The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

Evelyn’s eyes widened as Elias collapsed on her. Her breath caught in her throat, and a cold dread washed over her. She patted Elias’s cheeks, his body growing cold and lifeless in her arms.

"Eli, wake up!" she cried, her voice trembling with fear. "You... You need to be conscious." When he didn’t respond, she screamed, "Someone call the ambulance!"

"Ma’am, let us look at him," a voice commanded. Damien nodded, and his team rushed over to Evelyn’s side. They experienced such situations quite often and were trained to handle them cautiously.

Evelyn moved back but didn’t let go of her brother’s hand. The team quickly assessed Elias’s condition. One checked his pulse while others took out cotton pads and applied pressure on the wounds. Elias was bleeding heavily, and every second counted. They couldn’t wait for the doctors and needed to move him quickly.

"Get the car ready and clear the crowd!" the leader demanded before they carefully lifted Elias onto a stretcher brought by the security personnel of the court. They quickly moved him out, leaving the crowd to process the shock.

Evelyn rushed behind them, her heart pounding in her chest. Zevian and Damien followed closely, their faces etched with worry. Avery moved to Gracia, who stood numb and frozen in place. She gently held her shoulder and murmured, "Let’s go, Aunty."

Gracia’s eyes moved to Sophia, who was sitting on the floor, staring blankly at the pool of blood. Holding back her tears, Gracia questioned her, "Are you happy now?"

Sophia slowly looked up, her face devoid of any emotions. Her eyes were distant, and she appeared lost in her world. She seemed to be in a state of shock, her mind struggling to process what had just happened.

"You really took her down with you, Sophia," Gracia continued, her voice shaking with pain. "Evelyn will blame herself every day, drown in guilt, and never be able to forgive herself if Elias..." She gulped, unable to finish the sentence, afraid of it coming true.

"Eli is fine. He will be here soon to take me back," Sophia murmured to herself, her voice soft.

Everyone was shocked by her behavior. The officers who were taking the gun for evidence glanced at each other, unsure of what to make of her state. Avery wondered if Sophia was pulling another act, but her expression confused her. Sophia’s face held a gentle expression, her eyes filled with a strange hope.

"You just shot him, Sophia!" Avery barked at her, unable to hold back her frustration. "If anything happens to him, it’s because of you! It’s entirely your fault!"

"No!" Sophia screamed out loud, startling everyone in the room. She vigorously shook her head and murmured, "I did not shoot him. He is fine. He will be here soon."

The senior officer who had just entered scolded his juniors. "What are you guys waiting for?" Looking at Sophia, he ordered, "Take her away."

The two female officers nodded and quickly picked up Sophia. They dragged her out of the room as she kept murmuring something to herself.

In the corridor, everyone glanced at Sophia and started whispering among themselves. "Look! She is the one!" one of them pointed out. "She killed her son!"

Sophia glared at the woman and rushed toward her. "I did not kill my son! You wench! Stop spreading lies!"

"I did not kill my son!" she screamed out loud again, causing everyone to stumble back. The female officers grabbed her tightly and moved her toward the vehicle. Avery and Gracia watched her leave before they were escorted to the hospital by Ronan and Lucius.

———

[Grayson Hospital]

Elias was quickly moved from the ambulance to a stretcher, the urgency clear in every movement. The doctors swiftly set an oxygen mask over his face, their hands working in concert to administer IV fluids and apply pressure to the wounds. The monitors beeped steadily as they rushed him toward the operation theater.

"We tried to stop the bleeding as much as possible. There are three bullets, two in the chest and one below the diaphragm," the team leader briefed the doctor, who listened carefully while keeping pace.

Evelyn moved with them, tightly holding onto Elias’s hand. As they reached the operating theater, the doctors gently stopped her, and she felt Elias’s hand slip from hers as the doors closed. She stood there, staring at the operation screen where the time started ticking away. Tears continued spilling from her eyes, her hands and dress stained with Elias’s blood. Her whole body trembled with fear and helplessness.

Zevian quickly caught her and helped her to settle on a nearby bench. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "He will be fine, right?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Zevian pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. He hummed in response, offering false hope, though he wasn’t sure if Elias would survive.

Damien watched the couple and sighed in frustration. His team, stationed around the hospital, couldn’t meet his eyes. Despite their numbers, they couldn’t prevent what had happened. If only they had been permitted inside the courtroom, they might have been able to stop it. The thought of failing to protect this young man weighed heavily on them.

Avery and Gracia rushed in, followed by Lucius and Ronan. They stopped in front of the operating theater, their eyes fixed on Evelyn, who clung to Zevian.

"Is it bad?" Lucius asked Damien, who nodded solemnly. Ronan moved closer, his face etched with concern.

"One might have hit his heart," Damien murmured with a sigh. He had seen the wounds; they were dangerously close to the heart. Everyone was praying they were wrong.

Ronan sighed deeply. He was happy Annabelle had received justice but not at the price of Elias. Just then, his phone rang, and he walked away to take the call from his grandfather.

Everyone waited anxiously for any news from the operation theater. Evelyn’s eyes were glued to the operating screen, the ticking time causing her heart to thud louder with each passing second.

Just then, Rosalind and Theodore arrived, followed by William and his butler. William looked weak, using a cane for support. He had skipped coming to court, afraid Evelyn might not like it, but he couldn’t stay away when he heard Elias was shot.

Gracia saw William’s arrival and walked over to him. "How is he?" William asked, his voice trembling with worry.

"The doctors haven’t told us anything yet," Gracia replied, glancing at Evelyn. She helped William sit on the bench opposite Evelyn, while Rosalind and Theodore spoke with Damien.

Minutes turned into hours, each one increasing the dread in everyone’s hearts. Nurses kept going in and out of the theater, taking packets of blood arranged by Damien’s men. The atmosphere was tense, filled with the weight of their collective worry.

Avery glanced at the time; it was past three in the afternoon. Evelyn hadn’t eaten anything since leaving for court in the morning. Sighing, Avery walked over to Evelyn and squatted in front of her, holding her hand. "Let’s go home, Evy. You need to clean up and eat something."

"No, I am not going anywhere," Evelyn murmured, her eyes fixed on the operation screen.

Avery sighed and tried to console her. "You haven’t touched anything since this morning. You need strength to wait for him. You are not alone now. You need to think about the baby too, Evy."

Evelyn looked at her friend, tears trickling down her face. "He is my baby too, Avy. How can I leave him in this state? When I don’t even know if he is alive or not?"