Chapter 487 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“What is going on, Jade?” Candace asked as she followed her into the living room.

“Give me a moment,” Jade said as she took out two wine glasses and poured some wine into them before handing a glass to Candace.

“Cheers to the end of the legion cartel,” she said, raising her glass in a toast, and Candace clinked glasses with her, “And to Jero’s end,” Jade added, making Candace’s heart skip a beat as she watched Jade raise her glass to her lips.

Candace didn’t sip from the wine. She followed Jade to the living room, and they both sat on the couch while her eyes remained fixed on Jade as she waited patiently for Jade to tell her what she was talking about.

“How much longer do I have to wait before you start talking? What exactly happened? And what about Jero?” Candace asked impatiently when she noticed that Jade was deliberately keeping her waiting.

“The operation was successful. Jero was injured, so he’s at the hospital. I heard it is serious, and he might not make it. He is unconscious at the moment and currently at the ICU,” Jade summarized with a brilliant smile, and Candace raised a brow.

“Jero? Unconscious?” She asked doubtfully, and Jade bobbed her head as she raised her glass to her lips again.

“I don’t think I can believe that until I see for myself,” Candace said with a shake of her head.

It definitely couldn’t be that easy for her. Life had never been easy for her. She always had to work extra hard to get things done. So how was she expected to believe that Jero, who had made her spend most of the night tossing and turning on her bed as she tried to come up with a plan on how to get rid of him, was lying unconscious in a critical condition?

Jade gave her a nod, “Sure. Why don’t you go in and get ready so we can go pay him a visit, and then you see for yourself?” Jade suggested with a happy smile.

“Alright. I’ll join you shortly,” Candace said as she gulped down the entire content of her glass before heading for her bedroom, and Jade did the same.

An hour later, Jade pulled her car into the parking lot of the hospital whose address the policeman from earlier had texted her, “Are you ready?” Jade asked as she turned to Candace, who was staring ahead of her.

Candace took a deep breath before giving her a nod, “Yeah. I think so,” Candace said, and they both got out of the car.

Once they walked into the hospital, they received directions to Jero’s room, and Jade led the way there. Candace stopped walking abruptly when she saw the two policemen guarding the door, and Jade reached for her hand.

“It’s okay. They will let us in, don’t worry,” Jade assured her, before smiling at the policemen.

“I believe you’ve been informed of my visit? I’m Jade Delgado, and I’m here to see Jero,” Jade said politely, and both men looked her over before shifting their gaze to Candace.

Unlike Jade who was formally dressed in a corporate suit pant, Candace was casually dressed in a black sleeveless bodysuit which was tucked into a pair of jeans trousers, and a matching jean jacket.

“We will have to pat her down before she goes in with you,” one of the men said, and Jade glanced at Candace who seemed to stiffen the moment they said it.

“Of course. I’m sure it’s the protocol. You can pat me down too, but you are both male, and I’m not comfortable with that. Is there a female officer around who can pat us down instead?” Jade asked, and both men exchanged a look before shaking their head.

“Then do you mind if I pat her down while you watch? And she can do the same to me,” Jade asked, and one of the men shrugged.

“Go ahead,” he said, and immediately Jade stepped towards Candace and took her handbag from her.

Jade handed both their handbags to one of the men to search, before she moved her hands over Candace’s body. She paused for only a second when her hands brushed something hard which was tucked into the back pocket of her trouser. She continued patting her down like she didn’t feel anything, and when she was done she looked at the men.

“Done. You can search me now,” Jade told Candace, but they shook their head.

“That won’t be necessary. We were informed of your visit,” one of the officers assured her, and Jade gave them a polite smile as she took her bag from them.

“Thank you for your service,” Jade said as the men stepped away from the door to grant the entrance.

Immediately they both walked into the room and Jade shut the door behind them, she grabbed Candace’s hand and dragged her to into bathroom, and stretched out her hand to her.

She didn’t need to say a word for Candace to know that she was furious, “It’s for self-defense. I wasn’t going to hurt him,” Candace said defensively as she reached behind her and handed the pocket knife to Jade.

“Seriously? After everything I told you? Why would you need a knife to defend yourself against an unconscious man?” Jade asked, sounding more disappointed than angry as she threw the pocket knife into her handbag.

Although she wanted to yell, but she couldn’t because she didn’t want to draw the attention of the officers to them, but her eyes passed the message to Candace.

“I wasn’t going to hurt him. I have no reason to lie to you. If you know Jero the way I do, then you’d understand the need I’m so cautious,” Candace said quietly before walking out of the bathroom and approaching the bed where Jero was lying with an oxygen mask over his nose. Apart from temple which was wrapped with a bandage, his body and face was bruised and he looked like he had taken a serious beating.

As she looked down at his unconscious form she remembered how they had met, and how she had been fooled by his act into falling for him without really knowing who and what he was.

Her blood boiled with anger when her previous resentments resurfaced as some memories came back to her. She remembered how he had refused her breastfeeding Jamal. He said her body was his, and she had done her bit by giving birth to Jamal, and so he should be fed with formula for infants. The couple of times he caught her breastfeeding Jamal, he had taken her baby away from her for days as punishment.

She remembered how he had obsessed over her and abused her verbally and emotionally while he abused Andy physically and stole all the money they worked for leaving them penniless and solely dependent on him.

Her body trembled with anger, and tears dropped from her eyes when she remembered how he sold Andy to men for money. How he beat her and locked her up whenever she refused to sleep with the men. She remembered how Andy often came back in torn clothes with bruises on her face.

Seeing how the bastard now lay unconscious, Candace silently prayed that he would never wake up. Even though such a death was too good for a bastard like him, she hoped he would die so that neither her nor Jamal and Andy would have to face him again.

Jade watched as Candace’s body trembled with emotion she didn’t understand, and putting her anger aside for a moment, she stepped towards Candace and embraced her, “It’s alright. He can’t hurt you again,” Jade murmured softly as she patted her back.

“I want him dead, Jade. For Andy’s sake, I want him dead,” Candace cried as Jade continued to pat her back.

“Can…dace,” Jero called in a muffled whisper when he opened his eyes and he saw her standing by his bedside.

Hearing the sound, both ladies turned to look at him, and Candace took a step back while Jade took a step forward, “You’re awake. I should call the doctor,” Jade said as she turned to leave, but Jero raised a hand to stop her.

“No,” he said breathlessly as he reached for the oxygen mask and pulled it away from his face so they could hear him.

“Excuse us. I… want to… speak with her… alone,” Jero said slowly before replacing the mask, but Jade shook her head.

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