Chapter 1143

"You stupid man."

Juniper blinked hard, forcing the moisture from her eyes as she traced the jagged cuts on his face. He lay perfectly still, his breathing steady but devoid of any real vitality.

"You know I'm going to be furious about this," she murmured, her voice laced with a cold edge. "Don't think I'll let you off the hook easily for lying to me. So you better wake up fast and beg for forgiveness. Otherwise, I swear I'll go out and find myself a toy boy. Hell, I'll find a new one every single day of the year. And I'll use your credit cards to pay for them, just to piss you off."

Shanley remained completely unresponsive.

"You have to get better." She gripped his hand tightly, pressing it against her cheek. Her voice cracked into a hoarse whisper. "If you don't wake up, how am I supposed to yell at you? How am I supposed to make you pay for this?"

"Shanley..." She lowered her eyelashes, burying her face so deeply into his palm that her expression was entirely hidden.

Outside the room, behind the one-way glass, Miranda watched the scene unfold, sobbing quietly against her husband's chest. "Honey, is our boy really going to be alright?"

"He will be," Hayden soothed, gently stroking his wife's hair. "The best doctor in the world is guarding him right now. Not even death itself could drag him away."

"She looks so broken..." Miranda's tears fell like shattered glass. "Should I go in and sit with her?"

Juniper was always so fiercely independent, never showing an ounce of vulnerability. But now, sitting beside the man she loved... she was definitely crying in there alone.

"Don't," Hayden stopped her, letting out a heavy sigh. "The doctor said if he makes it through tonight, the worst is over. She's hurting. Let her have this time with him. If you trust our son's resilience, you have to trust her medical expertise just as much. He wouldn't dare leave us, and he certainly wouldn't dare leave that girl behind."

There was no one else on earth he'd trust to take care of her.

"I..." Miranda sniffled, wiping her eyes, suddenly feeling a wave of relief wash over her.

He was right. Juniper was a miracle worker. With her there, he was going to pull through.

Juniper stayed by Shanley's side through the agonizingly long night, terrified his condition might suddenly deteriorate. She barely dared to move.

Halfway through the night, she checked her phone. The internet was saturated with breaking news about Shanley. Subterra Vanguard and the Sigma Network had aggressively pushed manipulated stories to confuse the media and the public. The general consensus was that Shanley was on his deathbed. Some rumors even claimed he was already gone.

The Schwartz family intentionally maintained complete radio silence to prevent a stock market crash. Meanwhile, leaked, gruesome photos of him being resuscitated in the ER—his head and chest soaked in blood—were circulating. The images were horrifyingly authentic.

Scrolling through the headlines, Juniper gave a grim, satisfied smirk and looked back down at him.

"I was actually

worried the car crash

wouldn't look convincing enough and Sanctum Holdings would spot the flaws," she whispered, licking her cracked lips. "But thanks to your little stunt, I barely had to fifta finger to spread the narrative Everyone

genuinely thinks you're dying."

"I didn't know you were such a method actor. You really missed your calling in

Hollywood."