Chapter 398: An Uncontrollable Smile

Chapter 398: Chapter 398: An Uncontrollable Smile

When they heard there was a child inside, the onlookers in the crowd couldn’t just stand by anymore and surged forward.

The young woman who had first spoken took the keys from the aunt and tried to open the car door, but it was no use. It wouldn’t open.

"Break the window! Hurry, break the window! My niece is frail, I’m afraid something will happen to her in there!" the woman shouted in desperation.

After hearing this, a bystander grabbed a hammer from a nearby shop, rushed over, and slammed it against the driver’s side window.

After a few strikes, he finally shattered the window.

The moment it broke, the bystander quickly opened the car door. A blast of hot air rushed out; the air inside the car was scorching.

"Why was the car’s AC off? The windows are shut tight and there’s no air conditioning. Are you trying to bake this child to death?" the bystander berated the woman as he climbed through the driver’s side to pull the unconscious girl out from the back seat.

Once the girl was out, someone saw her thick clothes and couldn’t help but cry out, "What were you thinking?! Dressing a child in such thick clothes! This is murder!"

Someone with first-aid experience dispersed the crowd, held up an umbrella for shade, and had others help undress the girl to cool her down while simultaneously calling for an ambulance.

Zoe Sawyer noticed the girl’s face was pale, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead and the tip of her nose. Her expression was pained, her lips were purple, and her body was curled up, her hands clutching tightly at the clothes on her chest.

Her breathing was rapid, and she was making rasping gasps that sounded incredibly painful.

The woman stood to the side, completely at a loss. She wanted to reach out and take her niece, but she was afraid her ignorance would hinder the rescue efforts.

In the end, all she could do was stand there and talk to the girl, trying to keep her attention and stop her from closing her eyes. "Rina, Rina, don’t sleep. Look at Auntie.

Auntie will take you to buy your favorite toy later, and then we’ll get new clothes and go play games, okay? Don’t fall asleep, Rina."

As Rina’s aunt spoke, her voice became tinged with despair.

Her niece hadn’t responded to her once, and she still looked to be in great pain.

’If only I’d checked the car one more time before I left. No, if only I hadn’t left at all. I would have noticed right away if Rina wasn’t feeling well, and this wouldn’t have happened.’

Things did not unfold as the onlookers had hoped. Three minutes later, before the ambulance could arrive, Rina stopped breathing.

Rina’s aunt, who had witnessed the entire ordeal, seemed unable to bear the shock. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

Others then took her to the hospital.

Zoe Sawyer frowned. ’Is this just a simple case of death by parental negligence? The hints the Door gave me before suggested it’s usually not this simple.’

’I’m not sure. I’ll keep watching.’

Zoe Sawyer felt there was something more to the situation that she didn’t know, so she decided to continue watching.

The Door did not disappoint. The scene quickly shifted to a hospital room.

Rina’s aunt was propped up on a hospital bed, her face ashen. A hysterical-looking woman was grabbing her clothes and shaking her violently. "Why don’t you just die? You took my child out, only to let her die!

Why aren’t you the one who’s dead! Give me back my child! Give me Rina back!"

Across from the bed stood a young man, staring at Rina’s aunt in disbelief. His tone was mournful. "Auntie, I told you before, Rina has a mild heart condition. She can’t handle extreme heat or cold. We always keep a window half-open when she’s in the car.

How could you forget that? Not only were the windows closed, but the AC was off too. Weren’t you just pushing her toward her death?"

Rina’s aunt just sat there numbly, letting the woman shake her, muttering to herself, "Impossible. When I left, the AC was on, and a window was open. I didn’t turn them off.

Why... why did it suddenly turn out like this?"

She knew Rina wasn’t in the best health. She had specifically checked the car’s interior before getting out, making sure everything was fine before she felt at ease enough to go to the restroom.

Besides, Rina had been in good spirits then, and her voice was loud and clear.

’It was only ten minutes. Why did everything change?’

At the door to the hospital room stood two men in black suits, holding a notepad and speaking with a doctor.

After each question, they would make a mark in the notepad.

At the same time, they were also paying attention to the situation inside the room. After overhearing the conversation, they made a special note of it.

’Insurance?’

Zoe Sawyer frowned. Her questions were multiplying, but she patiently continued to watch.

Another hour passed. After venting her emotions, Rina’s mother collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion. Rina’s brother first settled his mother, then went over to speak with the men from the insurance company.

"Our condolences. We are also saddened by the child’s passing.

We have a general understanding of the situation now. The hospital’s death certificate states the child suffered heart failure due to overheating, which is consistent with sudden death.

As long as the 180-day waiting period passes and there are no obvious signs of poisoning, the critical illness insurance payment will be deposited into your account. However, if anything suspicious arises during this period, our company reserves the right to deny the claim," one of the men in black suits said.

Rina’s brother nodded, his face mournful. "Of course. You’re just following company policy. We never expected that Grandpa had bought a critical illness policy for Rina before he passed away."

The three of them exchanged a few more pleasantries, and soon, the two men from the insurance company left.

Rina’s brother, with his back to the room, stared down the hallway. An uncontrollable smile spread across his face.

The smile grew wider and wider. To keep himself from laughing out loud, he clapped a hand over his mouth, squatted down, and buried his head in his knees.

To the people around him, his trembling body looked like that of someone overwhelmed with grief for his sister, desperately holding back his sobs so as not to upset his mother.

What a tragic family.

The nurses nearby who knew the situation shook their heads and sighed when they saw Rina’s brother.

Meanwhile, at the end of the hall, the two insurance employees who had supposedly left were standing in a corner. Listening to the passing nurses’ discussion, the last of their suspicions vanished.

’It seems we were overthinking it. This really was just an accident.’

The others didn’t see the man’s smile, but Zoe Sawyer, standing right beside him, saw it perfectly clearly.

And it was because of that smile that she realized this "accident" might have been intentional.

Zoe Sawyer stared at the man in front of her, then finally commanded the Door to turn back time.

"Take me back to the minute Rina’s aunt left the car!"