Chapter 131
Chapter 131: “May I leave now?”’ Belinda asked, her voice echoing slightly in the spacious resuscitation room. She stretched, her movements graceful and deliberate, and walked with determined strides toward the door. As her fingers grazed the doorknob, rustling sounds from behind her halted her progress. Turning slightly, she saw Cathy lying back down on the bed, swiftly covering her face with the oxygen mask. Belinda let out a soft, mocking laugh, opened the door, and stepped into the corridor without hesitation. Kristopher was there, seated directly opposite the door. He was frowning, his attention divided between the documents in his hand and the activity inside the room. Upon seeing Belinda, he swiftly closed the file, set it aside, stood up, and approached her with concern etching his features. “How is it? Has Cathy’s mood stabilized?”’ Belinda’s expression darkened. “You might want to see for yourself.”’ Her eyes briefly lingered on the smartphone in Kristopher’s grasp. “I’ve done what you asked. Now, I trust you’ll hold up your end of the deal.”’ She needed to witness Kristopher delete those compromising photos and their backups. The privacy of her friend was at stake, and she would leave no room for error. Kristopher’s expression tightened under her scrutinizing gaze. “I’ll deal with the photos once I’ve confirmed Cathy is okay,”’ he replied, his voice firm. He then quickly entered the resuscitation room. “Cathy, how are you feeling now? Is your mood any better?”’ From inside came Cathy’s frail response. “Kristopher”¦ I feel much improved. Miss Nelson has acknowledged her error and apologized.”’ Outside, the corridor’s chilly breeze made Belinda’s head throb painfully, as if needles were piercing through her skull. The voices inside only intensified her discomfort. New updates uploaded to She would have walked away this instant if not for Madisyn’s privacy. The thought of the photographs Kristopher held forced her to quell the rising impatience. Sighing, she turned and sat down on one of the two chairs by the entrance. Kristopher had occupied one earlier, and his documents lay scattered on the other. In the past, Belinda couldn’t shake off the feeling that everything Kristopher had touched still carried a trace of his presence. And she had never objected to sitting or lying in those places before. Now, however, she felt a deep aversion, a sense of disgust welling up from within. Thus, she walked over and picked up the document, intending to move it to the chair Kristopher had occupied. But she underestimated its heft. When she lifted it with one hand, she couldn’t maintain her grip, and the folder dropped to the floor with a loud “bang,”’ scattering the papers in all directions. Belinda hurriedly squatted down to gather them up. As she collected the papers, her eyes casually scanned the content of one sheet. After reading the text on the paper, she froze. The folder didn’t contain Cox Group’s office documents as she had assumed. It was filled with papers on lung cancer treatment. Belinda’s mind raced. Why would Kristopher be reading papers related to lung cancer without any apparent reason? Could it be that he knew about her illness and was researching treatment options for her? But”¦ “Belinda,”’ a deep and indifferent male voice called from the side of the resuscitation room door. “What are you doing?”’ Belinda, still crouched on the floor, looked up instinctively, her voice tinged with a tremor. “Kristopher, why”¦ Why are you reading papers on this illness?”’…