The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress - Chapter 788

Chapter 788: Chapter 788 Operating Table
He calmly instructed his team to prepare the necessary tools. Time was of the essence. He needed to gather intel as quickly as possible—before Hera had to come down herself.

Gerald had witnessed the growing bond between Hera and Leo, and he knew that with Leo critically injured, Hera would be heartbroken and furious. She would definitely want answers—and maybe even vengeance.

But Gerald didn’t want her to bear the weight of this dirty work. If he could do it in her stead, spare her that emotional toll, then that’s exactly what he would do.

So, Gerald descended to personally handle the interrogation—methodically torturing the prisoners while demanding answers: Who were they? What were they after? Why did they target Leo?

At first, the three captives played tough, acting like hardened men who couldn’t be broken. But the moment Gerald began using ancient torturing techniques—ones long buried in history—their bravado shattered.

They trembled like drenched chicks caught in a storm, shrinking into pathetic figures as fear overtook them.

They cracked almost instantly, spilling information without needing any further prompting.

Despite Gerald’s usual easygoing and affable demeanor, he wouldn’t be the head of the Avery Family’s intelligence division if he didn’t have a darker side. Beneath that smile was someone terrifyingly precise, ruthlessly efficient—a devil in disguise.

And as the captives spoke, revealing everything they knew, Gerald’s expression darkened. The more he heard, the more shocked—and disturbed—he became.

While Gerald was busy extracting information from the prisoners, Hera was on the verge of tears as Leo and the others were rushed into the operating room. Meanwhile, Zhane, who had been alerted about an emergency case flown in by military chopper—its details marked top secret—was immediately sent by his father to oversee the situation at the hospital.

But what he didn’t expect was to see her.

There, in the middle of the chaos, stood Hera—dressed in a tactical bodysuit, guns strapped to her thighs, her hands covered in blood as she helped wheel in the wounded. For a moment, Zhane just stared, stunned.

‘Wasn’t she supposed to be at the competition she had spent so long preparing for?’

‘Why was she here, right now?’

At first, Zhane thought he was hallucinating. Maybe the stress was making him see things—but as he got closer and heard that soft, choked sob, reality hit him like a wave. It was Hera.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he had already reached for her and grabbed her arm.

Hera looked up through tear-blurred eyes, her vision filled with the familiar but hazy outline of Zhane. And the moment she recognized him, she broke—crashing into his chest as if she’d finally found a lifeline in the middle of a storm.

“Z-Zhane… save Leo, please… save him…” she cried, her voice trembling with desperation.

Zhane’s heart twisted at the sound. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly as if he could shield her from all the pain in the world. His voice was low and gentle as he whispered to her, coaxing her to breathe.

“Shhh… Don’t worry. I’ll save him,” Zhane whispered softly, his voice calm and reassuring. “You just need to wait here and get some rest.”

His gentle words and rhythmic patting on Hera’s back helped soothe her trembling frame. Slowly, her breathing steadied. When she finally calmed down enough, Zhane guided her to sit on a nearby bench.

Once she was settled, he glanced over her shoulder and noticed the group standing behind her—imposing, battle-worn men in military gear. They didn’t look like official army personnel, but there was no mistaking the danger in their presence. A dozen questions filled Zhane’s mind, but now wasn’t the time.

He gave them a subtle nod, silently entrusting Hera’s safety to them. Then, without another word, he turned and walked into the operating room himself—ready to do everything in his power to save Leo.

Though Hera never openly admitted it, everyone around her knew that Leo was her favorite. If they didn’t stay close to her, sticking by her side, it was clear that Hera would dedicate herself entirely to Leo, loving him and only him.

But since Leo, in his generosity, had accepted them into her circle, they could only pretend to complain, while secretly, they were grateful for the opportunity to be near her. Over time, they had come to see Leo not as a rival, but as someone to respect and protect Hera, like they did.

Zhane, too, had grown to treat Leo as his own. He was determined to save him, to drag him back from the brink of death, and to make sure Leo would walk out of that operating room as good as new.

Or at least, that’s what he had hoped until he saw Leo’s condition. The sight of him, broken and barely recognizable due to his pale face from blood loss, shattered Zhane’s thoughts. His mind flooded with questions, none of which had any answers.

Zhane couldn’t stop the swirl of questions racing through his mind as he stood over Leo’s battered form. What had happened to him? How had he ended up so close to death when just days ago he had seemed perfectly fine?

The last time they’d spoken, Leo had been his usual self, full of energy. But now, seeing him lying lifeless on the cold operating table, pale and still, it was as though he were staring at a corpse.

Zhane’s thoughts flickered back to their last conversation in the group chat. He remembered Luke’s question, the cryptic message suggesting that the person sending messages to their group chat might not have been Leo.

That realization hit harder now as he looked at Leo’s body, blood covering his chiseled body, a few days-old gunshot wounds visible on his skin. The wounds were already healing, but it didn’t ease Zhane’s unease.

He tried to piece things together, his memory drifting back to the last time he had seen Leo in person—the banquet where Hera had been introduced to the public as the Lowery’s goddaughter.

At the time, Leo had seemed off, distant in a way that was completely unlike him. The clingy Leo, who was always attached to Hera, had stayed far away from her that night. He hadn’t even hugged her or stayed by her side.

Now, seeing the gunshot wounds, the pieces clicked into place. Leo had been injured at that time. He had kept his distance to avoid Hera noticing the blood scent on him and to avoid worrying Hera.

Zhane clenched his fists, his heart heavy with the realization that Leo had been silently suffering, hiding the pain to protect Hera.

Zhane shook his head, a feeling of defeat settling deep in his chest. Even in this dire state, Leo’s thoughts were consumed by Hera. Zhane couldn’t help but realize that the love Leo had for her was on an entirely different level than his own.

In that moment, he felt no jealousy—only a deep sense of admiration. Leo deserved every bit of the love Hera gave him, because his heart and eyes were solely focused on her.

Zhane, on the other hand, felt a pang of guilt. Was he doing enough? Could he ever measure up to Leo’s unwavering devotion? The thought lingered in his mind, but it didn’t discourage him.

Instead, it fueled a sense of determination. He was resolved to give his all to his relationship with Hera, to match the love Leo had for her, and make sure she knew how much she meant to him.