Maureen's POV
Seeing Tabitha like this, I couldn't bear to argue with her.
I knew that her mom had walked out on her a long time ago, her father had become a vegetable, and her marriage was a disaster too. She had been through enough pain.
When she bowed down before me, I immediately panicked.
"Ms. Hartley, you're unwell. Please stop it."
At my age, I knew she must've gone into early labor as soon as I caught sight of her flat belly. Turned out she was hurt, too.
Just then, a guy hobbled over with a cane, limping on one leg.
"Mrs. Foster, Joanna volunteered to protect Tabitha. It's not Tabitha's fault. It's all on me. I failed to protect her. Blame me if you want."
I remembered he was called Spike. He had come to visit my son, and at first glance, I could tell he was a decent guy.
"Kid, your leg..."
Behind Spike, a bunch of tall guys started coming out of the ward one after another, some with injured hands and some with injured legs.
"Mrs. Foster, it's our fault, not Spike's. He's the most heartbroken one about Joanna's death."
With a group of tall and upright men with injuries around, this scene was both impressive and intimidating.
Just then, a man helped Tabitha up and pushed through the crowd after letting go of her hand.
The moment he showed up, the whole vibe in the hallway shifted.
He hadn't said a word yet, but I felt an instinctive sense of danger creeping in.
His eyes were bloodshot, his handsome face icy cold.
"I'm Derek Greenwood, their boss and Joanna's employer. I've already sent people to handle Joanna's funeral and compensation issues."
He was calm and strong, just like Alvin. No matter what I said, they would only tell me to calm down.
To them, a life seemed as insignificant as a grain of sand blown away by the wind.
His nonchalant attitude made my anger flare up again. "Alpha Derek, I know you're loaded, but no amount of money can bring my daughter back! I don't want money. I just want her!"
His face showed a hint of displeasure.
"You think it's unfair that your daughter died, right? Well, let me tell you, if it weren't for her inviting trouble, Tabitha wouldn't have gone into early labor, I wouldn't have lost my pups, and my men wouldn't have been injured! Tell you what? One of them is still in ICU fighting for his life. You want your daughter back? What about my pups and my men?"
I took a step back and stared at him in disbelief.
"What did you just say? All of this is because of my daughter?"
"There's more. Tabitha was literally dying when she was rescued that night. Who should be held responsible for that?"
Just then, Tabitha tugged at his sleeve.
"Mrs. Foster just lost her daughter. Please don't talk to her like that," she spoke up.
Derek replied, his voice raspy, "Tabitha, I wanted to understand her, but do you think I'm not sad about losing my pups?
"I'd been so looking forward to their birth, even avoiding seeing you in case I would upset you. No one was more excited than me. And look what we ended up with instead!"
His expression sent a chill down my spine. It almost seemed like if Joanna hadn't died, he might've wanted to kill her himself!
Geez, what kind of monster was he?!
Just when I was at a loss of what to do, my son's voice sounded, "Mom! What are you doing here?"