Chapter 1144
Throughout the night, her friends and team members kept calling her. Hearing about the sudden change in plans, they were frantic to rush to the hospital but terrified of blowing their cover. Trapped in a state of anxious paralysis, they resorted to blowing up her phone for updates.
"He's going to make it," Juniper murmured, too mentally drained to repeat the same explanation a dozen times. She only answered Ebony Fox's call. "Ebony Fox, pass on a message to the rest."
"Okay," Ebony Fox replied, swallowing hard. After hanging up, she immediately spammed the group chat:
[She says he'll be fine.]
[She means she's exhausted and doesn't want her phone ringing.]
[She said if he can survive, he will. No one is allowed to harass her with calls.]
[If she gets one more call from any of you, I am personally coming over to snap your necks.]
[...]
The others stared at the barrage of threats, rubbing their temples. They finally understood why, out of everyone, she only picked up Ebony's call. Ebony Fox was basically her personal attack dog-an unapologetic, fiercely protective friend.
But if she said he was going to be fine, that meant she was confident she could save him.
Jimmie Tate replied: [Understood.]
The rest of the group quickly followed suit, leaving a perfectly synchronized line of [Understood]s in the chat.
The next morning. The first rays of dawn pierced through the sterile glass, cutting into the heavy atmosphere of the ICU.
Juniper stared intently at the clock. Five minutes left until the critical window closed. If he survived these next five minutes, they were completely in the clear.
Finally, the time elapsed.
Juniper tossed her phone aside and began a thorough examination. Pulse was normal. Vitals were rock solid.
He was okay. He was actually okay.
Juniper inhaled sharply, feeling the crushing weight that had been sitting on her chest completely evaporate. A faint, genuine smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
A few seconds later, the smile vanished, replaced by an impenetrable mask as she turned and walked out of the room.
She immediately bumped into Hayden and Miranda, who had been anxiously waiting for an update.
"Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz," she said, her lips pale but her tone steady. "He's past the critical stage."
"Oh, thank god," Hayden exhaled, the tension draining from his face, while Miranda broke into a tearful smile. "Thank you, Juniper."
"No," Juniper shook her head, her voice so raspy from exhaustion it was barely a whisper. Guilt gnawed at her. "I'm the one who should be thanking him."
"Don't overthink it," Miranda choked back a sob, quickly stepping forward to comfort her. "He thought this through before he did it. I just hope... I hope you aren't angry with him."
Angry? Juniper's heart gave a painful lurch. Their son almost died, yet instead of blaming her, this mother was worried she might be mad at him?
Yolanda had once sneered that she was a jinx. That anyone who got close to her was destined for tragedy. Her parents, her friends, her grandfather, and now Shanley.
Juniper lowered her eyes, biting the inside of her cheek. Was she really a curse? "Thank you for watching over him for now," Juniper finally managed to say. "I..."
"Go," Miranda interrupted gently, her eyes full of maternal warmth.
"Everything is handled here. Go focus on what you need to do.
your parents and sister is the priority right now."
"Right." Juniper gave a stiff nod. Before turning down the corridor she cast one last lingering look at the man in the ICU She swallowed the rest of her words and walked away briskly.
Watching her retreating figure, Miranda frowned. "She looked absolutely devastated.
Do you think she's really mad at him?"
"I'd be furious," Hayden replied,
wrapping an arm around his wife "But the angrier she is, the more it proves how deeply she loves him. Don't worn about those two They're
locked together för life."
Miranda nodded, swapping her clothes for sterile scrubs before entering the room.
After leaving the hospital, Juniper headed straight for the Cybernetic Shadows headquarters.