---- Chapter 258 However , Wendy and Liam never made it to that afternoon meeting-because something else took over their entire focus. Just as they were finishing lunch, Margaret , whose recovery had been going smoothly, suddenly began vomiting blood. A post-op complication like that was never a good sign. As soon as Wendy heard, she bolted straight to the room. It had been seven days since the operation, and Margaret had already been transferred to a regular ward.

When Wendy and Liam arrived, they saw Margaret hunched over in bed, gripping a basin, vomiting blood with her back rigid and her body trembling. The bottom of the basin was already filled with blood. Wendy felt her heart drop. Even Liam furrowed his brows. Quickly, Wendy rattled offa string of medications. Within moments, the nurses had everything she needed. Margaret had stopped vomiting blood but was still dry- heaving, clearly miserable. Wendy turned to Liam.

"Keep her conscious." Liam stood right beside the bed, calling her name over and over. "Ms. Hurst, you need to stay awake. Look at me," Wendy ---- leaned in, coaxing gently. "If you can speak, say something. Anything." Margaret's eyes fluttered open, but she quickly shut them again. "My stomach... feels tight..." she whispered , voice strained. Wendy pressed gently on her abdomen.

"'Is it the surgical wound, or somewhere else?" Margaret shook her head slightly, so Wendy moved her hand to another area. "There," Margaret gasped, grimacing. "It hurts..." Wendy's frown deepened. "It might be pancreatic ," she said, glancing at the medical team. "Push a dose of coagulant first." Once all the emergency interventions were done, Margaret's vitals finally stabilized. Wendy immediately redressed the area herself. She worked nonstop for the rest of the afternoon.

Gregory came by twice to check in and relayed everything back to the surgical review team. That night, an emergency meeting was held. Wendy didn't leave Margaret's bedside until the patient's condition was completely stable. Only then did she drag her exhausted body to the conference room. ---- Liam had arrived earlier and had already been in discussion with the review board. They'd held two back-to-back sessions but still hadn't reached any conclusions.

When Wendy walked in, her presence seemed to bring the weary room back to life. "Was it a complication from the surgery?" "Dr. Sanders doesn't make mistakes like that." "The latest results came back-it's pancreatitis, right?" "Inflammation like that can pop up post-op. It should've been part of the post-surgical monitoring protocol." "Vomiting blood... yeah, that tracks with pancreatitis symptoms." As soon as she sat down, the room filled with overlapping voices.

Liam leaned in and asked quietly, "You sure you don't want to rest? We can pick this up tomorrow." She shook her head and gave him a reassuring look. "I'm okay. Ms. Hurst's stable now-I'm just really tired."