THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 427: He’s Off Limits

"She’s clearly not in her sane mind as you can see, it could have been any of us here." Lauren said and walked away.

She intended to inform her brother so he’ll arrange for someone to find out what was really going on.

As soon as Lauren was far enough from earshot, she called Killian.

"Killian, something just happened at ..."

"Are you alright?" Killian interrupted before Lauren could complete her sentence.

"I’m fine but ...

"That’s all I need to know. The rest is not your business. Now, get out of there and don’t do anything foolish," Killian ordered briskly.

"I wasn’t trying to do anything," Lauren snapped indignantly. "It’s just that Peggy isn’t alright. Something is not just right about her."

"And why is that your problem? Or do you want to switch careers and become a doctor like your boyfriend?"

"I get it, you don’t have to rub it in. I just felt I should let you know what I found out. But since you’re not interested, I’ll keep the rest of the information to myself."

Without waiting for her brother to respond, Lauren jabbed the end call button as if she had an unsettled beef with the phone.

No longer in the mood for shopping, she turned back into the car park and headed straight to her car.

She would go to someone who truly cared and would be patient enough to listen to her without shutting her up like her impossible brother.

By the time she drove out of the parking lot, the ambulance carrying Peggy was just pulling away. She didn’t bother looking back. It’s not my business, just like her brother has said, she thought.

An hour later, she found herself at the MedStar Hospital parking lot. She got out of the car and headed inside. Luckily, she spotted Steffan emerging from his office just as she reached his door.

"Lauren, I thought you were going to the shop. Changed your mind? Or did someone realize they couldn’t have lunch without this charming doctor, after all?" Steffan teased.

"Woah, woah, woah! Who offended my Lollipop?" He asked when Lauren just breezed past him into his office.

"This is serious," he muttered to himself, closing the door behind him.

When Lauren still didn’t say anything, Steffan’s playful expression instantly vanished.

"Sweetheart, what’s the matter? Who is it that dared to provoke my woman? Just tell me, and I’ll go handle it. In fact, I’ve got a scalpel ready for their throat," he said with an exaggerated seriousness that made Lauren crack a smile despite her anger.

"Don’t be ridiculous, but, I’d rather not say," she sighed, half-laughingly as her anger melted just a little.

"You don’t need to be scared, darling. Forget about the scalpel. These muscles can take care of anyone. You’ve seen them in action!" Steffan grinned and flexed his exposed arms after rolling up his sleeves.

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "Alright, fine. Since you’re insisting so much, it was Killian. And I want us to go and confront him right now."

"What?!" Steffan’s voice rose an octave, apparently, he wasn’t expecting that name.

A smirk played around Lauren’s lips as she crossed her arms."What? You don’t want to avenge me anymore?"

"Anyone but him. You know as my in-law, he’s off limits. Besides, we shouldn’t mess with family. What do you think mother will do to me if she finds out that I... you know..."

Lauren’s smirk widened into a grin. "So, Killian was right, you are indeed spineless. Look at you, shivering like a chicken."

"Spineless?" Steffan scoffed, feigning offense. "You saw what I did to those guys on the highway!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But the only person you’d rather not mess with is my brother and that’s because he’s family, right?"

"Right, sweetheart. It’s this understanding nature of yours that I love about you."

Lauren couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "And it’s this boastful nature of yours that I love about you," she mocked.

"Steffan grinned, playfully nudging her. "Alright, now that we’ve established how much we adore each other, why don’t you tell me what Killian did that upset you so much?"

Lauren sighed and leaned back against her chair. "I was just trying to tell him what happened to me earlier, and he completely shut me down. He told me to get back home like I was some kid. Can you imagine?"

"If Killian said that, he probably had his reasons. You know how he is. Just forgive him. But can you tell me what happened to you?"

"You won’t believe who I saw today?"

Steffan sighed helplessly. How does that question apply to what he wanted to know? But to humor her, he could only be patient.

"Who did you see?"

"Peggy. Peggy Carter, the one that gave me and my team a tough time during the competition," Lauren said and went on to narrate what had transpired between them.

By the time she reached the part where Peggy had attacked her, Steffan, who had been listening quietly, suddenly sprang to his feet. He reached out to grab her by the arms and pulled her to her feet, turned her around as if searching for something.

"What are you doing?" Lauren asked, bewildered.

"Making sure you’re not hurt," he said seriously as his eyes continued to scan every inch of her body.

Lauren sighed in exasperation. "Steffan, seriously?"

Once satisfied that she was fine, Steffan relaxed and sat back down.

"Continue" he said, as though the interruption hadn’t happened.

Lauren stared at him in disbelief. "Are you for real?" she asked.

"Totally," Steffan replied with a grin. "Now, what happened after Peggy attacked you?"

Lauren had no choice but to continue recounting the bizarre events in the parking lot.

She noticed that Steffan’s smile slowly faded as she spoke. By the time she finished, Steffan was rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he leaned closer.

"That’s... strange. Really strange. And nobody came forward to stop the man?"

"None at all," Lauren said. "Everyone watched as if transfixed until that man finished feeding her whatever substance it was in that bottle."

"What bothered me more was Peggy’s appearance. She’s changed. I don’t know what happened to her."

Steffan frowned, thinking it over. "Something’s definitely going on with her. And that guy you saw... well.. like you rightly said, he sure has so much to do with her condition."

He could only say that much as he didn’t want to get into trouble with his brother, Stanley and much less Killian who had sent those people to ensure Peggy’s life remained miserable until she was tired of living.

"But why would she suddenly attack me? Do you think she blames me for her failure to win the competition?"

"Of course she wouldn’t. Whatever happened to her, she brought it upon herself. She’s just looking for someone to take out her frustrations on."

Lauren’s mind went back to the question one of the men at the car park had asked her. Peggy could have attacked anyone, why her?

"Since you’re here, can we go for lunch now?" Steffan asked, changing the subject. If he continues this conversation, he’ll end up spilling the beans about Killian’s move on Peggy.

"Yeah and I guess, but I’d prefer we order takeout or eat at the hospital canteen."

"I have a better idea. Why don’t we eat at my apartment?" Steffan suggested.

"Okay."

"What would you like us to order?"

"Whatever you want to eat."

"Awn! So romantic," Steffan said joking and helped Lauren to her feet.