The CEO’ s second choice novel Chapter 54

　　Sebastian

　　No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be, I refuse to believe it! My Elena…

　　Without so much as a backward glance, I shot out of the boardroom and sprinted to the car. I yelled at the driver to get to the hospital they had taken Elena to and told him to step on it. How did this happen? I made sure she had round the clock protection from ex-military bodyguards and sporadically swapped her drivers out. I also had her Phantom checked every day for tampering, so how did this happen?!

　　I am a ball of unrepressed nerves, yelling at the driver to hurry so I could see her. She’s pregnant, for crying out loud! I clutch my chest as a phantom pain seizes me in a panic. This cannot be happening! I cannot lose Elena or lose my child! Leaning with my elbows on my legs, I grip my hair out of frustration and feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

　　Elena is the love of my life. I will not lose her!

　　Ever since I discovered that my parents’ car had been tampered with, I have been on high alert. There have been many attempts on my life as well, but I did not want to let Elena know about this because she would have been in non-stop panic mode. Elijah has been looking into this from a different perspective but found nothing as well. So who would want us all dead?

　　I put it out of my mind and decided to call the family to let them know. As expected, Eliana wailed and had to put Robert on the phone. They would be on the next flight out. Susanna and William Wiltshire were more difficult to get a hold of. Where the hell were they? I shrug and remind myself to try again later. Then I call Elena’s friends, Anabelle and Isaac, to inform them as well. What was weird about the exchange with these two was that Anabelle took a while to respond to what I had said, whereas Isaac burst out crying and said he was on his way. Could Anabelle have been in shock? I know she was very close to Elena, but she did not even say she would be over to see Elena. Hmm, odd.

　　We arrive at London Bridge Private, and I rush inside. The nurses knew who I was and informed me she was in ICU but had no further information at present. I know they were only doing their jobs, but at that moment I could not contain my emotions. My shouting was heard throughout the hospital until my own bodyguards restrained me and led me to the private wing Elena was in. They gave me a light sedative and told me to wait outside until the doctor came out.

　　Waiting, this was the worst part. The negative thoughts were running rampant through my mind right now. I put my head in my hands as a sob wreck through my body. I cannot go through life without her by my side. I refuse to live a life without Elena in it! Sudden anger coursed hot through my veins when I realise that someone had targeted my Elena with intent to kill. I stand up and falter because of the sedative when my eyes fall on Elijah as he saunters towards me. “Easy, bud.” He says as he grabs my forearms and sits me back down. I look up at the man who has become my best friend in recent months and my bravado shatters.

　　Another sob wrecks me, and I feel Elijah’s reassuring arm on my back. “I know how you’re feeling, mate. The pain, that constant pain gripping your chest and the fear playing on your mind knowing you might lose the one person who has ever loved you without judgement.” He says, and what else could I do but nod and place my head in my hands. “But our Elena is not like my beloved wife who had given up on life. She’s a fighter and will return to us, filling our lives with that rebellious spirit of hers. Trust in the doctors, and trust in her fighting spirit, Dumont. She needs you right now.”

　　I look up at the man who I had once labelled as my fiercest rival, and I could not help but notice the sincerity in his eyes. Nodding, I get up and clean up my eyes and nose. He is correct; Elena needs me right now, and I cannot falter. She will not die, she couldn’t! Not with the life she had planned for herself, and definitely not with her rebellious spirit. She would look death in the face and laugh; that was my Elena.

　　A flutter down the corridor caught my attention, and I saw her friend Isaac sprinting towards us. He reaches us, completely out of breath, and composes himself before looking at me with tears in his eyes. He grips my shoulders. “How… How is she? Is she okay…? What happened? I just saw her at Uni, we were just texting!” He stutters out in his broken Scottish accent and crumbles to the floor in a fit of sobs. Elijah looks at me with a confused expression, but I get down on the floor with Isaac. “I know,” I say, and place my hand on his shoulder. “She is still in theatre, so I am not aware of how she is doing as yet. Let’s place our trust in the doctors, okay?” I tell him, repeating Elijah’s earlier statement. He looks up at me and nods as I hand him a tissue. This was Elena’s best friend and I could see why; he loved her fiercely.

　　I pull him up from the floor and he takes a seat a few places down from Elijah, who suddenly asks, “Has anyone contacted Anabelle?” I was about to answer when Isaac suddenly spoke up in a voice laced with poison. “That cunt better not show her face here or I will kill her myself.” Woah. I blanch at his comment and walk to him, watching the anger in his face. This confused me, weren’t they all a big band of friends? I look at him with a frown. “Why would you say something like that, Isaac? She’s Elena’s closest friend-”

　　“The hell she is! She tried to kill Elena today!” He cries out and gets caught in another wave of sobbing. But I only heard those last six words. Anger like I have never felt before gripped my chest and I tried to contain it, but I think Isaac could feel it as it rippled off me. “What did you just say?” I enunciate each word through gritted teeth and notice his shocked expression at my change of attitude. He removes his phone from his pocket and scrolls a bit before handing it to me. “Read this. Elena sent this to me an hour ago after leaving Uni. I take the phone and read their conversation:

　　Elena: Hey, tart. You will not believe what just happened. (sad emoji)

　　Isaac: (reading emoji) I’m here, luv.

　　Isaac: If u don’t tell me now, I am marching over to your villa, Esmerelda Ingrid. Suspense is killing me over here. Wat is wrong?

　　Elena: (crying emoji) Anabelle came to say goodbye to me when I walked to my car. She handed me a cupcake she had baked as a sweet treat, then got all spiteful with me when I told her about my extension. She scurried away after I caught her comment of ‘must be nice being you.’ You were so right about her! And this proves it:

　　Elena then sent a pic of her Nima scanner with the words PEANUT FOUND showing.

　　Elena: I looked all over my car and could not find my Epi anywhere, not even the spare in my handbag. She tried to kill me, Isaac.

　　Isaac: (shocked emoji and angry emoji) That absolute cunt! I will kill her myself! Heading over to u rn!

　　Elena: It’s okay, luv. I just need to be alone right now, ok? I will speak to Sebastian about this and see what he says. Supper?

　　Isaac: (huffing emoji) ok, but only because u asked. Def supper, our fav?

　　Elena: Yes, our fav. See you later, tart. Love you (heart emojis)

　　Isaac: Love you x forever Esmerelda Ingrid (heart and in love emojis)

　　I look at the phone then hand it to Elijah, who had the same deadly expression on his face after reading the conversation. He gives the phone back to Isaac and nods, “I’ll take care of little miss Anabelle. You stay here with your wife and join me later.” He says and strides out of the ward with the anger bristling off him in waves. I looked at Isaac again, who bore an expression of guilt. This wasn’t his fault at all. In fact, I am glad he showed me these messages and I told him so. He sighs, “I cannot lose her, she’s like a sister to me and the baby, my godchild!” he says as another wail escapes his throat. I pat his shoulder and start pacing the floor. Anabelle tried to kill Elena. Was she behind this wreck, as well?

　　Thinking about the wreck, I made a note to go to the crash site later on and inspect the Phantom. No way this was a random accident, not with everything that has happened and everything I know now. If this was Anabelle’s fault, I will have no problem taking her down, along with her family. Even if it was not, she still tried to harm Elena and will pay for it. Thank God I got her the Nima sensor. It was literally a lifesaver. I sigh and run my hand over my face before I sit back down, lost in my own depressive thoughts and sadness.

　　Suddenly I heard a baby’s cry pierce the air.

　　I shot up and ran to the theatre door, only to stop myself from entering. My child! My child was born! Isaac lets out another wail and clutches his chest, and I knew how he was feeling. One down and hopefully safe, and one more to go. I pace the floor again, knowing I would not be able to sit down now that I knew they had removed our child from her womb. A little ball of hope lights up in my chest. I know hope can crush you slowly, but it is all I have right now. Still eyeing the door as I pace, I look at the time and realise that it was close to 6 hours since they admitted her. I sent Isaac home and told him I would keep him updated as soon as I knew what was happening.

　　Then the light above the theatre goes off and I patiently wait for the doctor to make his appearance.