Oops! My Secret Baby Is Caught By His Top-Lawyer Daddy! Novel

---- Chapter 135: A Serious Accident Clara lay in bed alone, staring at the ceiling, completely lost, unable to fall asleep for a full two hours. Her mind kept racing, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not calm down. If someone had told her a year ago that she would fall in love, that she would lose her appetite and stay awake at night because of someone, she would have laughed in disbelief. And yet here she was, staring at her phone, waiting desperately.

The chat window still froze on the last message she had sent to Aaron at seven in the evening: "Are you there yet?" Clara didn't dare call him. She was afraid of interrupting him while he worked. She drifted in and out of a vague sleep, and when she woke, the sun was already high in the sky. She grabbed her phone in a rush and finally saw Aaron's message, sent at one in the morning: ---- "Just got back to the hotel. Missed you!" Clara finally relaxed. Everything was fine. Aaron had returned so late, he must still be asleep, so she didn't reply. But Aaron was not at the hotel.

He was at the scene of an accident at the resort. Tristan''s assistant, Cody Steele, and the project manager, Jasper James, were at his side. Aaron asked, "Jasper, give me the full background on this construction crew." Jasper replied calmly, "Nothing unusual. It was a normal bidding process. They met all the requirements and offered a fair price, so we selected them. Everything followed proper procedure. Tristan gave the final approval." Aaron's expression stayed calm. "Go back to the office and double-check the crew's background. Make sure nothing was falsified.

Also, check if any of the crew leaders had private dealings with anyone inside our company." Jasper nodded. "Understood. I'll get on it immediately." Aaron turned to Cody. "You were with Tristan. Go over everything that happened, step by step. Don't leave anything out." ---- Cody drew a deep breath. "Tristan got a report that the hotel had unstable walls on the second floor and minor soil slippage. He brought me to inspect the site." He pointed at the flattened rubble. "Tristan and I were on the second floor. There were fifteen workers still on site.

Suddenly, a deep rumbling shook the building. Walls and ceilings cracked, bricks and plaster fell everywhere. Within minutes, the two-story building collapsed as if an invisible giant had shoved it over." Recalling the scene, Cody's voice trembled. "It all happened so fast. Dust filled the air, debris flew in every direction. Bricks, wood, and steel formed a chaotic mess. The workers screamed, pushing and shoving each other.

The collapsing building released enormous force, overturning everything around it, and the ground shook violently." "When I came to my senses, I was trapped in the rubble, surrounded by more than a dozen workers. When we counted, Tristan and two others were missing." Aaron took the file Cody handed him: seven injured, two seriously, three missing. Olivia had already gone to the hospital to handle compensation, while Matt comforted the families of the missing workers. ---- The top priority was rescue. Aaron surveyed the debris. The dust had settled.

The two-story hotel had been reduced to a heap of ruins, only broken walls and scattered rubble remained. All workers were on site, joining the rescue effort. Because the missing could be anywhere and heavy machinery was too dangerous, they had to rely on manual labor, so progress was slow. Two-thirds of the golden 72-hour window had passed, and less than half the area had been searched. The sudden collapse shocked everyone. It was a brutal reminder of life's fragility. Every person moved cautiously, afraid of another collapse.

"Where there is danger, there is courage," Aaron muttered to himself. He turned to Cody. "Spread the word. Any worker participating in the rescue will get a $3,000 bonus. Anyone who finds a missing person gets $500,000." The moment Cody relayed the message, cheers erupted. Energy and determination surged among the workers. These men were brothers in hardship. Even without a reward, they would risk their lives to rescue others, but ---- the bonus gave them extra motivation. Several workers stole glances at Aaron. "So this is the man behind it all?

He actually cares about the workers' lives!" The phone rang. Aaron answered. "Olivia, how's it going?" "Sir, six of the seven injured workers agreed to the compensation plan," Olivia reported. "One seriously injured worker's family refuses. They claim to know inside information and are demanding an additional $5 million for mental distress on top of medical expenses and lost wages." Aaron paused, "Get the six agreements signed. As for the one trying to inflate the price, keep negotiating. See what insider info they can provide, buy us time.

Send their information to Matt for investigation." "Understood," Olivia said. She quickly sent the worker's photo and ID to Matt and started preparing the agreements. Youth had its advantages. She had only slept about five hours the night before, yet today she was full of energy. She loved working with the boss. It was challenging, exciting, and rewarding. ---- Aaron surveyed the site, his mind racing. His eyes burned as he remembered the last time he saw Tristan, before the New Year. Tristan's parents were gone, and these brothers were his closest family.

He could not let anything happen to them. His career was just taking off. He had not even begun to enjoy success. Hang in there, Tristan. Aaron could not afford to dwell on sorrow. He picked up his phone to contact the deputy mayor. He needed to report the situation, prepare for government pressure, and ensure support if needed. Their relationship was close, and the deputy mayor would back him up ina crisis. Clara had no idea what was happening. She was at home, entertaining Sebastian. Sebastian came over every few days to teach Leo piano.

The boy often called him "grandpa," and Sebastian was overjoyed. Children learn quickly. Leo had not been particularly interested in the piano at first, but with Sebastian's patient guidance, he could now play nearly ten pieces ---- fluently. He would even perform at the kindergarten opening ceremony.