Chapter 24
+25 BONUS
Panic flashed across Mom’s face. “Lara’s away on a business trip, Mom. How can she be missing?”
“I heard your conversation with Jay. He said that Lara’s missing and that you guys went to the police about this.” Granny grabbed Mom’s arm, her face ashen. “Tell me what happened to her!”
Mom didn’t dare tell her the truth. “Lara is fine, Mom. Don’t overthink–Mom!”
Granny passed out before Mom could finish. Mom hastily caught her. “Mom! Mom?”
Granny collapsed in Mom’s arms with one hand clutching her chest as she panted. Mom didn’t dare move. She slowly lowered Granny to the floor before grabbing her phone and calling 911, after which Granny was rushed to the hospital.
I floated in mid–air and watched as Granny was taken to the emergency room. I was panicking, but there was nothing I could do except pray that she would be fine.
She had a heart condition and couldn’t be aggravated, but my disappearance was the biggest aggravation possible. That was why Mom and Jayson kept the truth from her and hadn’t dared to tell her anything. Who would’ve known that she’d still overhear their conversation?
Mom waited outside the emergency room restlessly. It was late at night, so it was silent. She was the only person there. She kept glancing at the operating theater, looking sad and helpless.
In the end, she buried her face in her hands and started crying. She mumbled, “You have to be okay, Mom. I don’t know whether Lara is still alive. What will I do if something happens to you now?”
She was devastated.
I felt horrible seeing her like that, but I couldn’t do anything to change the situation. All I could do was try to wrap my arms around her, hoping it would warm her.
She, Granny, and I had relied on each other for over a decade. Everyone had been envious of Mom when she’d married into the Fairlight family and became a rich man’s wife. Later, she’d gotten divorced and had left the marriage without a penny to her name.
All those people who’d envied her at first instantly turned on her and mocked her after she’d lost everything. Even her own kin had rejected her and banned her from stepping into the house, claiming she would bring them bad luck.
Granny had reprimanded my uncle, Phil Henderson, for that, but his wife, Jane Beech, had kicked her out of the house. From then on, Granny, Mom, and I lived together. We were each other’s pillars.
I genuinely didn’t know whether Mom could handle it if both her pillars were taken away simultaneously. I could only pray to the heavens and hope they wouldn’t be so cruel
Granny had to be fine, or Mom wouldn’t make it through, either.
The silence continued. Over an hour later, Granny was wheeled out of the emergency room. She lay on the hospital bed and had an IV drip. Her eyes were shut, and her wrinkled face was ghostly pale. It was a heartbreaking sight.
Mom hurried forward and asked, “How is my mother?”
“Take the patient to the ward,” he said to the nurses. Then he turned to Mom. “I have a few things to say to you, Ms. Henderson.”
Mom nodded. “Alright.”
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Chapter 24
+25 BONUS
The nurses wheeled Granny away. The doctor removed his mask and said, “Mrs. Henderson Senior has already been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment more than once, Ms. Henderson. Things were dangerous this time. She might be out of the operating theater for now, but she’s not out of danger.
“Even if she does recover this time, you still have to consider my suggestion for her to undergo the heart bypass surgery. Think about this long and hard. It can’t be delayed any longer.”
The doctor had saved Granny before, so he knew her situation well.
Mom’s eyes reddened as she listened to him. “Dr. Lloyd, I’m not trying to delay this. I just… I don’t have that much money.”
Dr. Lloyd said, “If you have financial difficulties, you can have two stents inserted for now. We can use locally manufactured ones, which are relatively cheaper. The total cost is 100 thousand dollars. Try to get the money so we can operate on Mrs. Henderson Senior, or she may not be so lucky next time.”
