Three Years After They Abandoned Me - Chapter 47: Chapter 47

The man yanked Stella out of the cage, his face twisted in disgust as he looked at her emaciated body. He spat, "Nothing but skin and bones. Revolting."
Stella furtively grabbed a handful of sand from the ground. As the man leaned in, she flung it straight into his eyes.
"You goddamn bitch!" the man shrieked. He barked at the man beside him, "Beat her."
The other man rushed toward Stella.
Stella tried to throw more sand at him, but it was useless. He was already prepared. She tried to get up, but she was too weak. She could only endure as the man sat on her and beat her brutally.
Then, the man unbuckled his belt, clearly intending to violate her.
Stella desperately tried to push him off, but it was futile. She thought, 'Death seems the only escape.'
At that very moment, Jordan burst through the door, kicked the man aside, and pulled Stella up from the ground. He called, "Stella."
"Who are you?" Stella asked, her voice weak. She couldn't see who it was. She could only hear a voice as rich and deep as cello music.
"I am Jordan," Jordan replied.
Stella froze. Hours had passed, and she'd given up hope Jordan would come.
Stella had no recollection of what happened next. All she knew was being placed in the backseat of a car. Her body wracked with pain—she couldn't even sit up properly.
"Can you hold on?" Jordan asked.
"Yes," Stella whispered.
Stella had come close to death several times. She thought, 'They say that those who survive great disasters are destined for good fortune.
'After so many brushes with death, I could only hope that maybe, just maybe, things would finally get better for me this time.'
"We're almost at the hospital," Jordan said.
"I've dirtied your cushion," Stella murmured weakly, her voice tinged with guilt.
"Don't worry about it," Jordan replied gently.
Stella felt a bit of relief wash over her.
Jordan said, "Sorry, I was in another city for work, so I'm a bit late."
Stella asked, "Business trip?"
Jordan said, "You are right."
Stella couldn't quite put my finger on what she was feeling. Even though her vision was blurred, she could sense Jordan's gaze lingering on her from time to time, as if he genuinely cared.
She thought, 'Maybe it is just because we are business partners, nothing more.'
Stella was wheeled into the hospital.
A doctor exclaimed, "What happened? How did she end up like this again?"
Jordan asked, "What do you mean, 'again'?"
The doctor glanced at Jordan. Even though she was married, she couldn't help staring at Jordan. She thought, 'He is so handsome, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, his chiseled profile straight out of a fashion magazine.'
The doctor asked Jordan, "Sir, who are you to Ms. Hayes?"
"What did you mean by 'again'?" Jordan pressed.
"She was brought in like this just a few days ago, but it wasn't as bad as this time," the doctor explained.
Jordan frowned slightly.
When Stella came to, she saw Lionel by her bedside. His eyes, filled with concern, were fixed on her.
"Are you feeling any better?" Lionel asked softly.
Stella looked around the room but saw no others.
Lionel seemed to know who she was searching for. "The man who rescued you has already left," he said gently.
Stella remained silent, refusing to even look at Lionel.
Lionel said, "I've already contacted your family. Stella, what exactly happened to you? Please, tell me. I want to help."
Stella didn't respond.
Lionel said, "Alright, if you don't want to talk, that's fine. I won't push you. You'll need to stay in the hospital for a few more days. I have work to do, so I'll be leaving now.
"If you need anything, just ask the medical staff. They can always reach me."
Lionel rose from his seat, hesitation flickering across his face as if he wanted to say more. But seeing Stella still unresponsive, he let out a quiet sigh and walked out.
Stella reached for her phone, then remembered it had been destroyed in the attack. She thought, 'Just great, now I have to buy another one.'
Soon after, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway. Then, Fiona, Andrew, Max, and Anna appeared in the hospital room.
"Stella, my dear. How are you? Let me take a look at you. What happened? How did you end up in such a terrible car accident?" Fiona cried anxiously.
"Car accident?" Stella asked, staring at Fiona in disbelief.
Fiona quickly replied, "That's right. Henry called us on our way here and said you two were in a car accident coming back. We just saw Henry.
"He's fine, but you took the worst of it. He was full of apologies, saying he failed to protect you and disappointed us all."
Stella pointed at her wounds and snapped, "Don't you remember how Henry beat me to this state last time? And now you believe his story about a car accident?"
Fiona said, "Stella, Henry already explained these injuries are from the crash. Are you suggesting he'd lie?"
Stella let out a hollow laugh, as if she'd just heard the world's biggest joke. She said, "So, you're saying I'm the one who's lying?"
Anna sighed helplessly. She said, "Stella, what are you up to? If you don't want to marry Henry, that's fine. I can marry him instead. Why did you accuse him of hitting you?"
Andrew cut in sharply, "Anna, what nonsense are you talking about? Henry has his heart set on Stella, not you. If he found out you wanted to take her place, he'd be furious. Don't ever think like that again."
Stella stared at their deceptive masks, and suddenly, everything clicked. She demanded, "Did you all know what kind of person Henry really is?"
Fiona tried to speak, but Stella cut her off. She said, "He has a first love who's barely hanging on. She needs other people's blood just to stay alive. You knew about this all along, didn't you?"
Fiona protested, "Stella, what are you talking about? Are you dreaming or something?"
Stella let out a hollow, self-mocking laugh. She said, "Stop lying to me. Don't think I haven't noticed. Lionel has already dropped plenty of hints.
"I never wanted to marry Henry, but you forced me into it by threatening Eleanor. You kept saying it was for my good, but you still married me off to that monster. Do you even care if I live or die, do you?"
Fiona suddenly slapped Stella hard across the face. Stella's rage reached its boiling point. But that only made Fiona even angrier.
Fiona shrieked, "Stella, how dare you say such things? We're your parents. How could we possibly not care about your life? If we didn't care, would Max have gone looking for you?
"We were just one step behind that so-called friend of yours, and now you're spouting these heartless words. Do you have any idea how deeply you've wounded us?"
Stella's gaze burned holes through Fiona. Her venomous glare was so intense it sent chills down the entire family's spines.
Fiona pointed an accusing finger at Stella and shouted, "I haven't even gotten a chance to question you, and yet you're blaming me. Who is that man who saved you?
"You've only been back a few days, and you're already messing around with another man. You don't want to marry Henry because of him, don't you?
"Henry said that during the 'accident,' that man just took you away and didn't care about him at all. Henry is furious, but as long as you come clean about who that man is, Henry won't hold it against you.
"Let me tell you, Henry has no intention of breaking off the engagement. You'd better come clean about that man right now, and we'll just pretend nothing happened."