Nathalie Quinlan took the water handed to her by Stanley Zachmann with her uninjured hand, drank a sip, and, hearing the words, put down the bottle of mineral water lightly, saying, "I’ve investigated."
"The car accident wasn’t an accident?" Mr. Zachmann’s face suddenly darkened, gripping the armrest of his wheelchair tightly. His clouded eyes turned suddenly cold and very stern: "Who did it?"
Nathalie didn’t say.
She placed the mineral water aside, supporting her long, straight leg, with a sowhat playful expression, and only said to Mr. Zachmann and Stanley, "...I’ll handle this matter myself, you guys don’t need to worry."
Her refusal to reveal who did it made Mr. Zachmann suspect that the person might be related to their family. For a mont, he felt a headache coming on, looking at the girl’s delicate eyebrows, feeling nothing but heartache.
Stanley, however, wasn’t thinking about it too much. Nathalie’s car accident had given him quite a scare, and at that mont he was only left with lingering fear, not wanting to think about other possibilities. Hearing that Nathalie didn’t want to say, he quickly reassured the old man, "Dad, if Nathalie doesn’t want to say, let’s not ask. She’s grown up, and I trust she will handle it well."
Mr. Zachmann glanced at his foolish elder son, his temples throbbing as he pursed his lips and gave a slight nod.
He said nothing, though in his heart he had decided to investigate privately.
...
Mr. Zachmann and Stanley were talking, and Audrick Zachmann, being the younger one, was too embarrassed to interrupt. He patiently waited until they finished speaking before going over to ask Nathalie about her arm injury, expressing a few more concerns, advising her to refrain from using her right hand and to avoid water during this period.
He rambled quite a bit.
Among everyone in the clinic room, Leonardy Zachmann remained silent.
He was the calst, or rather the least concerned among them.
After thoughtfully reminding Nathalie of so precautions, Audrick turned around and saw his father standing there dazed, not coming over.
Unable to hold back, he called out, asking, "Dad, aren’t you going to say a few words to Nathalie?"
Leonardy then seed to snap out of a dream, pressing his hand to his temple, and slowly walked over.
Nathalie maintained a similar expression as before, appearing to treat him no differently from how she treated Mr. Zachmann and the others.
But Leonardy couldn’t shake a feeling of unease in his heart. He pursed his lips, and after a long hesitation, awkwardly managed a caring sentence: "Nathalie, is your arm okay?"
Nathalie raised her hand slightly, her voice sowhat hoarse: "My right wrist has a fracture and needs half a month to heal, nothing else."
Her words were light, causing Leonardy to furrow his brow, seemingly holding back more to say.
Nathalie noticed his repeated attempts to speak to her, but she did not actively inquire about what Leonardy wanted to say.
Ultimately, after several hesitations, Leonardy made up his mind, softly addressing the girl in front of him: "It’s good that there’s nothing serious. Just now, Mateo Gordon’s father called and ntioned so things; he hopes I can plead with you to let their family go."
"Mateo Gordon’s father called you?" Audrick was taken aback, interrupting before Nathalie could, asking puzzledly, "Dad, what do you an? Why did Mateo Gordon’s father call you?"
Mr. Zachmann raised his eyelids, also giving Leonardy a glance.
Audrick seed to realize sothing, reacting with a look of surprise, frowning as he asked Leonardy again, "Dad, are you implying that Nathalie’s car accident is related to their family?"
Leonardy felt embarrassed at being questioned so directly, unsure of how to continue the conversation.
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