Chapter 557 William and Hayden
Upon finishing his words, William, with remarkable elegance, casually retrieved a checkbook from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Jeffrey, standing behind him, immediately handed over a signing pen upon seeing this.
Accepting the pen, William proceeded to write "one million dollars" on the checkbook, followed by his signature. After completing these steps, he tore out the signed check. Handing both the pen and the checkbook to Jeffrey, Peter was visibly astonished. William extended the check towards him, offering a faint smile as he spoke slowly, "One million dollars. Peter, can you release the person now?"
Upon gazing at the one million dollar check, Peter hesitated. Without reaching out immediately, he hesitantly inquired, "William, are you truly willing to compensate me with one million dollars?"
William maintained his smile and replied, "The check for one million dollars is right in front of you. Whether you accept it or not is up to you."
Given William’s words, Peter harbored no more indecision. He promptly reached out his hand, which had been tightly gripping the female manager, to take the check.
In the very moment Peter's hand extended forward, accompanied by the female manager's piercing scream, William swiftly grabbed Peter's wrist, then swiftly clutched his neck.
Startled, Peter staggered back a step as William swiftly restrained him, seizing the dagger in Peter's other hand before thrusting it towards William.
"William." Witnessing this, Michelle, acting almost instinctually, rushed over, positioning herself between William and the blade.
"Yes."
Peter's movements were incredibly swift. As Michelle lunged forward, the blade pierced into her lower back on the left despite her efforts to shield William.
Several security personnel promptly reacted, rushing forward to swiftly subdue Peter. They pinned him to the ground, holding him with force.
"William, you shameless brat, I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Restrained, Peter continued to rage and yell.
However, William paid him no further attention. Instead, as he looked at Michelle, entangled in his arms with a stab wound, his mind was taken back to the moment five years ago when Hayden and Hall had stabbed him in the abdomen.
"William, are you alright?" Nestled in William's embrace, blood streaming from her back, Michelle, though in pain, still managed to lift her head to gaze at William, her face full of concern.
Looking at her, William regained his composure, gently holding her close and stating, "Don't speak, I will take you to the hospital now."
When Hayden arrived in River North, it was nearly 1 p.m.
The Bush Smith Group had a subsidiary in River North. Upon disembarking from the plane, a driver was already waiting for Hayden.
Accompanying her to River North was Justin Channing. She could manage the affairs at the River North branch jointly with him.
"Hayden, would you prefer to go to the office first or the hotel?" Once seated in the car, Justin, in the passenger seat, respectfully inquired.
Glancing outside at the scenery passing by, Hayden did not reply to Justin's question directly. Instead, she simply instructed, "Find out where William from the Bennet Group is currently located."
"Yes, Hayden." Justin had heard from Chloe earlier that Hayden had been inquiring about William since the morning. Her visit to River North was indeed related to William.
Therefore, Justin wasn't surprised. After nodding in acknowledgment, he promptly made a call to track down William's whereabouts.
Approximately ten minutes later, Justin received the information and reported back to Hayden, "Hayden, William is currently at the hospital."
"At the hospital?!" Hayden's brows furrowed briefly. "What happened to him?"
"It's not William who was involved in the incident. One of William's friends was harmed. There was a disturbance at the Bennet Group office this morning, resulting in a hostage situation where William was threatened. Fortunately, William arrived in time and managed to subdue the troublemaker, but someone else was injured while trying to save William."
Hayden nodded in relief, then instructed, "Notify me when he leaves the hospital."
"Understood, Hayden."
Michelle's wound was deep, the dagger plunging into her lung.
When Michelle arrived at the hospital, she was unconscious. The surgery lasted nearly four hours.
Once out of danger, Michelle was wheeled out of the operating room, now past 1 p.m.
Under the effects of anesthesia, Michelle remained unconscious.
William stayed by the hospital bed, not leaving. When Michelle was rolled out of the operating room, he followed her to the VIP ward.
When Peter thrust the dagger towards him, he wouldn't necessarily have been injured, as he would have dodged. But in that split second, Michelle instinctively shielded him, opting to take the blow, showing how much she cared for him.
No one would instinctively shield someone they didn't care about.
"Check if Michelle's emergency contact information is in her file." Once in the room and ensuring Michelle was out of danger, William instructed his secretary, "If there is, contact them."
Unaware of Michelle's purpose for interviewing for the Financial Director position at the Bennet Group, today's interview was just the initial stage conducted by the HR department. After HR screened the candidates, the HR manager would submit the selected resumes for his review.
"Yes, William." His secretary nodded, immediately calling HR.
Soon, HR provided Michelle's emergency contact information to William's secretary, Cherry Moore. Cherry promptly called and informed Michelle's emergency contact.
Upon hearing that Michelle’s back had been stabbed, their call ended. Her father, upon hearing the news that Michelle had been stabbed in the back and suffered a lung injury, remained composed. After politely receiving the hospital address and room number from Cherry, he thanked her and hung up.
"William, I have informed Michelle's family. Her parents should arrive soon." Cherry reported back to William after communicating with Michelle's father.
Observing Michelle lying on the hospital bed, William nodded and then instructed, "Find out their schedule, arrange their flights and hotels."
"Yes, William." Cherry nodded. Seeing no further instructions forthcoming, she respectfully left to carry out the tasks.
Once Cherry departed, William pulled up a chair by the bedside. He did nothing but sat quietly, watching Michelle, still unconscious under the anesthesia.
Five years ago, after being stabbed by Hayden and Hall, on the way to the hospital with his chauffeur, he had mustered all his strength to call Benji, Jasper's father, for help.
At the time, he was in Imperial Capital. Benji was the only person he could think of who could help him.
After six hours of surgery to save his life and stabilize his condition, it was Benji who secretly arranged his transport away. Benji propagated the false news of his demise.
At that time, he had truly contemplated suicide.
But the thought of his parents, Teresa, his sister, and the anguish and pain his death would inflict upon them made him grit his teeth and use sheer willpower to cling to life.
However, the William of five years ago had died that day. The William now had grown from that experience.
"William..."
An indeterminate time later, Michelle slowly opened her eyes, waking up.
Upon seeing William sitting by the bed, she momentarily forgot all her pain, overwhelmed with joy and excitement.
Such serene companionship from William in exchange for a stab wound truly felt invaluable.
"You're awake?" Hearing her voice, William turned towards Michelle as she attempted to sit up, quickly moving to stop her. "Don't move, I'll call the doctor."
With William standing so close, Michelle felt invigorated, offering a slight smile. She nodded gently, compliantly.
William had her lie back down before pressing the call button at the head of the bed.
Soon, the doctor arrived to examine Michelle.
Her condition was stable. Over the next few days, as long as she rested well and followed the doctor's treatment, she would recover.
Michelle nodded, thanking the doctor. After the doctor left, she gazed at William, smiling with contentment. "William, you won't stay with me in the hospital all the time, will you?"
Approaching her, straightening her blanket, William calmly replied, "You were injured because of me. It's only right that I stay with you."
Looking at him, Michelle beamed, expressing her happiness and affection, "For you, I would do anything without expecting anything in return."
"I can do anything for you without asking for repayment."
William paused by Michelle's bedside, lightly furrowing his brows, then shifted the conversation abruptly, "Rest well; I'll visit you again tomorrow. If you need anything, just inform the nurse."
With those words, William turned to leave.
"William."
However, just as he was about to turn away, Michelle raised herself and reached out, grasping his hand.
Pausing mid-step, William turned back, calmly asking, "Do you need anything?"
"I may not be able to attend the Bennet Group interview now, but I really wish to be a part of the Bennet Group. Can you give me a chance?" Looking at William, Michelle almost pleaded.
With barely a moment's hesitation, William nodded, "Alright. Once you recover, you are welcome to join the Bennet Group."
"Once you recover, you are welcome to join the Bennet Group."
Smiling with gratitude, Michelle exclaimed, "Thank you, thank you, William."
