Chapter 501 Winnie's Suspicions
After hanging up, Claire turned to Ishara, her face pale. "Ms. Ishara, the caller identified herself as Darcy. She claims to have information you might be interested in and suggested you should get in touch with her."
"Darcy?" Ishara’s expression turned icy. She had never dealt with Darcy before. A veiled threat lingered within her message.
-
In the hospital ward, Winnie meticulously assessed Stephanie's pulse, carefully comparing it with the monitor readings. Her concern heightened as she exclaimed, "You're extremely anemic?"
Stephanie's pulse felt feeble, and her complexion bore a pallor that, in medical terms, signaled a critical deficiency in blood production.
“I'm not really sure what's wrong,” Stephanie said, shaking her head. “But I’ve been having nosebleeds, vomiting, and I faint often. Lately, I've been coughing up blood, and my hair has started to fall out…”
Winnie frowned. The symptoms Stephanie has were akin to cancer. "Have the doctors been giving you blood transfusions recently?"
Stephanie hesitantly said, "I'm clueless. Lawrence is withholding information from me. He's given instructions to the doctors not to say anything to me. Regardless of how much I inquire, I can't get a straightforward answer about my condition. I'm kept in the dark about the treatments I'm undergoing. In the last session that was just two days ago, I recall receiving anesthesia and I was unconscious for the night. Following that, I felt significantly better – more alert and slightly stronger."
Winnie pondered the situation. Blood transfusions were akin to nourishing the body, as fresh blood provided the circulatory system with new cells.
She pondered why Stephanie would require a blood transfusion, considering there hadn't been excessive bleeding. There was only one plausible explanation – Stephanie's bone marrow was failing to generate new blood cells.
Winnie’s eyes flickered with understanding. "Aunt, may I take a look at your back?"
Stephanie nodded, turned over and Winnie gently lifted her shirt. Her spine had needle marks in a different location than Winnie had noticed before and the punctures were smaller.
"Did your doctor examine your spine recently?" she asked.
"Yeah," Stephanie remarked, recalling the experience vividly. "Undergoing a bone marrow biopsy was excruciating. I couldn't get out of bed for two days."
Winnie couldn't help but infer with certainty that Stephanie must be facing spinal issues.
Given the necessity for a transfusion, it hinted at a hematologic condition, potentially a severe and life-threatening disease.
It appeared that Ishara could indeed be the one chosen to donate blood. Alternatively, if Stephanie had leukemia, a bone marrow donation wasn't out of the question. Hence, Lawrence was associating with Ishara as a final option for blood or marrow.
A throbbing pain started ticking in her temples. She needed to confirm her suspicions. Furthermore, if Stephanie had emerged from a persistent vegetative state just fine, the sudden onset of a blood disorder raised questions.
Winnie stepped out of the hospital room, intent on checking Stephanie's medical records first. But someone clearly didn't want her snooping around because the records were missing from both the nurses' station and the doctors' offices.
Her only option was to consult with the attending physician, Dr. Moore.
Dr. Moore was direct, stating firmly, "Ms. Winnie, you do not have the authority to inquire about Stephanie's private medical matters. I won't respond to any queries regarding her."
His tight-lipped response and apparent discomfort only intensified Winnie's hunch.
"Is it a spinal issue, then?"
Dr. Moore's eyelid twitched, his face pale.
Winnie, maintaining a polite yet incisive tone, persisted, "Fine, if you prefer not to answer, I respect that. I understand it's a sensitive issue. What I'm interested in is understanding the cause of her illness. What precipitated it? Given the extent of her anemia, I suspect a rapid deterioration of her spine. It seems quite sudden. Have you investigated this aspect?"
Dr. Moore, taken aback, wondered how Winnie could discern so much just from a pulse check. The thought hit him as he noticed that Stephanie's leukemia was indeed deteriorating much faster than typical cases.
The team of experts, after diagnoses, could only point to Winnie's medicine as a potential factor.
He was even less able to respond to this query. "Ms. Winnie, you're not familiar with Stephanie's condition. You shouldn't interfere with her treatment."
"You're mistaken. I have no intention of meddling with the treatment," Winnie said, standing firm in her suspicions. "Since you're hesitant to discuss the cause of her illness, allow me to show you a photo, and maybe you can just answer one question, okay?"
Dr. Moore remained ambiguous.
Winnie dramatically revealed a photo capturing the puncture wounds on Stephanie's back, discovered post her abduction and subsequent rescue. "I stumbled upon these marks when Stephanie was admitted for treatment. My burning question for you Dr. Moore, is this, was there a spinal examination conducted during that period?"
Dr. Moore cast a surprised and puzzled look at the pinhole, his expression revealing a tale of its own.
"You didn't perform a spinal tap back then, did you?"
Dr. Moore shook his head, furrowing his brow in inquiry. "Stephanie had a puncture this large on her back then?"
"Yeah, I stumbled upon it by chance. It's the typical size left by an injection needle. Somehow, both you and the nurse must have missed it. At the time, I questioned Lawrence, but he insisted you had already examined her. Subsequently, he forbade me from probing further into Stephanie's condition."
In Winnie's perspective, Stephanie's abrupt spinal degeneration seemed connected to the unusual 'pinhole'. If not Dr. Moore, someone else must have been responsible for injecting Stephanie's spine.
Before she was kidnapped by Darcy, Stephanie had just awakened from a persistent vegetative state in the hospital at Island Electronics – a place that should've been secure. Thus, the possibility lingers that something 'accidental' occurred to Stephanie during the day and night of her kidnapping.
Her mind swirled with chaos. This puncture mark might have been made by Darcy or Ishara.
She had to find out what exactly happened the night Stephanie and Oscar were abducted. Something might have been injected through this pinhole, possibly causing her severe spinal condition.
A whirlwind of suspicions plunged Winnie into a world of conspiracy theories.
As they departed Island Electronics hospital, night had descended. Over dinner, Olivia invited Winnie to join her. Winnie, deep in contemplation at the table, said, "I'm considering questioning Darcy later tonight."
Olivia looked up, pulling out her phone. "Then I'll contact Laura now to find a way to distract Ray so you can grill that wretch without interruption." Winnie nodded in agreement.
Upon reaching the hospital where Darcy was detained, Winnie encountered two police officers. They introduced themselves. "Ms. Winnie, Mr. Jeremy has sent us to explicitly assist you, aware that you're about to confront Darcy."
Winnie halted, her thoughts involuntarily revisiting Lawrence through the connection with Jeremy. Jeremy had said Lawrence was onto Ishara's trail. It's possible that the police were acting on his suggestion, and he might be supporting her in questioning Darcy.
Emotions swirled within her. Oscar had become the unifying force between them.
Winnie composed herself and barged into Darcy's room.
Darcy had just finished dinner and the look in her eyes wasn't one of surprise upon seeing Winnie. She had been expecting her visit. When whispers of Winnie's arrival in Lymington reached her, Darcy had her connections confirm it through some discreet inquiries about Ray.
Later, she had use her connections to dig up information about Trento City, only to learn that Winnie suspected Ishara had kidnapped Oscar.
Darcy successfully contacted Ishara, and their 'deal' was firmly established. Brimming with confidence, Darcy felt no intimidation from Winnie or the two police officers accompanying her.
"Arrest her!" Winnie commanded. The police officers promptly restrained Darcy by handcuffing her, limiting her freedom. They then nodded to Winnie, saying, "Ms. Winnie, you're free to question her as you see fit. We'll be outside, so exercise caution."
"Olivia, bring in the bodyguards." Winnie instructed.
At Olivia’s cue, two bodyguards entered and each landed a slap across Darcy's face. As Darcy yelped in pain and tears streamed down her face, she exclaimed, "Winnie, have you lost your mind? Did you come here just to assault me?"
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