Hello, Ex! I Finally Found My Worth! - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Fiona Howells
At that exact moment, Alex stepped into the waiting area since he had rushed down there after hearing the gunshot.

His breath caught and his eyes widened in horror as he saw Emma crouching beside a fallen body.

“Emma!” His voice was raw with panic as he ran toward her, his mind screaming that she’d been shot.

Emma turned sharply at the sound of his voice, her eyes wide, frantic. “Alex—”

But he wasn’t listening. His entire body was locked in panic as he grabbed her shoulders, scanning her desperately.

“Are you hurt? Tell me you’re okay!” His hands ran over her arms, her sides, searching for any sign of injury.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Emma gasped, gripping his hands. “Alex, I’m not the one who got shot!” she cried, her mind still struggling to grasp what Jake had just done.

His breath hitched. That was when his mind finally caught up with reality. The blood wasn’t hers.

It was Jake’s.

Alex’s gaze snapped to the man sprawled on the cold hospital floor. Jake’s chest rose and fell in short, ragged breaths, his face pale as blood soaked through his shirt.

Alex swallowed hard. What had just happened?

“Alex, help him up. I would’ve been the one lying down there. He—he jumped in front of the bullet. He took the shot for Alex,” Emma cried.

What? He took a bullet for her? He had thought he didn’t see it properly but it was obvious, that everything hadn’t been a dream or hallucinations.

It didn’t make sense. Jake was selfish, manipulative—he had never done anything that didn’t serve his own interests. And yet, here he was, bleeding out because he had jumped in front of Emma.

Emma was still trembling, her hands hovering uselessly over Jake’s wound. “W-We need to get help!” she stammered, turning to Alex, her eyes pleading. “He’s losing too much blood!”

Alex clenched his jaw. A whirlwind of emotions crashed over him—confusion, anger, disbelief.

He wanted to hate Jake, wanted to call this some kind of ploy. But the blood pooling on the floor was real. The pain in Jake’s eyes was real.

And no matter what history they had, no matter how much Alex despised him—Jake had saved Emma. He had saved his Emma.

Alex turned sharply, shouting down the hallway. “Somebody call a doctor! We need help here, now!”

Chaos erupted. Nurses and doctors rushed toward them, wheeling a stretcher, shouting orders. Emma was forced to step back as they lifted Jake onto it.

For the first time since the shot had been fired, Jake’s eyes flickered toward Alex.

Jake’s breathing was labored, each gasp shallow and uneven as the doctors worked around him. Blood smeared his lips, his shirt soaked crimson, but his eyes—those damn defiant eyes—still held that flicker of arrogance, even as he lay on the edge of consciousness.

Emma was kneeling beside him, her hands pressing against the wound in a desperate attempt to slow the bleeding. Alex was hovering just behind her, his face a mask of tension and unreadable emotions.

“Alex, I need to tell you something….”

“Jake, don’t talk,” Emma pleaded, her voice tight. “Save your strength, okay? Help is coming,” she said as tears streamed down her face.

Jake let out a breathy chuckle, though it was weak. “Nah… don’t have time for that.” He winced, his fingers twitching. “Alex—”

Alex’s jaw clenched. “Jake, shut up and stay still. You’ll make it worse. I don’t want you to die, not on my wife’s account.”

Jake gritted his teeth. “And who said it was on her account? I brought her into the mess by involving Vanessa so it’s only right I end it. But that’s not what I want to say. There’s something else I need to tell you. Something really important.”

His eyes were desperate now, burning with an urgency that Alex had never seen in him before. “It’s important, damn it.”

Emma exchanged a quick glance with Alex, worry written all over her face. What was so important that Jake wanted to say with his last breath? So he had known it was Vanessa?

Was he probably going to tell them Vanessa’s whereabout? Was that what he wanted to say?

“Fine,” Alex finally bit out. “What is it?” he asked since he was also wondering what Jake wanted to say so seriously.

Jake sucked in a shaky breath, his body trembling from blood loss. He licked his lips, struggling to focus. “Alex… I think you have a sister.”

Alex’s brow furrowed, confusion flickering across his face. “What the hell are you talking about? I think the blood you’ve lost is making you say things. Doc—”

Jake let out a weak chuckle, then coughed, wincing at the pain, cutting of what Alex was saying. “In my bid to look for something I could use to separate you from Emma, I found out… a while ago.. it was also when I found Natalie and Dawn. True to your words, Dawn isn’t your child, Natalie knows it, and I do too. When I was looking for something, anything from your past to pull you down, I went to the orphanage… the one Grandfather adopted you from. My mother told me sometime ago.” His breaths came in ragged gasps now, but he pushed through, determined. “Turns out… someone was looking for you.”

What? How could anyone look for him? Who could it be and what connection does the person have with him? Why don’t he remembered anything about his past or about having a sister?

Alex’s entire body tensed. His mind was already racing, piecing things together, but he needed more. “Who? Who was looking for me?”

Jake’s eyelids fluttered, and for a moment, Alex thought he’d lost him. But then, with the last of his strength, Jake forced the words out.

“Her name… Fiona Howells.” A weak smirk ghosted over his lips. “Your sister, Alex… she’s real. You need to find her and get the details.”

Alex felt his breath hitch. His sister? It couldn’t be.

He had grown up believing he was alone. That no blood ties remained from his past.

And yet—how was that possible? Was it younger or older sibling? How did they get separated?

“Where is she?” Alex’s voice was rough, barely above a whisper.

Jake exhaled, his body trembling. “Lives… in… in Florittle. Check… check the old registry…”

Then his body sagged slightly, his strength giving out as the weight of unconsciousness began pulling him under.

“Jake!” Emma’s voice was frantic.

Jake opened his eyes, his lips parted, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came. Instead, a weak, cocky smirk ghosted over his lips.

“Guess… this makes us even, huh? I’m sorry, I can only protect you this way. I had to make up for every wrong doing I had done to you.”

Emma’s throat tightened. She had no response. All she wanted was for him to be okay and then, she’d forgive him for real and make sure they lived in peace.

Then, just as quickly, Jake’s smirk faded, his eyes rolling shut.

The doctors swarmed in, moving with urgency. “We need to get him to surgery, now!”

As they lifted him onto the stretcher, Alex stood frozen, his mind in turmoil.

Fiona Carter. A sister.

If Jake was telling the truth, then everything Alex thought he knew about his past was a lie.

Emma stood frozen, her breath coming in shallow gasps. “I hope he doesn’t die. I hope he lives.”

Alex turned to her, hesitating for only a second before pulling her into his arms. He shouldn’t be thinking of having a sister now. He had almost lost his wife.

He shut his eyes as he tried to imagine what it would’ve felt like if it had been Emma being rushed into the ICU.

Just the thought of it sent a piercing pain through his heart and he felt like his heart was being squeezed and diced into tiny pieces.

He couldn’t help the surge of gratefulness he felt towards Jake and the surge of guilt he felt toward himself for ever leaving her there. Maybe if she had followed him, nothing of the sort would’ve happened.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he muttered, holding her tight.

Emma let out a shaky breath, burying her face in his chest. “I thought—” She choked on the words. “It happened so fast.”

Alex nodded against her hair, his grip tightening. “I know. I’ve got you.”

But even as he held her, his mind was still reeling. Half guilt half grateful as he hoped nothing would happen to Jake. Jake had taken the bullet meant for Emma and all he could do was pray that Jake would come out of this, alive and well.

And now, Alex had a new question burning in his mind.

Who the hell had tried to kill his wife? Was it really Vanessa? Did she want to kill Emma? Why? Why not Jake whom had left her in hiding and was going after Emma?

Did that mean Emma had been right that day to say she had seen Vanessa?

He couldn’t let her slid this time. He had to find Vanessa, where ever she was. His gaze flickered to her, as he held her while she was still kneeling on the floor, Jake’s blood staining her trembling hands and his stomach twisted.

This could have been her blood. She could have been the one in the ICU. If he let things slid, Emma could be in bigger danger. He needed to do something and find out where Vanessa was so he could end this once and for all.