with the Laurents.

A silent acknowledgment passed between them. It was crystal clear that someone was pulling strings at a level far higher than their reach.

A name echoed in Alaric’s mind. He walked out, dialing Edward this time. The moment the call connected, his voice was pure threat, "If she’s involved, I’ll burn her alive."

...

At Lancaster Mansion,

Edward had already heard of the disaster. But Alaric’s words stripped away any illusion of accident or negligence. Everything was planned. And Alaric’s suspicion pointed at one person...

Seraphina Astor.

Edward didn’t get a chance to respond before the line went dead. He turned to find Isabella, pale, clutching the remote as the news replayed footage on an endless loop.

"It wasn’t negligence," Edward told her grimly. "Ric suspects Seraphina." All along, they had assumed that the inexperience caused the accident.

Isabella wanted to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard it wasn’t negligence, but she recoiled next. "No. She might be petty, jealous, envious, but she isn’t cruel enough to risk so many lives."

Edward wanted to believe her. But he knew Alaric. He wouldn’t accuse lightly. "She is also furious, Isabella," he reminded her. "Fury makes people blind."

Isabella closed her eyes, unwilling to admit the possibility, but fear gnawed at her. This firestorm would cost Aveline dearly if there was foul play.

"Ring the chief of Police," Isabella ordered tightly. "I don’t want them to miss any detail. Not when Alvin’s happiness is at stake."

Edward nodded once and stepped away to make the call. But he returned next to Isabella shortly. "Not answering my call."

Isabella failed to notice the suspicion in Edward’s voice. She said hopefully, "He must be busy."

Edward also wanted to be as positive as her. So he kept his mobile beside him and waited for the call that wasn’t going to come.

...

At Springfield Hospital, 2 am,

Aveline woke up to the nightmare, breathing heavily. This was the time she had been suffering from the effects of the poison before her regression. Instead of her, innocent people were suffering because of her.

’I shouldn’t be sleeping here. I need to get them the best treatment.’

Aveline barely registered Scarlett dozing off on the couch or Charles frowning in his sleep on the armchair. She pulled her hand out of Margaret’s grasp and rushed out of the room.

Margaret woke up with a gasp when she wasn’t able to hold her hand, "Lina..." Her voice was barely audible. She grabbed Aveline’s heels and ran behind Aveline. "Lina... Lina..."

Henry, who was nodding off on a chair in the corridor, jerked up, hearing Margaret, and rushed behind them.

At the reception, Aveline looked around. Springfield Hospital was far from the venue, and it wasn’t the place everyone had been sent to. She tried calling Nolan, running out of the hospital, and getting in a cab, without hearing the voices calling after her.

Panicked, Henry and Margaret followed her in another cab without wasting time to fetch their car.