<b>Chapter </b><b>277 </b>
Hannah clung to his arm and pleaded, “Liam, it’s not like they said…”
She tried to wash her hands of any me, her words dripping with grievance.
Liam barely took in the words. The image of the little girl’s ghostly pale, bloodless face kept surfacing in his mind.
He couldn’t help but recall the darkest hours when he was battling a severe virus infection.
They were going to burn him alive, just to make sure the virus wouldn’t spread further.
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He was lying in a heap of bodies, and no one cared whether he lived or died. Every single second, despair and fear gnawed away at me from the inside
<b>out</b>.
The little girl’s situation was eerily simr to his own.
Liam opened his mouth, intending tofort Hannah, but the words failed him.
Back then, Hannah had done exactly what Aria was doing.
But all Hannah did was me Aria, tossing around words like “corpse” and “virus“-not a trace ofpassion for the little girl.
Liam stared at this unfamiliar version of her, his heart churning with conflicting emotions.
Things had subtly changed, Hannah had, and so had he.
Aria leapt out of the car, clutching Violet tightly as she sprinted into the ER andid her on the crash cart.
The two boys rushed over. When they saw the little girl’s condition, a wave of despair washed over them. One of them choked out, his voice trembling,
“Ms. Saxon…”
Owen had the acupuncture needles prepared in advance, quickly opening the sterile packs and cing them on the nearby table. As Aria undressed Violet for the procedure, she ordered firmly, “Everyone out, now.”
Owen said, “Understood. I’ll be right outside. Call me stat if you need anything.”
The two boys, having never witnessed such a scene before, stood frozen in ce. Owen grabbed their arms and pulled them out.
Aria kept performing CPR on Violet nonstop throughout the ambnce ride.
At that critical moment, acupuncture was the fastest emergency treatment avable.
Aria took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then plucked a needle from the table, carefully positioning it above Violet’s philtrum.
As the tip of the needle was about to touch the skin, her hand suddenly trembled violently out of control, causing her to miss the insertion point.
Through the gap in the door, Owen caught sight of Aria’s trembling hand. His heart sank. He averted his gaze, reminded of how shaken she’d been after treating Giana that night.
Her hands were just as unsteady as that night.
Owen couldn’t help but wonder, ‘What on earth has she been through?‘
Aria shut her eyes tightly and drew a deep breath. As she opened them, her hand visibly steadied. Without the slightest hesitation, she inserted the needle swiftly.
Next, she inserted needles into the palm, the sole, and finally a critical cardiac acupoint next to the heart.
13:13 <b>Fri</b><b>, </b>13 Jun G
With bated breath and unwavering focus, Aria steadily inserted the needle.
Afterpleting the acupuncture, Aria was drenched in sweat once again, but she was coping better thanst time.
Aria groped for a chair and sank into it, exhaling several deep, shaky breaths.
Kate came running to the door, only to be stopped by Owen. He said gently, “Mrs. Livingston, Aria is doing everything she can to save your granddaughter. The best we can do now is wait.”
Káte nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face. Her legs gave way and she dropped to her knees. <i>“</i>God, please, I’m begging you! Save Violet! Help her pull through this!”
With that, Kate prayed desperately with crossed fingers.
Kate sobbed desperately, ‘God, please! I swear I’ll never y poker games again, never take another penny from Madelyn! Just let Violet recover. I’d dly give up years of my life, even trade my life for hers!‘
Owen’s heart was heavy, but he could say nothing. For Kate, this was all she could do now.
<b>+20</b>)
The two young men felt their eyes sting with emotion, yet neither moved to help Kate up. They simply stood by, silently praying for emergency treatment to seed.
After what felt like an eternity, Aria finally detected vital signs on Violet. A spark of hope shed in her eyes.
AD