Chapter 439 A Rare Blood Type

Chapter 439: Chapter 439 A Rare Blood Type

Grace knew that, too.

The odds of something like this happening by accident were incredibly low.

“The people who organized today’s event had regular access to the Taylor family staff,” Ryan said calmly, leaning against the wall. “Go through them one by one.”

James looked at him.

His expression sharpened. “You think someone tampered with the chandelier?”

Derick frowned. “Even if someone did, what would they gain from it?”

Ryan lowered his eyes, rubbing his wrist absently.

“If someone was willing to take that kind of risk, it may not have been about gaining something.” His voice was quiet and cold. “It could have been about covering something up.”

Victoria stood nearby with her head lowered, tears still slipping silently down her cheeks for Alicia. She said nothing.

Rose turned and studied Ryan for a long moment.

Then she walked over.

“Let the doctor look at you.”

“I’m fine.”

“I said, get checked out.”

Her tone was patient, but her eyes made it clear she wasn’t going to let him argue.

Ryan met her gaze for several seconds.

Then, as if he had finally decided there was no point fighting her, he gave a quiet, “All right.”

Rose exchanged a few words with Grace before leading Ryan to a nearby examination room.

He looked perfectly fine on the way there.

His stride was steady, his expression composed, and there was nothing about him that suggested he was injured.

It wasn’t until the doctor asked him to take off his shirt that Rose realized something was seriously wrong.

Ryan was only using one hand.

His other arm hung almost completely still at his side.

Rose’s heart lurched.

She immediately stepped forward.

After washing and sanitizing her hands, she said, “Let me.”

Ryan looked at her.

“Okay.”

Rose helped him remove his jacket, revealing a dark gray vest and white dress shirt underneath.

Then she saw the blood.

It had soaked through the fabric around his shoulder.

His shoulder was badly swollen, and his arm was visibly out of place.

Rose’s expression changed instantly.

He had been walking around like nothing was wrong.

If she hadn’t insisted on bringing him in, he might have continued doing exactly that.

She stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you out of your mind?” she snapped. “You’re injured and you’re still pretending you’re fine. When exactly are you going to stop doing this?”

Ryan gave a quiet laugh.

“Are you yelling at me?”

“If you didn’t hear me the first time, I can repeat myself.”

Rose forced a smile that wasn’t remotely friendly and pressed him gently back into the chair.

“Don’t move.”

Rose had always been the kind of person who became even more stubborn when someone pushed back.

And once she was angry, her mouth moved faster than her filter.

Her stern expression should have been intimidating.

Instead, Ryan simply tilted his head and looked up at her as she leaned over his shoulder.

He said nothing.

Rose had enough medical training to know what she was doing. Without even thinking about it, she reached for the necessary equipment.

She’d completely forgotten the doctor was still in the room.

He had initially intended to stop her, but after watching her assess the injury and handle the shoulder with precise, practiced movements, he changed his mind.

Instead, he stood nearby and assisted whenever she needed something.

Ryan had a dislocated shoulder, but thankfully there were no fractures.

The skin across the back of his shoulder had been torn in several places. The wounds weren’t particularly deep, but they would need stitches.

Anyone else would have been wincing by then.

Ryan barely reacted.

He hardly frowned, let alone made a sound.

Rose, meanwhile, looked like she was the one being stitched up.

Ryan glanced sideways at her.

“You look like you’re in more pain than I am.”

Rose shot him a look.

“Mr. Knight, you still have the energy to make jokes? You act like this has nothing to do with you—as if you aren’t the one sitting here injured.”

Watching him treat his own injuries as though they were someone else’s problem made her furious.

Ryan tilted his head.

“Fine. Then make sure you do a good job stitching me up.”

Rose stared at him.

“I’ll sew a little bow on it.”

“Thanks.”

Rose went silent.

The doctor, standing nearby, looked from one of them to the other.

Then he exchanged a glance with the nurse.

There was something strange between these two.

They were clearly irritated with each other, yet there was also an invisible boundary between them that made it impossible for anyone else to step into the middle.

Rose worked quickly and efficiently.

But there was one thing that bothered her.

Ryan’s blood wasn’t clotting normally.

Even though the wounds were relatively minor, the bleeding was persistent and unusually difficult to control.

If the injury had been more severe, the blood loss could have become dangerous very quickly.

“This is a problem.”

Rose looked toward the doctor.

The doctor gave her a reassuring smile.

“It’s okay. We understand. You’re worried about your husband.”

“We’re not married.”

Rose corrected him immediately.

The doctor froze.

Ryan didn’t say anything.

For a moment, the room went completely quiet.

Then Rose finished cleaning and dressing his wounds.

The two of them eventually left the examination room and headed back toward the operating room.

Rose walked ahead.

Ryan followed several steps behind, his pace unhurried.

After a few moments, Rose stopped.

She turned around.

“Thank you for saving my mom today.” ℯ

Ryan looked at her.

“Tomorrow, I’ll send you some medication. Something topical and something oral. It’ll help with the wounds.”

She stood with the light behind her, her expression calm again.

There was no hesitation in her voice.

Her gratitude was genuine.

She wasn’t taking what he’d done for granted, but she also wasn’t turning it into something more than it was.

She simply wanted to repay what she owed him.

Like two ordinary friends.

Nothing more.

She had drawn a clear line between them, and it was one she had no intention of crossing.

Ryan looked at her for a moment before quietly answering.

“Okay.”

Rose nodded and continued down the hall.

When she reached the waiting area, Alicia still hadn’t come out of surgery.

James walked over.

“How did it go?”

Ryan answered casually, “Just some superficial injuries.”

James frowned.

He looked at Ryan with a complicated expression.

As a man who knew Ryan well, James understood better than most what kind of person he was.

Ryan was cold, controlled, and almost frighteningly rational. In business, he could be ruthless. He was the kind of man who could watch everything around him fall apart and still make a decision based purely on logic.

But when it came to Rose...

James narrowed his eyes.

There was clearly more going on than Ryan was willing to admit.

Rose didn’t notice the silent exchange between the two men.

She was still focused on Alicia.

Suddenly, she turned to James.

“How did Alicia end up with the Taylor family?”

James was quiet for a moment before explaining.

“She was about three years old when she came to us. Grandma used to visit a temple every year to pray for your health. That’s where she found Alicia.”

Rose listened carefully.

“She was severely underweight at the time and had a congenital medical condition. She’d been living at the temple as an orphan.”

James glanced toward Rose.

“The people there told Grandma that Alicia had been born on the same day as you.”

Rose’s expression shifted slightly.

“That was what made Grandma take an interest in her,” James continued. “She thought that if she could do something kind for a child who shared your birthday, maybe life would be a little kinder to you, too.”

He paused.

“At the time, Victoria couldn’t have children of her own.”

James glanced toward Victoria, who was still standing nearby.

“She volunteered to raise Alicia herself. Dad felt guilty about what Victoria had gone through, so he agreed.”

His voice softened.

“That’s how Alicia became part of the Taylor family.”

James looked at Rose.

“Honestly, if she hadn’t shared your birthday, Grandma probably wouldn’t have brought her into the family. She might have paid for her medical treatment and found her a good home instead.”

Rose fell silent.

Everything about Alicia seemed to be connected to her.

Her birthday.

Her grandmother.

Her family.

Her mother’s history.

There were too many coincidences.

Rose was still trying to make sense of it when the operating-room doors suddenly swung open.

Everyone turned.

A doctor hurried toward them.

“She’s losing a significant amount of blood,” he said. “And she has a rare blood type. We don’t have enough of it available here.”

Derick immediately stood.

“I have the same rare blood type. Test me. If I’m compatible, I’ll donate.”

“No!”

Victoria’s voice suddenly cut through the hallway.

Everyone turned toward her.

For the first time since the accident, the tears on her face had stopped.

She looked terrified.