"Hey Doc, what the heck happened to her forehead? Why are there so many gashes?" Martin asked, pain etching his voice.
"There's a bunch of glass shards in Serena's forehead. doesn't look like they just splashed on her, seems like she was banging her
head against something."
Martin was in disbelief, "You're tellingshe did this to herself?"
"If she had just fallen face-first, the cuts wouldn't be so deep, cover such a large area. It looks like she repeatedly hit her head to
embed the glass deeper into her skin. Sof these wounds look like she tried to dig out the glass herself, which only made the
infection worse. Mr. Cooper, brace yourself, if she pulls through, these scars might be permanent.”
And such scars couldn't be removed by laser treatment.
At those words, Martin's heart clenched with agony, unable to fathom the helplessness and pain she must have felt.
Serena always cared so much about her looks, whether in life or death, he couldn't bear the thought of her being scarred.
"Plus, if there's glass in her knee that's been there for a while, even surgery might not spare her from walking problems."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
The doctor hadn't finished when Martin's shocked gaze stopped him.
"What did you just say?" Martin's heart took another hit. Did he mean that his Serena, even if she survived, might be left limping?
Or worse, confined to a wheelchair for life?
"Is it really that bad?" Martin asked, struggling to believe it.
"We'll need a comprehensive exam at the hospital to be sure."
The doctor couldn't offer a definitive diagnosis.
While the RV was equipped with medical gear, it was no match for a hospital. All they could do was tend to her wounds and try to
keep her alive.
Martin longed to hold Serena's hand, but only then did he notice, her palms and the backs of her hands were a bloody mess, with
glass shards embedded in the flesh, catching the light.
How on earth did her hands get so badly injured?
Did she fall into the glass, or?
Cutting away her clothes, the doctor revealed bruises and cuts all over her body.
"Looks like she was beaten with a bat or something."
Shoulders, arms, chest, back - no part was spared.
Martin's tears fell anew, unable to fathom what she had endured.
How utterly desperate she must have felt.
Back at Reflections Villa.
Louisa ordered every trace of Serena to be wiped clean, not a single item left.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
She even called the decorators, planning to repaint Serena's old room, the walk-in closet, even the basement, changing
everything.
All the staff knew that the lady of the house wanted to erase every last trace of Serena, like rubbing out a misspelled word,
completely, utterly.
"Dig up all her favorite flowers in the garden."
At Louisa's command, the staff uprooted the precious plants, once imported at great expense and rushed over by plane because
Serena had taken a fancy to them.
But now things had changed.
Louisa returned to her bedroom and glanced at the crystal chandelier. She and Serena had picked it out together years ago at a
lighting store. Serena had adored it, said it would suit her room perfectly, even wanted to buy it with her own money as a gift.
Although Louisa didn't let her pay in the end, the chandelier always reminded her of the times they'd spent together, shopping for
lights, hdecor, all sorts.
"Take down that chandelier," she ordered.