Chapter 356 Finding Patricia
(Revised)
At that moment, a
A single thought consumed Hunter's mind.
—Patricia had run away.
"Patricia... Patricia..."!" he called out in a panic, but his cries were shouted, only to be met with silence.
A boundless wavetide of fear and rage enveloped anger swept through him.
He could not—and would not—allowlet Patricia to escape...slip away. Even in death, she was to remainbelonged by his side.
Without hesitation, Hunter barked orders at issued commands to James, "Contact with urgency. "Get hospital security, watch on this, covering every exit. No woman leaves, I'll check each one myself. Dispatch a team to lock down without my scrutiny. I want the entire hospital, as well as and all stations and airports –transport hubs locked down. Seal every possible escape route must be sealedexit."
""Sir, such measuresMr. Hunter, this level of action, I'm afraid it might—"
James attempted to offer a word of caution, but Hunter, wrought with impatience, cut him off.
"If Patricia escapes, consider everyone's employment terminated on the spot!"."
"Understood! I'm on it"Right away," James didn't dare to waste any more time knowing Patricia's importance to Hunter. Endingsaid, recognizing the callgravity of the situation. Without another word, he set outsprang into action to carry outexecute Hunter's directivesorders.
In less than a minute, a swarm of Within moments, bodyguards emerged, postingswarmed the hospital, stationing themselves at every entryance and exit of the hospital, prohibiting, barring any womean from leaving.
This was the Central City Hospital.
, just two blocks from Gaia BioTech Industries was only two blocks away from Central Hospital. In less than ten minutes, a sea of humanity. In no time, a crowd had arrived, encirclinggathered, encasing the hospital so tightly that not even a drop of waterwhisper could escapebreak free.
With a calm authority, Hunter took charge with composure, distributingdeployed his team aroundmen at the exits, each armed with a photo of Patricia. Anyone who bore the slightest resemblance toeven remotely resembling her was to be brought in immediatelydetained.
A wave of anxiety swept throughhush fell over the hospital.
Initially, there were murmurs of complaint, but What started as scattered grumbling soon dissipated under the stern gaze of Hunter's men. Everyone froze, hoping to blend into the background.
Once quickly straightened out any dissenters. Soon enough, everyone fell silent, standing still, tryingthe hospital was under lock and key, Hunter and James made their best to become invisibleway.
Once it was clear that the hospital was locked down tight, Hunter and James headed to the security room.
Following Hunter's directions, they pulled The guards queued up the relevant surveillance footage from the specifiedrelevant time and location.
There on On the screen was, Patricia, who had been appeared, following Hunter obediently before she gotbeing jostled by several people and became disoriented,. Disoriented, she was unable to tell leftdistinguish one direction from rightanother.
Frantic withoutIn a state of panic, with Hunter nowhere in sight, she scurried around desperately, like a headless fly trying to find him. But the more flustered she got, the harder it was to find anyone.
And she kept moving moved frantically, her distress growing with each passing moment, driving her further away.
The camera captured the clear signs ofher growing panic and terror on, her face, and it seemed as if shining on the verge of tears were just about to spill from her eyes.
"Mr. Hunter,Sir... it seems Miss Watsonshe didn't run away..."," James cautiously offered his thoughtssaid.
Knowing she hadn't fled, Hunter's expressionfeatures softened slightly.
Realizing it wasn't an escape, the rage of feeling betrayed evaporated in an instant, leaving behind only a deep sense, his anger dissipating into a mix of guilt and concern.
As The camera followed Patricia exitedas she navigated the frame, security immediately followed her trajectory on the monitors. The crowded hospital corridors were crowded and evidently overwhelming for Patricia., clearly overwhelmed. Holding her head in her hands, she dashedran aimlessly, occasionally bumping into someone, and then she was seen dartingsometimes colliding with passersby, until she disappeared into a stairwell.
Hunter's breath hitched, andheart raced as he rushedmade his way to the outpatient department's stairway.
And there shestairs. There, in a corner, was.
As he entered, his eyes met the sight of Patricia, curled up in a corner, a small figure huddled into a ball, withher tear-streaked cheeks buriedface hidden in her knees, shaking like a leaf in the windtrembling.
Seeing her like that, Hunter'sin such distress, Hunter felt his heart broke. Hisbreak. Tears filled his eyes welled up as he rushed to her side and sweptapproached, enveloping her into hisin an embrace.
"I'm so sorry, so sorry... I didn'tfailed to protect you... and I even..."."
He almost confessed he'd thought she'd feignedHe nearly admitted to suspecting her confusion was a ruse to slip away.
escape. What an absolutea jerk he'd been!.
"Ah..." shePatricia gasped in his arms.
Startled, startled by thehis sudden embrace, Patricia. She let out a sharillp scream and instinctively shoved the figurehim away, springing back , recoiling like a catapultspring.
Hunter, caught off guard, landed squarely on his butt.
Patricia stood up, her back pressed firmly against the wall, inchingedged sideways, her way to the sideeyes wide with fear.
"Don't come near me,! yYou're a demon, don't monster! Don't touch me... don't touch me..."!" she cried.
She seemed to have regressed to the frantic, regressing to her distressed state she had been infrom the night before.
Fearing she might grab a knife and lash out again, Hunter tried to calm her with patience.said, "Patricia, it's me, Hunter, your husband, Hunter. I'm not him and I won't going to hurt you."
"G-Get away... please, just go... go away..." Patricia was inconsolable, her voice..." Her cries, sharp and shrill, so much so thatpiercing, could make anyone overhearing might thinkbelieve she was enduring some unimaginable mistreatmentin dire distress.
Seeing her condition worseningpanic intensify, Hunter was left with had no choice but to retrieveuse the sedative prescribed by the doctor. Ignoring Patricia's screams and resistance had provided. Despite her protests, he pinned her against the wall. With his left hand, he , gently yet firmly heldforced her jaw, coaxing her mouth open, and with his right hand, he slippedadministered the pill inside, then gently lifted her chin.
The pill glided down her throat.
"You demon, let"Monster, release me go... let go of me..." she wailed.
!" Patricia thrashed and pounded against him as if impervious to painfought back with surprising vigor, her resistance unyielding, her skin flushing redflushed from the exertion, yet she continued to struggle fiercelyeffort.
To prevent her from hurting herself or himfurther injury to either of them, Hunter embracedheld her tightlyclose, letting her pummel his back.
Fortunately, the The sedative quicklysoon took effect.
Her strength waned, and her struggles subsided until her body wentshe became limp. Hunter, with a swift motion, cradled her in his arms and strode . He carried her out of the room.
Since she was unconscious and couldn't provideUnable to collect a urine sample due to her unconscious state, Hunter proceeded with the rest of the other necessary medical assessments.
evaluations. The results were swiftlyquickly available.
Hunter placedAfter settling Patricia gently on the clinic bed and, he asked James to keep watch her while he sought out the doctor for an update.
Dr. Thomas regardedstudied the test results with a somber , his expression.
"Madam has grave. "There's some elevated inflammation, but everything else islooks normal. It appears she's not suffering from seems her condition is stress-induced rather than an inherent psychiatric disorder but rather one induced by severe psychological stress," he explained.issue."
Worried that Hunter might not grasp the full meaningSeeing Hunter's puzzled look, he added, "In other words, it's caused clarified, "It's triggered by external factorsstressors."
Still not quite understanding, Hunter asked anxiously, "Can it be treated?"
Thomas's expression grew heavier and more severe as he spoke, "If we were dealing with a genetic condition, we could target the treatment accordingly. But most cases of acquired mental illness are due to excessive stress, repression, or prolonged depression. Medications might not be that effective. The best course of action is to keep the patient's spirits high – take her out more, let her breathe fresh air. With an uplifted state of mind and the support of medication, she'll naturally recover."
"Is there a treatment?"
"For genetic conditions, we have targeted treatments. However, stress-induced mental health issues often stem from trauma or prolonged stress. Medication helps, but the best remedy is a positive environment—fresh air, nature, activities that uplift her spirits can facilitate recovery."
Hunter's brow was furrowed tightly. The doctor might be unaware, but heheart sank. He knew all too well. the root of Patricia's depression had started because of despair lay with him. Ever since he broughtSince bringing her to the StatesCountry M, she had been downcast, lockingconfining herself away in her room. The intense mental repression had led to , sinking into a deep postpartum depression, which triggered that exacerbated her mental illnesshealth challenges. The only way to truly help Patriciareal solution was to letletting her go backreturn to Martin.
He'd gone to great lengthsThe thought of releasing her, after all he had done to keep her by his side – how could he bear to let her go? Standing at a crossroads now, one path led to letting go, the other to selfishly keeping her close, was unbearable. Yet, clinging to her, ignoring her illness. He found himselfneeds, was equally unthinkable. Torn between selflessness and selfishness, he was at a loss, uncertain of which way to choose.
---
Chapter357
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