The Day Silence Spoke novel Chapter 63

The lamp was on, and Clifford immediately saw her face contort in pain. He paused.

Grabbing her wrist, he pushed up the sleeve of her pajamas. Her elbow was scraped raw, surrounded by a large, ugly bruise. He pulled down the collar of her shirt and saw another bruise on her shoulder.

He looked up at her. Latisha had her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted, taking shallow breaths to recover from the shock of the pain.

“Why didn’t you put anything on this?” Clifford asked, peeling back a bandage to reveal the untreated wound.

Latisha opened her eyes, hiding the pain from her expression. *It’s fine,* she signed. *It’s not serious.*

She didn't dare use any random ointment, afraid it might affect the baby. After all, the baby was already in a precarious state.

Clifford got out of bed and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets. A moment later, he returned. “Where’s the first-aid kit?”

Latisha was the one who kept the house in order. It was almost funny that Clifford didn’t know where things were in his own home.

She shook her head, not wanting to put anything on it. *We don’t have one,* she signed.

Clifford’s brow furrowed. He walked over and pulled her arm. “Then we’re going to the hospital.”

Latisha froze, then frantically waved her hands, signing in a flurry.

*It’s no trouble. I’ve already cleaned it. It’s really okay, it’s already started to scab.*

*I’m tired. I want to sleep.*

Clifford stared at her for a long moment. “You’re sure?”

Latisha shook her head so vigorously it was almost comical, afraid that any hesitation would be mistaken for playing hard to get.

“Fine,” he finally relented, getting back into bed.

The first thing she did was check her phone, but Nikita still hadn’t replied. Seeing her unanswered messages sitting there, her heart sank. This was all her fault. It was only natural for Nikita to blame her.

Of course. How could someone like her ever have a friend?

Latisha sat motionless on the sofa. The television had been on since last night. She turned the volume all the way up, but it still couldn’t mask the chilling silence of the house.

Killian had agreed to Clifford’s terms and was handling the customs issue. But the scandal surrounding Nikita didn’t die down; instead, it spiraled further out of control. The Stafford family’s stock plummeted daily, losing hundreds of millions in value.

In just a few days, Hadrian had aged years, his hair streaked with new gray.

Nikita stood at the door of her father's study, watching his haggard expression with a complicated look on her face.

Clifford had barely lifted a finger, and he had managed to drag the entire Stafford family down with her.