Chapter 383

"What about me?" Winnie winced in pain as the man's grip grew tighter, her knuckles turning white.

"My mother has been kidnapped! Was it you?" Lawrence yelled, completely devoid of rationality, his furious glare giving his eyes a tinge of crimson.

"You suspect me? I didn't do it, how could I..." Winnie laughed bitterly, her anger rising. Her mind quickly raced, disappointment causing her heart to ache as she shouted, "Why don't you suspect Darcy?"

Just then, Bryan brought Sidney over. He saw Lawrence almost about to crush Winnie's wrist. Bryan quickly intervened, "Mr. Rodriguez! Sidney is here. Let's confront the bodyguard first, shall we?

"I need to see the situation in the ward immediately." Lawrence instructed, his gaze cold, and he suddenly released his grip from Winnie's wrist. Within a second, he dragged Winnie up the stairs with him.

The entire second floor was crowded with doctors and nurses. The atmosphere was deathly silent, and everyone kept their heads down. Since Lawrence came up, it seemed as if any breath they let out would be cut off by this grim reaper-like man.

Lawrence went straight to the four security guards on shift, towering over them. "Explain the situation clearly!"

"Lawrence, at that time, it was 3 pm. The maid, Julia, had just come to deliver our meals. After we finished eating and returned to the ward, the female nurse who came in and out gave Madam her medicine and injections. Later, Sidney appeared and ordered us to go downstairs to buy several things. He said he wanted to eat them, and Madam Rodriguez wanted to eat as well. We dared not disobey and went to buy the items. Only then did we realize that those shops were quite far away!"

Several nurses from the second floor stepped forward as well. "Sidney also sent us to call the attending physician."

Lawrence's furious gaze turned toward Sidney. This was the first time he was so angry at his son. He grabbed Sidney's clothes forcefully. "Why did you send away the people protecting your grandmother's life? Was someone instructing you? Who was it?" Lawrence's freezing gaze then turned to Winnie.

Sidney felt bitter in his heart. He didn't know what Oscar had done to the security guards or what he had said to them. At that time, Sidney had exchanged places with Oscar, hiding in the café outside the hospital, waiting for Oscar to finish his tasks before switching back.

Sidney stuttered, unable to explain clearly, and he dared not say either. He desperately shook his head. "It has nothing to do with Mommy." With his small eyes, he kept darting glances at Winnie, seemingly attempting to coordinate their testimony.

Lawrence noticed his darting glances. Sidney's deliberate defense of Winnie only convinced him further that something was off between this mother and son. A cold feeling sank into his heart, turning into a deep disappointment and hatred toward the unfortunate incident that had befallen his mother.

"Lawrence, the ward is in a mess! There's a bit of blood and slight signs of a struggle on Madam Rodriguez's bed. The cart is overturned and there's a cellphone on the bed, Mr. Rodriguez!" Bryan shouted from inside.

Lawrence let go of Sidney and walked in with his long strides.

Winnie also wanted to go in and see what had happened between Oscar and Madam Rodriguez, so she followed behind.

Lawrence immediately picked up the cellphone. The lock screen had no password, but the page was still on a Facebook call. There were several video calls that were dialed out but not answered.

Lawrence's eyes were fixed on the dialed Facebook number, and it looked very familiar - it was Winnie's number. And then... he saw it. At about 4 pm, Winnie had made countless phone calls to the mobile phone.

This proves...

The man held his breath, stepping back cautiously as his body fought to maintain balance. He pivoted, his eyes flooding with blood and a suppressed rage simmering beneath the surface. "Bryan, send the surveillance footage from three o'clock until now to my phone!"

Bryan immediately called the hospital director for the surveillance access. In less than two minutes, the director sent all the available surveillance footage to Lawrence.

Lawrence saw that at half-past three, when the surveillance was restored, there was no one in the corridor, indicating a lack of bodyguards.

His mother, so frail and unable to walk, hurriedly emerged from the room, her face pale. She stumbled and leaned against the wall, slowly walking toward the hallway where there was no surveillance. He couldn't believe his eyes; his mother actually walked out on her own. She appeared anxious, clearly frightened by something.

As he further contemplated the fact that his mother had used this phone to contact Winnie before the incident, Lawrence's mind spiraled into chaos, unable to entertain any other possibility.

The man rushed to Winnie, grabbing her neck with his hand, smashing the phone onto her face.

Lawrence's voice turned icy, his pupils swirling with fury. "What else do you have to say, Winnie? Before the incident, did you have Sidney deliver the phone to my mother's ward? Were you in contact with her? What did you threaten my mother with, causing her to leave the ward alone? Tell me, why did you kidnap her? What is your ultimate goal, how could you be so heartless!"

"I didn't, I didn't... Ah!" The man lost control, tightening his grip, causing Winnie's face to turn red. She desperately pounded Lawrence's wrist, which was as hard as iron.

"Winnie! Lawrence, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill her?" Olivia and Jeremy barged in from the doorway.

"Mr. Rodriguez, please try to compose yourself," Jeremy urged, attempting to soothe him.

"How can I calm down? It's her. During the incident, my mother had a conversation with her! Afterwards, she made numerous calls to this phone. If it's not guilt, then what is it? Winnie, I truly don't understand. She is just an old woman hanging on to life. Why are you so cruel, repeatedly trying to harm her? Do you have a heart at all? No wonder you insisted on examining her, on meeting her. It felt off to me. You meticulously planned to kidnap her, is it because of that night three years ago? You felt guilty and didn't want my mother to ask questions!" Lawrence's eye sockets turned bloodshot, and at that moment, his heart was filled with aching pain.

But Winnie was in even greater agony. He had misunderstood everything. His unfounded accusations and descent into madness felt like countless knives piercing her heart. The situation in the ward wasn't as he had imagined. Winnie was sure that Darcy had to be there and was behind this kidnapping.

Without a doubt, Oscar and Madam Rodriguez were taken away by her.

Winnie vehemently shook her head and defended herself, "I swear to God, it wasn't me! I didn't harm Madam Rodriguez, and today's situation is not what you think. You're wasting time suspecting me. Darcy is equally suspicious. Why don't you call her right now and ask!"

Jeremy rushed over and grabbed Lawrence's intense hand. He tried to rationalize the situation on Winnie's behalf and said, "Mr. Rodriguez, calm down and think, if Winnie wanted to harm Madam Rodriguez, why would she spend three years secretly drugging her, only to wake her up now? If she was guilty all those years ago, what benefit does it bring her now that Madam Rodriguez is awake? I also believe that it was Darcy who kidnapped Madam Rodriguez, not Winnie. You should question her first!"

Lawrence halted abruptly, as if his rationality was momentarily restored. His eyes grew cold, and he immediately dialed Darcy's number.

Winnie was held by Olivia, holding her breath as she watched Lawrence's phone. To her surprise, after it rang for several seconds, the call was actually answered.

Darcy's calm and gentle voice came through, "Mr. Rodriguez, why are you calling me?"