Chapter 511: Who Is He Getting Engaged To?
Ivy Tanner’s self-abandonment was different from her low self-esteem and self-pity. It was a despair born from having lost all faith in life—a situation where an outsider was utterly helpless.
’Forget it. It’s her life.’
Claire Sinclair felt helpless, but she still did what she could. She walked up to the nurses’ station and asked one of the nurses, "Hello, I’m Claire Sinclair. Mr. Kingsley asked me to come and look after Third Miss Tanner. Could you tell me her current condition?"
"C-Claire Sinclair..." The nurse was stunned.
’The legendary Star Reporter Sinclair, Aridia’s number one socialite, and Young Master Quincy’s girlfriend, here in their hospital! And at the request of Young Master Kingsley, no less!’
’And hadn’t there been rumors online for a while that Claire Sinclair was Young Master Kingsley’s ex-girlfriend?!’
The other nurses noticed and all looked over. The commotion also attracted the gazes of a few passing patients and their families.
Claire Sinclair frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure in her eyes. She hated being stared at with such fawning gazes. "I asked you a question," she said.
The nurse snapped back to her senses and reported, "The spots where Third Miss Tanner was pierced by the 125 needles are healing well. We examined her this morning and didn’t find anything abnormal. However, the nail wound on her back isn’t healing ideally. There’s some minor infection, but we’ve already treated it. As long as she gets plenty of rest, she’ll recover quickly."
Sensing something was terribly wrong, Claire Sinclair lowered her voice and asked, "What’s this about 125 needles? And a nail in her back?"
"Someone pierced Third Miss Tanner’s body with 125 needles. They were all over, even in her head. Luckily, the doctors removed them all. As for the most recent wound, someone hammered a nail into her back. When Mr. Kingsley brought her in, the nail was still embedded in her..."
Claire Sinclair couldn’t process the rest. She spun around and headed back.
The nurse called out to her, "Miss Sinclair, where are you going?"
Claire Sinclair quickly returned to Room 605 and shoved the door open.
Ivy Tanner was still in the same position as before, curled into a ball, completely sealed off in her own world and deaf to her surroundings.
Her steps heavy, Claire Sinclair walked up behind her and said in a low voice, "The 125 needles and the nail in your back. How did that happen?"
As if recounting someone else’s story, Ivy Tanner said hoarsely, "From the very first day I returned to the Tanner Family, they started piercing me with needles. I pulled some out myself. The ones I couldn’t reach stayed in my body. I fought back at first, but they only got more vicious. Eventually, I just resigned myself to it."
"Are you an idiot?!" Claire Sinclair couldn’t stop herself from shouting. "You were being tortured! Why didn’t you call the police?"
Ivy Tanner shot back sarcastically, "You were a victim of domestic abuse too, weren’t you? Did *you* fight back?"
Claire Sinclair was instantly speechless.
’She knew all too well that family conflicts were never as simple as outsiders imagined. Even if you fought back, your own flesh and blood would often just double down on the abuse, as if kinship meant nothing at all.’
A tragically beautiful smile curled Ivy Tanner’s lips. "Do you think I never tried to escape? I ran away many times. I even fled to Tavion, but they always dragged me back in the end. They didn’t dare kill me at first because they were afraid of Ethan Kingsley. But he’s about to get engaged..."
Claire Sinclair couldn’t help but ask, "Who is he getting engaged to?"
Ivy Tanner laughed. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It’s Corinne Linden, daughter of Charles Linden, the governor of Scylla State—a common rival to both Ethan Kingsley and Young Master Quincy."