The blood vessels surrounding the model’s heart artery were extremely dense. The glass pierced the model’s skin and cut many tiny blood vessels, resulting in a bloodshot wound. The fragment was not as easy to find as Anna had hoped. With caution, Anna penetrated surgical forceps through the blood-red “skin”. Her fingertips touched its texture, causing her to sweat all over her body.
“Found it!” A moment later, she exclaimed softly. She then opened her surgical forceps carefully and caught the fragment. She paused for a moment before gently withdrawing her hand. Just as she thought she was about to make it, Anna heard an alarm. Taken aback, she nearly dropped the forceps.
“Number nineteen is out.” The host announced regretfully.
Hearing that, Anna froze for a while and soon came back to her senses. Her wrists gradually became numb, making it even more difficult for her to do what she needed to do next.
“You’re doing great. Relax,” The nurse, who was busy stopping the model’s bleeding, comforted her in a soothing voice.
“Okay, thanks.” Anna nodded calmly and removed the fragments immediately.
She then neatly placed the bloodstained glass fragment and the surgical forceps on the operating table and exhaled a sigh of relief. Before moving on to the next organ repair, Anna let her assistant continue to stop the blood.
Little by little, time passed, and the surgery proceeded to the final stage. As she removed the stitches after suturing, Anna pressed the timer on the side.
“Competitor No. 7 is currently the first contestant on the field to complete the surgery. Her powerful speech has previously impressed everyone. She did not activate the alarm device during the surgery, but whether her surgery was successful or not must be determined by expert physicians. Competitor No. 7, you may sit on the audience and have some rest. We will announce the final results later.”
The staff had already moved the model next to Anna to the nearby long white table. Immediately after, four doctors in white coats approached the model. They would evaluate whether the surgery was successful or not. After that, they would start grading the competitors.
As the audience kept discussing, the atmosphere in the room became increasingly heated. Anna wasn’t particularly concerned with the outcome. After getting off stage, she turned to face the audience and noticed Ryan waving at her from a distance.
Then she tried to walk toward Ryan, and suddenly, a man stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Anna recognized he was the doctor she had just argued with on stage and found that he appeared unfriendly.
“Hi, my name is Adam,” he said, smiling and extending his right hand to Anna.
“Anna Wright,” Anna said and quickly shook his hand.
“You seem to be confident that you will win. To be honest, you’re the only threatening opponent to me,” Adam said. His words sounded respectful to Anna, but he seemed contemptuous and arrogant.
Anna found his condescending demeanor amusing and couldn’t help but laugh. Hearing her laughter, Adam’s expression became embarrassed. He asked, “You don’t believe me? Let’s make a bet, shall we? Let’s see who comes out on top.”
Anna waved her hand and said, “Thank you, but I’m not interested in it. I’m not particularly competitive, and I hate competing with others. It’s only a small race, so don’t take it too seriously.”
However, Adam didn’t appear to agree with her. He was about to say something else when the cell phone in Anna’s pocket began to vibrate. He stood there watching as she took out her phone and became irritated as he stared at her screen.
That number was very familiar to Anna. She had called him several times, but he had turned off his phone. Anna was surprised when he called her again.
Before answering the phone, Anna forced herself to relax.
“Bill, what do you want?” She answered the call with a tight frown.
“It seems you’ve looked into me,” Bill spoke calmly. He didn’t deny it, nor did he appear surprised.
“Not too much. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to call me,” Anna snorted.
The lighter made a crisp sound as Bill lit the cigarette. He took a long drag on his cigarette before saying, “I have what you’re looking for. In thirty minutes, I’ll be downstairs at your office.”
Anna was taken by surprise. Because she was wary of him, she did not say yes immediately.
Bill smiled as he noticed her hesitation and asked, “Are you worried about what I might do to you? You were not a coward when you followed me back then.”
Hearing that, Anna remembered him telling her the other day that someone had vandalized the school bus.
“Okay, I’ll see you later,” Anna said, increasingly curious about what Bill intended to do.
After hanging up the phone, Anna didn’t return to the stage. Instead, she snuck out of the side door. While driving to Lemon’s office, she received a phone call from Nancy.
“Anna, you’ve got to be kidding me! The final results will be announced soon! Where the hell are you?”
“The competition is over, and the outcome is set in stone. Is it important whether I’m present or not?”
Nancy yelled angrily, “I’ve been helping you since you got there! Anna, you didn’t even thank me for it! If you win the prize, who will accept it on stage for you?”
Anna said with a smile, “Of course, it would be you. Since you helped me in the beginning, you should help me to the end. You’ll have to do that for me because I set you up with Joshua.”
“You wish!” Nancy abruptly hung up the phone in rage.
At the same time, noticing that Anna left without telling him, Ryan immediately stood up and walked to the door.
Moments later, as he watched the surveillance in Lemon’s office lobby, Ryan saw Anna meeting up with a middle-aged man.
The man was of medium build and dressed casually. Ryan couldn’t see his face clearly in the surveillance footage and was taken aback when he saw them walking into the lift on the screen. It wasn’t until then that he came to the realization that the man was Bill. Knowing he didn’t have time to waste, Ryan quickly called Wayne and told him about it.
Right after hanging up the call, Wayne left his office and drove to Lemon’s office building. At that moment, Anna was already in her office, preparing to negotiate with the man sitting opposite her.
Bill tossed the leather jacket he had taken off on the sofa, revealing a dark blue knitted sweater. Anna observed the sweater closely and noticed that it was poorly made. The stitches were uneven in a few places, and the length of the sleeves was not the same.
Her phone rang at that precise moment. Bill glanced at her pocket and said, “I’ll tell you everything I know, but I want to keep it between us. You businesspeople like to record conversations, but I don’t.”
Anna hung up the phone, turned it off, and put it on the desk. “Is that okay now?” she asked, wrapping her arms around her chest.
With a relaxed expression, Bill nodded and said, “Fine. Actually, I’m sure you would look into me. Didn’t you pretend to be one of my colleagues when you visited Joanna in the hospital last week?”
Anna didn’t expect him to know that. She didn’t say anything, just stared at him calmly and silently. Since Anna had no idea why Bill had come to see her, she felt she needed to be on high alert until she figured out what was happening. With vigilance, she tried not to say anything, hoping Bill would say something more.
“You’ve done many things recently, and every single one of them was about me or Lemon. So, it appears that you hate me deeply. Why have you come to see me today?” Anna asked.
Anna held a cup of coffee in front of her, which was still slowly steaming. Her fingers made a crisp sound as they gently touched the cup. She went on, “You can’t do anything to me here. There are more than twenty people in the common office here. You wouldn’t be able to leave if something happens to me.”
“I’m not going to kill you, and that’s not what she’s after,” Bill snorted.
Anna froze when she heard the word “she.” She subconsciously held the cup in one hand, the warmth of her palm warming her heart. “You’re referring to Ada,” she said firmly.
Bill was taken aback, yet he still said quickly, “You appear to know much more than I thought. I didn’t think you’d realize it had anything to do with Ada.”
Anna frowned and said, “So, she told you to do all of those things. You had the opportunity to murder me in the park but you didn’t. Also, if you hadn’t told me there was a problem with the school bus, all of those people, including Tammy, might have died. You’re currently working against Ada, aren’t you? Why?”
Bill grumbled dismissively and said, “After I left Ireland, I refused to let anyone tell me what to do. Ada and I are working together, and we’re just taking what we want from each other. Just like you businesspeople, I understand that neither friends nor rivals are everlasting, but only profits.”
“Isn’t it true that all you need is money? Ada helped Johanna with finding a bone marrow match, and she found the right one. But you don’t have the money to pay for the surgery.” Anna remarked, then remembered Joanna’s thin face. Joanna got very sick. But, unlike Bill, she was a gentle soul.
“Does Joanna know you did those dirty deeds because of her?” Anna asked calmly. She studied Bill’s tired expression, hoping to gain some information.
Bill, on the other hand, was expressionless. He raised his brows slightly, unaffected by what Anna had said. “Mind if I have a cigarette?” he asked, taking his cigarette and lighter from his side pocket. And he had taken out a cigarette, held it in his mouth, and pulled out the lighter before Anna could respond.
Blue flames erupted from the lighter with a click. Bill’s eyes were obscured by smoke, giving him a mysterious appearance. He leaned back on the sofa and asked, “Are you making assumptions about my relationship with Joanna? Are you trying to use her as a threat against me?”
“I do dangerous work, and people like me don’t even have control over their own fate. However, almost all of us believe in God. Do you know why?” He continued, exhaling rings of smoke.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.