"Ah!"
A sharp cry of pain escaped Mia's lips. The pungent smell of sulfuric acid in the air slowly began to fade. Emma rushed forward and saw that the back of Mia's dress had been eaten away by the acid, leaving a large hole. The skin on her shoulder blade looked burned.
"Hey, kid! Where do you think you're going? Stop right there!"
The two security guards from The Waterfront waved their batons, chasing after the crazed young man who had just attacked their boss.
"Mia, hang in there. I'm taking you to the hospital right now."
Emma quickly supported Mia, having no time or energy to pay attention to Isabella or Noah standing nearby. Soon, she had Mia in the car and was speeding toward Brookhaven General Hospital.
"Isabella, let's go check on them."
But this time, Isabella just shot him a cold glare. "You seem pretty close with Emma, don't you?"
Noah was choked speechless by Isabella's words. But thinking about it, if Mia hadn't pushed Emma aside just now, that sulfuric acid would have splashed all over Emma's face, leaving her disfigured. He still felt a flicker of gratitude toward Mia.
"I'll take a taxi. You go to the hospital."
Without another glance at Isabella, who was fuming behind him, Noah got into his car and followed Emma's.
"Noah Taylor, you're going to rot in hell for this!"
Isabella screamed, throwing her bag to the ground in fury. She stormed out of The Waterfront, but the onlookers seemed to recognize her. They whispered to each other, pointing in her direction. Feeling humiliated, Isabella grabbed her bag and hurried away.
Once she reached the roadside, she didn't bother hailing a taxi. Instead, she pulled out her phone and made a call.
"Fine. Send someone to pick me up right now. I need to see you."
Emma rushed Mia into Brookhaven General Hospital. Elijah happened to be on duty. Even though he wasn't a surgeon, the nurses had told him that Emma had carried an injured woman into the hospital. He hurried over immediately.
He never expected the injured woman to be Mia.
"What happened?"
Elijah stood beside Emma, watching as the doctors wheeled Mia into the emergency room for wound treatment. He asked quickly.
"I was having dinner at Mia's restaurant today. When we came out, we ran into some crazy teenager. He looked at me like I was his worst enemy. The worst part was, he was holding a bottle of sulfuric acid. When he was about to throw it in my face, Mia pushed me out of the way just in time. But her back got burned. I hope it's not too serious. Mia cares so much about her appearance..."
Emma's voice cracked, and she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. They streamed down her face.
Elijah's heart ached for her. He stepped forward and pulled Emma into his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder.
Even if this was just a random act of violence, Mia had been hurt saving Emma. Emma was too kind. She must be devastated.
When Noah arrived, he saw Emma lying in Elijah's arms. A pang of regret hit him. If only he had gotten there sooner, she would be leaning on his shoulder instead.
"Emma, how's Mia?"
Emma pulled away from Elijah and looked at Noah with surprise.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was worried too. Especially about you. So I came to check on you."
Noah's face was full of concern. Elijah frowned at him. If you looked closely, you could see the coldness in his eyes.
"I'm fine. You should go back and be with Isabella." Emma noticed that Isabella wasn't with him, so she guessed he had left her behind and driven over alone.
"She's fine. She took a taxi home. Let me stay here with you."
Noah didn't see the displeasure in Emma's eyes. He was still shamelessly trying to stick around.
"Noah, I said I'm fine. Isabella is your girlfriend now. Don't forget, she almost died before. Since you've chosen to be with her, then cherish her. I have nothing to do with you anymore. Even if I need someone to care about me, it's not your place."
Emma was emotionally unstable, and Noah's presence was only making things worse. She had no patience for him.
"Emma..."
Noah probably didn't expect Emma to say those words. He stood there, stunned, staring at her in shock.
"Emma is right. She's being polite to someone like you. If you don't leave now, do you want to make her even more upset?"
Olivia's voice rang out from the hospital corridor as she rushed over.
Noah looked at Emma, who was standing beside Elijah, refusing to even look at him. A wave of disappointment washed over him.
"Emma, believe me. In my heart, no one can ever replace you."
Noah said those words, thinking they were touching and heartfelt. Then he finally left, reluctantly.
"Who does he think he is? Emma, don't talk to him anymore." Olivia watched Noah leave and said to Emma.
"I didn't want to see him either. Today was just a mess of accidents. Forget about him. Mia is still in the hospital."
Emma had called Olivia from the car earlier, but she hadn't explained everything clearly. Now that Olivia was here, she naturally wanted to know the whole story. Olivia was shocked when she heard that a strange young man had tried to throw sulfuric acid in Emma's face.
"Who has such a grudge against you? They actually wanted to ruin your face. If it weren't for Mia, you'd be the one lying in the emergency room right now. And if your face was destroyed, your whole life would be over."
Olivia's guess made sense, but Emma couldn't understand why anyone would want to throw acid on her.
Finally, the light in the emergency room went out.
Emma and Olivia couldn't wait to rush forward. When the doctor came out, they immediately asked about Mia's condition.
"Luckily, the amount of sulfuric acid wasn't too much, and the burn area on her back isn't large. With proper care and modern cosmetic technology, it can be repaired over time."
The doctor's words lifted a huge weight off Emma's shoulders.
She slumped back into her chair, repeating over and over, "That's great. That's great."
Then Mia was wheeled out. Although her back was numbed by anesthesia, she was still conscious. Seeing the worried looks on her two friends' faces, she wanted to smile and tell them she was okay.
But when her gaze fell on Elijah, who was standing not far away, she remembered what had happened before. She let out a cold snort and turned her head away.
Olivia was confused. What was that all about?
Elijah, on the other hand, felt helpless. That day, he hadn't meant to make Mia angry. But the book she was about to encounter in his study was actually the trigger for a hidden room behind the bookshelf. If she had touched the mechanism at that moment, Adrian Frost, who was hiding in the shadows, would have killed her immediately.