Chapter 177 So Close to Death
Douglas smiled helplessly and raised his hand to pat Regina's head. "How did you come up with this idea?"
These days, he was even careful when holding her to sleep, let alone doing anything more intimate.
Regina knew she had panicked earlier and was afraid he might misunderstand, so she said what she did in a moment of desperation.
She gently touched her lower abdomen and half-jokingly, half-seriously said, "I just... I just said it without thinking. I must have scared the baby."
Regina's words made Douglas chuckle. He knew the truth but still asked her on purpose, "How would it scare the baby?"
Regina buried her head in the blanket and softly said, "Did you forget about the bleeding last time? What if you go too deep, too hard, and it happens again? Wouldn't that be terrifying?"
"Alright, I got it, Mrs. Semona." Douglas naturally followed her words.
He gently held her and whispered in her ear, "You've been busy all day and must be tired. Get some rest."
Regina responded with a hum, and as she closed her eyes, she heard his seemingly casual but firm words, "Don't overthink about Philip. Don't add to your worries, okay?"
Regina didn't open her eyes again, just gave a faint hum, and said no more.
The news of Philip being stabbed by Edward was all over the major news outlets.
Edward was temporarily arrested for assault.
He was just about to step into the boardroom, but now he was completely pulled out.
But that wasn't the main point. The main point was that the incident was now widely known, and his long-maintained image was destroyed. Because of his reckless actions, he no longer had any support in the company.
Could he make a comeback?
Without money, background, support, pawns willing to work for him, and even a positive image, how could he reclaim his position with the name of a murderer?
He stabbed Philip once, but Philip retaliated many times over.
To Edward, what seemed non-lethal was actually the most deadly!
Half an hour before the police came to arrest him, Edward was still unwilling to accept it. Standing in the empty CEO's office, his eyes red and his voice trembling, he said, "I didn't mean to kill him. I was just impulsive, trying to threaten him. I didn't expect him not to dodge. I didn't expect him to come forward. I didn't expect..."
He suddenly stopped.
The image of himself consumed his mind, provoked into a frenzy, grabbing the fruit knife from the desk in Philip's office and stabbing him. The unsettling part was, as the blade plunged deep into Philip's body, Philip had been smiling.
Yes, Philip was still grinning—a sinister, eerie grin.
Edward's face turned a ghastly white, his body trembling uncontrollably. He had worked with Philip at the Heyday Group for years and knew the layout of Philip's office like the back of his hand. Even if Philip had swapped out a chair or shifted a computer, Edward would have noticed.
He also knew that Philip's office had never had a fruit bowl.
He thought, 'So why was there suddenly a fruit knife lying around? And why was it right where he stood, within easy reach?
'It had to be Philip's trick. Philip has set me up, practically inviting the knife into his own chest!'
"He really is ruthless…" Edward seethed, his teeth grinding.
The stab he had driven into Philip's left chest had been vicious. The knife had sunk in more than four inches, almost certainly piercing Philip's heart. In his fury, Edward laughed, a maniacal, unhinged laughter.
"Even if I die, I won't be alone," he thought bitterly. "Philip, I thought you were smart, that you valued your life. Turns out, you're just as reckless as the rest of us!
"How stupid could you be to think this was a good plan?" he raged. "So what if you take over the Heyday Group and the Sterling family's empire? You can't take any of that with you to hell!"
Everyone believed that, with that kind of wound, Philip would most likely not survive.
At the ICU entrance, Mars paced nervously back and forth. Despite the crisp autumn chill, sweat beaded on his forehead, his eyes hollow, as if his very soul had been gouged out.
He thought, 'How could this have happened?
'How does things spiral out of control so quickly?'
Just hours before the stabbing, he had been in Philip's office, discussing work. He had seen that defiant glint in Philip's eyes, the same unyielding arrogance that seemed to dare anyone to challenge him.
Who could have predicted that just a few short hours later, Philip would be in the operating room, fighting for his life? Even after an overnight rescue effort, he still lay in the ICU, his fate uncertain.
Mars's body slumped, sliding slowly down the cold wall.
His mind replayed the events of the past few days.
Mars' father had been a driver for the Sterling family. Then, in a tragic accident, his parents died protecting William in a car crash. The incident even made the news.
Perhaps due to pressure or genuine remorse for the death of Mars' parents, the Sterling family took in Mars.
Raised in the Sterling household, Mars grew up alongside Philip, who was similar in age. In a way, they had grown up together.
Philip, how to describe him?
He had a temper, and sometimes his actions were downright monstrous.
If Mars had to pick the worst thing Philip had done in his life, it would be what he did to Regina.
Philip didn't understand love, nor did he know how to reciprocate it. As a result, he shattered that beautiful girl, leaving her scarred and broken.
Regina's departure seemed to have taken Philip's soul with her, leaving him a cold, empty shell.
Philip had been rough on Mars, too, twice even.
Once, he broke several of Mars' ribs. Another time, Mars' back was whipped to a pulp.
But Mars never hated Philip.
He vividly remembered when, as a teenager, he was bullied and beaten in an alley by a group of "bad students." It was Philip who stood up for him, fighting off ten of them, even getting slashed, just to protect Mars.
Mars also recalled when, on the anniversary of his parents' death, he hid in the servants' quarters, crying helplessly. It was Philip who came in with a box of liquor, his face stern, mocking Mars gently and telling him, "Tears are the most useless thing."
Later, when he got into university and started working at the Heyday Group with Philip, life was still challenging.
William's favoritism and deliberate suppression made every step a struggle.
But Mars followed Philip willingly, knowing the hardships and humiliations he had endured. He never imagined, however, that Philip would be so close to death, as if Philip might never wake up again.
Many might think Philip deserved everything he got, that he should suffer.
But Mars had his own biases. He hoped God would leave a glimmer of hope for Philip.
As Mars' thoughts whirled, the attending doctor walked over to him.
"Are you Philip's family?"Mars forced a wry smile.
After all these years, Philip had no one who could be called family.
"Sort of," he said.
The doctor looked at him, sighed, and spoke with a somber tone. "I need to tell you something."
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