Chapter 501-510
Alex parked his car on the side of the road and after he was done with his thumbprint, he drove to the
hospital again.
…
A ck SUV rushed into the night like a ck panther out of Presgrave Residence. Anxiety was
evident in Anastasia’s eyes as she sat on the passenger seat. How can this be happening? Did he
really pass out because of the two sses of wine he had?
“Don’t worry. Let’s go to the hospital and check out his condition first.” Elliotforted her tenderly.
When he heard the news earlier, he drove her out without a second of hesitation.
Over at General Hospital, Francis was ced on a stretcher and quickly taken to the emergency room.
Naomi and her daughter followed behind while crying uncontrobly.
Naomi weeped as she begged the doctor, “Doctor, you have to save my husband. You must save him!”
“Ma’am, we’ll do our best.” reassured the doctor as he shut the door of the operating room.
Alex, Naomi and Erica exchanged nces with each other; they were all silently praying for the same
thing—a ‘sorry, we have done our best’ from the mouth of the doctor.
About fifteen minutester, Anastasia and Elliot hurried over from the elevator. She nced at the
operating room where her father was still being treated and looked at Naomi and Erica. “When did Dad
faint? Was he still conscious when he was brought here?”
“Anastasia, was your dad drinking at the Presgrave Residence? If you knew that your dad shouldn’t be
drinking, why didn’t you stop him?” Naomi snapped at Anastasia as if Anastasia had caused Francis’ to
be admitted to the hospital.
Of course, Anastasia knew that her dad had two sses of wine. Hence, all that was on her mind right
now was guilt and regret. I should’ve stopped him…
“If something happens to Dad, know that it’s all your fault!” Erica cried and scolded.
“It is indeed not advisable for President Tillman to drink any alcohol. The doctor suggested that it is
best to not even drink a sip,” added Alex.
Anastasia’s figure shook with remorse, but a strong arm behind her supported her firmly while
reassuring her, “Don’t worry. Let’s see how things go.”
In the operation room, an emergency rescue was being carried out; the doctor put in all his effort to
revive Francis. Though the doctor had shaken his head several times, he still tried every means
possible to carry out a second rescue.
Fortunately, when they used the defibritor for the second time, the still line on the machine had
started showing weak signs of a heartbeat.
“Heartbeat’s back. The patient’s will to survive is strong.”
This time, Francis’ condition was considered a severe heart failure. If he had been a minutete, he
might have not been able to survive. However, due to the prolonged cardiac arrest, the oxygen supply
to his brain was insufficient, so he was now in a severea.
Even after a sessful resuscitation, there might be a risk of him being in a vegetative state.
Two hourster, the exhausted doctors came out withyers of cold sweat on their foreheads.
“What happened to my dad? Is he still alive?” Erica was the first to ask.
“Did you save my husband? Is he still alive? Tell me!” Naomi acted like a desperate wife.
Anastasia also clenched her fists tightly and stared at the doctors.
“Since the patient has missed the golden hour, we’ve done our best. So far, the operation was
sessful, but due to the prolonged cardiac arrest, the patient’s brain was severely deficient in oxygen
supply and that has caused a certain amount of brain damage. Please prepare yourselves mentally as
the patient is likely to be in a longa or at the risk of a vegetative state.”
“What?” Naomi’s entire body went limp, so Alex reached out to help her. When she raised her gaze to
meet Alex’s, both of them expressed joy in the depths of their eyes.
Erica covered her mouth and looked distraught, but there was a sh of delight in her eyes.
Even if Francis was not dead, he would never wake up. This is exactly what they would want.
Anastasia was the only one who seemed to be drained of strength. Pain shrouded her face as she let
tears roll down her cheeks.
Standing behind her was a heartbroken Elliot as he felt sorry for Anastasia. As a daughter, this is the
last thing she’d ever want to hear.
“Francis! Francis…” Naomi began to cry and sat on the ground bawling while Erica hugged her as they
cried together.
Not to forget the remaining ‘actor’ Alex, who also looked solemn. He nced at Anastasia whose face
had paled under the lights. Elliot, on the other hand, had been supporting her from the back and
assisted her to the bench.
Now, how could Naomi miss such an opportunity? She rushed over suddenly and she pped
Anastasia before Elliot could even react. A burning sensation grew on Anastasia’s face, but the very
next second, a sturdy arm blocked her as Elliot questioned in a deep voice, “What do you think you’re
doing?!”
“It’s you… You’re the one who did this to your dad! Why did you let him drink?! He had been fine taking
his medications regrly! It’s all because of you! You Presgraves are guilty of killing my husband!”
Naomi seized this opportunity to curse them hard.
This time, she even scolded the Presgrave Family.
“Exactly! If my dad ends up in a vegetative state, you’ll be overjoyed, won’t you?!” Erica chimed in.
Anastasia’s ears went deaf for a few seconds as finger marks slowly appeared on her pale face.
Elliot could not bear to see her in such a state anymore. He red at Naomi and Erica with cold eyes,
then warned, “I dare you to touch her again.”
His gaze was murderous. If Naomi were not a woman, he would have definitely fought back.
Frightened by his aura, she took a step back as Elliot’s gaze stopped her from acting aggressive.
“Mrs. Tillman, please calm down. Our priority is to save President Tillman at this moment.” Alex came
to drag Naomi away as he did not want her to cause any more trouble.
“Mom…” In truth, Erica was satisfied to see her mother pping Anastasia.
Anastasia covered her cheek and remained silent. If it was not for the nerve-wrecking and guilt-
inducing circumstances that she was in, she would not have stayed quiet about this.
“Does it hurt?” Elliot gently touched the side of her face that had been pped.
“It’s fine.” Anastasia shook her head.
Elliot’s eyes shot at Naomi once again like a dagger with a killing intent present through his gaze.
When Naomi’s eyes met his, she instantly jumped up in shock as she quickly thought of an excuse.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
As she returned, Francis’ attending doctor, who was the Head of Neurology, came over and inquired,
“What kind of medicine does your husband usually take? What’s the dosage of the medicine? We
found a residual pill in his mouth just now. Why is it there?”
“Doctor, my husband usually takes supplements for his heart. He came back today and felt
ufortable, so he took a few more pills at a time. But before he could swallow the medicine, he
fainted,” Naomi exined while sobbing again.
Funny how the act of shoving pills down Francis’ throat has now be a voluntary act of his, thanks
to her great storytelling.
“He shouldn’t have prescribed his own dosage. In cases like this, you should have sent the patient to
the hospital right away, but you’ve dyed for way too long. That’s why you missed the golden hour.”
After the doctor finished speaking, he left.
Although Anastasia was in grief, she was in a clear state of mind. She stood up beside Elliot and
questioned while looking at Naomi, “Why didn’t you send Dad to People’s Hospital and took a detour to
this hospital instead?”
Naomi was startled, but Alex came over and apologized, “I’m sorry, Miss Tillman. It’s all my fault. I took
the wrong turn because I was not familiar with the road to the nearest hospital, so I ended up here.”
“I’m grateful enough that Alex came and took your father to the hospital. How dare youe at us for
beingte! Did you think I was going to harm my own husband?” Naomi turned around and retorted
aggressively. “What about you?! When your dad passed out, where were you, and what were you
doing?”
“She was busy preparing for her engagement, of course! Why would she even have time to care about
her father?” Erica insulted.
“Your father is in aa and in a vegetative state. The audacity to even still think about engaging!
Aren’t you afraid of karma? How could you even do such an awful thing at a time like this?” Naomi
scolded again as if Anastasia bing engaged was an unfilial thing to do.
Elliot’s eyes scanned the mother and daughter as their malicious intentions against Anastasia were
getting clearer by the minute…
Alex, who was enjoying the show on the side, sneered inwardly. Elliot’s dream of marrying Anastasia
might as well be flushed down the drain now.
As long as Francis remained unconscious, Anastasia would not be able to marry with a peace of mind,
which meant that Elliot could not be the son-inw of the Tillman Family anytime soon.
“Are you done? Can’t you see that she’s already stressed out? What else do you want?” Elliot stared at
Naomi and Erica with a cold gaze.
“Young Master Elliot, I’m sorry but Anastasia belongs to our family. I’m afraid that her engagement will
be off,” Naomi stated boldly.
“This matter is up to us to decide. You don’t have the right to intervene.” Elliot nced at her coldly, not
bothering to save any respect for her.
Naomi choked in surprise and looked at Anastasia. “Your father is in serious condition now. You can’t
get engaged without his presence!”
As long as Anastasia was not engaged, Elliot was not the son-inw of the Tillman Family. Despite how
powerful he was, he could not interfere in the affairs of their family.
She looked up at him and inquired, “Can I arrange for my dad to be transferred to your hospital?”
Even without her request, Elliot already had that n in mind. Presgrave Hospital had state-of-the-art
medical equipment and technology, so it was more likely for them to cure Francis.
“Sure. I’ll make an arrangement right now.” Elliot nodded.
When Naomi heard that, her expression fell and she immediately stopped them. “Your dad has just
been resuscitated. Don’t hassle him around!”
Anastasia took a deep breath and exined, “Presgrave Hospital has more advanced technology than
other hospitals. It will be helpful for Dad’s treatment.” Of course, she assumed that Naomi also wanted
to save her father, so she exined it to the woman nicely.
When Naomi heard it, she tantly rejected the offer. “I don’t believe in any hoax of better technology. I
just don’t want my husband to suffer again. He’s merely justnded his foot back in the world;
therefore, I will not allow you to move him around.”
“Naomi, I know that you hold a grudge against me, but Dad’s health is more important now.” Anastasia
was furious because Naomi insisted on going against her at such a critical moment.
Erica, who was beside Naomi, also spoke out to support her mother. “Dad is still weak now. Why do
you have to torment him? If something goes wrong on the way… or if he encounters an ident, what
will you do?”
Seeing that the mother and daughter insisted on not transferring Francis to another hospital, Anastasia
could only hold back temporarily. Nodding as shepromised and said, “Okay, I will let Dad stay here
tonight. We’ll see how his condition is and transfer him after two days.”
Once Francis was transferred to the ICU for monitoring, Naomi went in to visit for ten minutes as the
representative. She sat in front of Francis’ hospital bed and looked at his lifeless and pale face. She
muttered coldly in her heart, I don’t want you to suffer anymore. You should just go!
Anastasia could only look at her father lying quietly through the ss window. During dinner, her father
was still happily drinking and talking to her, yet now, he was lying in the cold ward sound asleep.
Elliot hugged her shoulders andforted her. “Rest assured that I have arranged for a few doctors
from Presgrave Hospital to check on him.”
She looked at him with gratitude filled in her eyes. At a time like this, he was her warm and powerful
pir.
“Jared fell asleep, so I had Grandma take care of him.”
Anastasia felt safe leaving her son at Presgrave Residence, so she nodded. “Okay.”
It was winter outside, so the chill was still vaguely present despite the heater that was switched on
outside the ward. Elliot took off his suit coat and draped it over Anastasia’s body. Since she was in such
a hurry toe to the hospital earlier, she only wore a sweater, forgetting her thick coat.
On the other row, Erica looked at Anastasia with jealousy. A rich and young master like Elliot was
considerately by Anastasia’s side, taking care of her every single need.
However, when Elliot looked up and scanned over Erica and Alex, he exuded a dark and cold aura that
made her feel pressured even from a distance.
How does Anastasia have such an ability to make him show her only his best side?
When Alex went to get water for Naomi and Erica, he also bought some for Anastasia. She took them
and handed a bottle to Elliot, who was obviously reluctant to ept anything given by another man.
Even if it was just a bottle of water, he felt ufortable.
When Anastasia saw his refusal to ept the water bottle, she set the bottle aside and opened the one
in her hand before she took a few sips and handed it to him.
Only then did Elliot take it before he took a few sips of the water she had drunk.
Once Alex took a seat beside Erica, she could not help but hint, “I’m cold, Alex.”
As soon as he heard that, he hurriedly took off his suit and gave it to her. Erica was wearing Alex’s suit,
but she did not receive the feeling she was looking for. Despite being a man, Alex was iparable to
Elliot.
Half an hourter, three men in suits appeared in the corridor while looking dapper with a schrly
aura. They went straight to Elliot’s side and greeted him respectfully, “Hello, Young Master Elliot.”
Elliot nodded in response. “All of you are here.”
Anastasia was delighted to see Benedict among them. It seemed that these three were the doctors
from Presgrave Hospital.
“We’ll check on the patient’s condition first, then we’lle back to you to discuss the details.” After
saying that, Benedict and the other two went to the doctor’s office together.
Naomi seemed to have realized something and immediately got up to ask, “Who are these people and
what are they going to do to my husband?”
When Anastasia saw her exaggerated reaction, she uttered lightly, “Just Elliot’s friends.”
Naomi thought they did not look like his friends but doctors instead. She then exchanged nces with
Erica and Alex before sitting down.
“Naomi, there’s a lounge over there. Do you want to go in and take a rest? It’s quite cold here,” Alex
suggested.
With that, all three of them went over to the lounge.
As soon they entered, Naomi hurriedly looked at Alex and inquired, “The three people just now should
be doctors sent by Elliot. Do you think they’ll be able to cure Francis?”
“Let’s not exaggerate our reactions for now. Elliot is here, so we shouldn’t raise his suspicion,” Alex
reminded her that Elliot was not an ordinary person.
As a result, Naomi could only hold back her temper and reply, “We’ll just have to risk it.”
In the corridor outside, Anastasia noticed that Elliot was wearing only a shirt and a vest. She then
asked out of concern, “Are you cold? Do you want to take a nap in the car?”
“I’m fine,” Elliot reassured her and held her hand.
Anastasia felt the warmth of his palm, but she still returned the suit to him as she felt bad. She then
snuggled into his embrace and the two of them shared his suit to keep warm together.
He hugged her tightly while his thin lips kissed her hair since he felt sorry for her.
“Don’t worry. The guys who just came are the leading cardiologists and neurologists in our hospital.”
As soon as she heard that, she saw a glimmer of hope and instantly felt relieved. At this moment, she
realized how honored and lucky she was to have known Elliot.
After a while, Benedict came over. “Elliot, Miss Tillman, pleasee with me.”
Elliot reached out to hold Anastasia’s hand as they followed Benedict.
In the conference room of the hospital, the three experts and the two doctors who revived Anastasia’s
father earlier were present. Through their gaze, one could tell that they were looking at the three
experts respectfully.
Following that, one of the doctors gave a detailed exnation of Francis’ condition.
“Miss Tillman, we’ve gone through your father’s analysis. It was unfortunate that he was admitted too
late to the hospital. If he could have arrived ten minutes earlier, the situation would have been
completely different.”
“Is it possible for my dad to wake up?” Anastasia asked nervously.
“Judging from his current situation, he is unlikely to wake up, but it’s not totally impossible. Nothing is
absolute, but your father’s heart failure has caused variousplications, especially his brain which is
most affected. Therefore, the possibility of him being in a vegetative state is very high.”
The tears that Anastasia had been resisting suddenly rolled down her cheeks uncontrobly. As she
heard their statement with closed eyes, she felt immense pain and despair.
Elliot took her hand and uttered in a deep voice, “Please think of some other ways you can save him.”
“There is a way, but it can’t be implemented right now. It’s gonna take a period of observation. We can’t
undergo the brain treatment until the examination data reaches the ideal state.”
“How long do you roughly need?”
“About three months! During this period, we will do everything in our power to maintain your father’s
treatment while he is in aa.”
“Please prescribe him with whatever medication he needs. Money is not a problem,” said Elliot.
“We will, Young Master Elliot. We guarantee to provide the best avable treatment for Mr. Tillman,”
they replied.
With a question that had been lingering on her mind, Anastasia took the opportunity to ask, “Does my
dad’s episode have something to do with his alcohol intake—specifically two sses of wine?”
“Miss Tillman, if he only drank two sses of wine, it would not cause his heart failure. We suspect that
your father had ingested the medicine by mistake.”
“Yes. We found a small piece of residual pill in your father’s mouth and it is a poisonous drug for the
cardiovascr system. Rather than strengthening the heart, it has the opposite effect. As for the exact
properties of it, it will take two days for us to verify.”
“What?! My dad took the wrong pill?” Anastasia was shocked to hear that. Why would her father take
the wrong pill?
“Perhaps you should inquire with someone who stays with your father about the situation and the kind
of drugs he usually takes.”
“Okay. I’ll get to the bottom of it while I collect some samples of my dad’s medications for your
inspection.”
“That would be great.”
“Elliot, it’s cold at night. We’ve arranged a room in the hotel opposite the hospital. Take Miss Tillman
over to rest! Rest assured we’re here to take care of Mr. Tillman!” suggested Benedict.
Elliot nodded in agreement and looked at Anastasia. “Benedict and the others will guard here. They’ll
inform us right away if something happens.”
Anastasia knew that treating her father would be a long battle that would take more than a day or two.
She had to maintain her physical strength and body in order to take care of her father.
When they walked out of the hospital and entered the car, she was thinking about one thing—why is
there even a chance for a poisonous drug within the reach of my dad, let alone mistakenly ingest it?
“Elliot, I want to head home and check on the kind of medicines my dad is taking.”
“Okay, I’ll drive you there.” He nodded.
On the other side, Naomi and Erica were in the lounge when Alex quickly walked in and informed them,
“I heard from the doctor earlier that Elliot took off with Anastasia.”
“Where did they go?”
“Not sure, but I’ll take you guys home! Let’se back tomorrow morning,” he offered.
An exhausted Erica then prodded her mother to leave. “Mom, let’s go! I want to sleep.”
With that, the mother and daughter decided to go home. Along the way, Alex asked Naomi if the pills
were left at home which she then answered, “I only bought two bottles. One is in my hand now and the
other is at your ce. I didn’t leave any at home.”
“Hurry up and get rid of it! We can’t let anyone discover it,” he suggested.
As such, Naomi told him to stop by the road. She threw the pills into a nearby river and returned to the
car and assured, “Don’t worry, Anastasia will never know what medicine we gave her dad.”
Erica, the other aplice, also breathed a sigh of relief. “Anastasia definitely won’t suspect us.”
Elliot’s car was parked outside the gate of Tillman Residence. After keying in the passcode at the door,
Anastasia found that the lights were still on. She also saw the driver, Joe, sleeping on the sofa. When
Joe heard the noise at the door, he immediately woke up.
“Miss Tillman, you’re back. What about President Tillman?”
“Why are you here, Mr. Bachelor?”
“When Madam left just now, she asked me to stay and watch the house, so I didn’t leave. How is
President Tillman?”
Anastasia’s gaze turned serious as she inquired, “Mr. Bachelor, tell me about the situationst night
when you saw my father passing out.”
“I sent President Tillman back home and left, but I suddenly recalled that Old Madam Presgrave gave a
lot of gifts in the car, so I turned back. When I walked in with the gifts, I already saw President Tillman
lying on the ground unconscious.”
“What about my stepmother and stepsister?”
“They were all crying in fear and I wanted to take President Tillman to the hospital, but Mr. Hunter
came, so they took his car and left.”
“How much time had passed between the moment you witnessed it and the time you called me?”
Anastasia inquired calmly.
“About fifteen to sixteen minutes!”
To investigate further, she took out her phone and checked the call log. When she added up the time it
took for her to receive the call, the time it took Joe to process the situation and the time it took her
father to be taken to the hospital, it came to more than forty minutes.
She checked the map and found that the time from home to General Hospital was about twenty-three
minutes. Alex said that he had taken the wrong way, but did it really take him more than twenty minutes
to detour? Why did he not take Dad to People’s Hospital, which was only ten minutes away from
home? Why did he take Dad to another hospital after detouring for forty minutes?
Anastasia’s heart was full of doubts. She did not want to overthink Naomi’s motives and thoughts, but
their unreasonable time on the road was the very factor why Francis missed the golden hour.
“Mr. Bachelor, do you know what kind of medicines my dad usually takes?”
“I only know one; he usually takes a pill to relieve his heart difort. After thest time he fainted,
President Tillman took it with him every day, saying it was to protect his heart.”
After listening to Joe’s statement, she rose to her feet searched for the medicine in the cab. She
could not bother much anymore as she went to the master bedroom on the second floor. In the cab,
she found a bottle of heart medication that her father often took. Other than that, no other medicine was
found.
She took out more pills from several bottles of medicine in the cab. She wanted to rify if the pills
left in her father’s mouth were from the ones at home.
When all the pills were gathered, Anastasia requested Joe to cover for her. “Mr. Bachelor, I got some
pills from home, but please keep it a secret from my stepmother, will you?”
Joe could not help but feel a tug in his chest. He had always been loyal to Francis, so he naturally
nodded affirmatively. “Okay, I won’t tell them.”
Just as Anastasia and Elliot were about to go out, they saw Naomi and Erica rushing in through the
door. Judging from the luxury car parked outside, they must have assumed that it was Elliot’s and
panicked.
They did not expect Anastasia toe back at all.
“Anastasia, what are you doing here? Why are you running around instead of taking care of your dad in
the hospital?” Naomi immediately questioned Anastasia out of her guilty conscience.
However, Anastasia answered coldly, “What’s wrong with meing back? This is my home after all.”
Naomi choked at her reply, then saw Anastasia and Elliot walking toward the gate.
After the couple had left, she immediately entered the hall and saw Joe, who was about to leave. She
hurriedly asked, “Joe, what did Anastasia do when she came home just now?”
“I’m not so sure. I came out to smoke earlier, madam. If there is nothing else, I will be leaving too.” Joe
quickly covered for Anastasia.
“She must be up to no good if she came home secretly.” Erica gritted her teeth.
Once Anastasia sat in Elliot’s car, she closed her eyes and calmed herself down for a few seconds
before uttering, “I have a feeling this isn’t entirely an ident. When Naomi and Alex took him to the
hospital, they took way too long. It was the dy that caused him to miss the golden hour.”
“Do you suspect your stepmother?”
“My dad treats her well. I really hope that she has nothing to do with this incident, but if I really find out
that she plotted something, I won’t let her get away with this.” Anastasia gritted her teeth and clenched
her fists as grief and resentment surged in her chest.
“Rx. If it’s her, she’ll definitely leave a trace.” Elliotforted her once again. Not only did he find
Naomi suspicious, he also thought that Erica and Alex were problematic.
When Elliot took Anastasia back to the hotel, it was already 2.00AM before he knew it.
Back at Tillman Residence, Naomi was sitting on the sofa while panic took over her. She thought about
what she had done at this moment and she suddenly got cold feet.
Well, what’s done is done… it’s either I go big or go home, then. Otherwise, things would be more
troublesome. But… What did Anastasia do here? Did she suspect something? I thought the
performance by Erica and I was convincing enough, even in front of Joe! No… there’s no way they
could have found out…
Maybe I’m just reading too much into this, Naomi told herself.
Meanwhile, Alex arrived at Hayley’s little apartment and found her waiting for him. After a round of
passionate tussling, she started asking him about Francis. All he divulged was that Francis had
suddenly copsed and was sent to the hospital for an emergency life-saving procedure.
Hearing about Francis’ situation, Hayley nodded. She was not angry when she sensed how wary and
secretive Alex was toward her, seeing as the end she sought to achieve was for Anastasia and Elliot to
call off their engagement.
With Francis still in aa, Hayley doubted that Anastasia would continue with the engagement; it was
not proper in light of the grim situation at present, and besides, the cheerful novelty of her uing
nuptials would have already worn off by now.
Meanwhile, in the hotel, Anastasia could not sleep. She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and
stared out at the hospital across the road. Worry was evident in her eyes, and for each day that Francis
stayed unconscious, she grew even more anxious.
Elliot sighed softly and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Let’s get some rest, shall we?”
She leaned into his arms. At this moment, his embrace was the only thing that kept her grounded when
everything else in her life was tossed up in the air. Faith came with the sense of calm that suddenly
washed over her; she was sure that Francis would wake up soon.
She somehow drifted into sleep as Elliot held her through the night, but it was not a restful slumber.
Elliot, on the other hand, hardly slept a wink, for he woke up as soon as he felt the slightest movement
from her.
Anastasia woke up the next morning and heard Elliot speaking on the phone with Benedict, who had
called to tell him that Francis’ condition had not changed much sincest night, though there were
several tests that the hospital had scheduled for him.
“Anastasia, the facilities in the hospital are limited. We’re going to need you to sign the consent form if
we want to bring your father back to the hospital my family runs.”
“I’ll do it,” she said firmly. “I don’t care if Naomi objects to it. You can bring Dad over to your hospital for
a thorough check-up and all other necessary procedures.”
Elliot nodded and immediately gave instructions over the phone. “Bring him over to the hospital and run
all the necessary tests.”
Having taken her breakfast, Anastasia headed over to the hospital to sign the patient transfer
paperwork. It wasn’t until she saw her father being wheeled into an idling ambnce that she felt hope
course through her. She prayed furtively that Francis would receive better treatment over at the
Presgraves’ hospital.
The ambnce had only just left when Anastasia’s phone rang. She nced at the caller ID, and upon
seeing Naomi’s name shing on the screen, she knew that her stepmother had already found out
about Francis’ transfer to the Presgraves’ hospital.
“What is it?” Anastasia demanded fearlessly, sparing no niceties as she picked up the phone.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to, Anastasia! Who gave you the right to have your father
transferred to another hospital? Your father is in no condition to be moved around willy-nilly! You better
pray that he wakes up, because if he doesn’t, then you’ll have hell to pay!” Naomi snapped belligerently
on the other line.
“I’ll take full responsibility for anything that might happen,” Anastasia replied curtly. “He’s my father, and
I want him to wake up more than anyone else, especially you.”
“Save your false sentiments for the fool who will believe it, Anastasia. You just want your father to die
so that you can take over hispany. That’s it, isn’t it? I know exactly how that mind of yours works,
you wench! You’ve been eyeing hispany all along!” Naomi used, twisting the situation to make
it sound like Anastasia was the one with ill intentions.
Anastasia was so enraged by this that she trembled. She knew Naomi was only razzing her up, but her
blood still boiled all the same. “I don’t care what you say. All I want is for Dad to get the best treatment
there is.” She decided to ignore the wretched woman after this.
“I refuse to let my husband be treated at Presgrave Hospital. I don’t feel good about it, and I demand
that you have him sent back to the General Hospital at once! You hear me?!” Naomi roared.
Without another word, Anastasia ended the call and turned to address Elliot, who had been standing at
the side all this while, “Let’s go.”
Presently, Naomi gritted her teeth as she sped over to the hospital. “That useless wench hung up on
me!”
“Mom, what do we do? Presgrave Hospital has state-of-the-art facilities and some of the best doctors in
the world. If Dad regains consciousness after receiving treatment there, then all our efforts will be for
nothing!” Erica wailed.
“We’re going to Presgrave Hospital right away. I’m going to bring my husband back to General Hospital
no matter what!” Naomi seethed, making up her mind to use the wife-card to her advantage.
Over in Francis’ most trustedw firm, Alex was in the middle of a conversation with a middle-aged
man. On the table was an agreement with a bank cardid on top of it. “I heard that you’ve racked up
quite a lot of gambling debts, Mr. Smithers, but I’m sure that the money in there is enough to help you
tide things over,” Alex pointed out matter-of-factly.
“Looks like you came prepared, Mr. Hunter. How is President Tillman doing?”
“Due to the dy in administering immediate medical treatment, President Tillman has been dered
comatose, and he might never wake up again.”
Colin’s eyes lit up at this. Knowing that the deal was sure to be risk-free, he happily reached for the
agreement and the bank card while demanding, “I want two percent of the shares in Tillman
Constructions after I see through the deal.” This was the perfect opportunity for him to get rich, and he
would be a fool to not seize it.
Alex had the authority to agree to this proposition, and he knew he had to, seeing as switching out the
will was the most important part of the entire scheme. “Very well. In that case, we’ll be on the same
side from now on,” he replied, nodding.
Then, Colin went over to the safe and took out the old will Francis had made, then tore it into pieces in
front of Alex. Having done so, he slipped the new one into the safe.
A satisfied smile yed on Alex’s lips. Atst, the will has been sessfully switched. Now, Naomi and
Erica stood to inherit sixty percent of Tillman Constructions; that tranted to a good seven hundred
million in assets and liquidity.
Meanwhile, over at Presgrave Hospital, Francis was sent into one of the check-up rooms to run several
tests. Anastasia waited anxiously in the hallway with Rey, who stood behind her to keep herpany
while Elliot went back to thepany to handle important work matters.
“Would you like to sit down, Miss Tillman?” Rey asked, looking at the woman with concern.
“No, I’m fine,” Anastasia muttered tiredly as she shook her head. She prayed furtively that the tests
would show positive results.
Just then, a nurse stationed on this floor came up to them and said, “Miss Tillman, two of your family
members have arrived and they’re waiting outside the entrance. They’re really anxious. Should I let
them in?”
Anastasia frowned. She didn’t have to ask to know that the ones throwing a fit outside the entrance
were Naomi and Erica. She wanted Francis to have these tests done without interference, so she
instructed the nurse, “Keep them outside and do not let them in.”
“Very well.”
The nurse had only just walked away when Anastasia turned to address Rey, “Could you go with the
nurse and see what’s the fuss about?”
“Of course. I’ll get right to it,” he agreed and hurried toward the elevators.
Naomi’s aversion toward Presgrave Hospital isn’t just because of my rtionship with the Presgraves.
What is she so afraid of? Is she worried that Dad will receive better medical treatment here? Anastasia
wondered grimly.
Presently, Naomi and Erica were arguing with the security guards in the Presgrave Hospital lobby.
“I’m warning you—if I don’t see my husband by the end of the day, I’ll have this hospital torn down!”
Naomi threatened at the top of her lungs.
The security guards eyed her steadily,pletely unaffected. They highly doubted that the likes of her
had the power to demolish the Presgraves’ hospital building.
“Hand my father over right now or I’ll sue every single one of you! I’ll expose you for being aplices
to a kidnapping crime!” Erica had unfortunately her mother’s affinity for dramatics and somehow
associated volume with intimidation.
“I’m sorry, but this is a private hospital, and I’m afraid you can’t just have your way. You are not allowed
to enter until further instructions say otherwise.”
“My husband is in there right now! Why am I not allowed in?! I bet that scheming little wench Anastasia
put you up to this, didn’t she? Tell her I demand to see her this instant! Go!” Naomi ordered scathingly,
her voice shrill as she shoved the sturdy-looking guard in front of her.
At that moment, Rey drew close to the scene of the fiasco. Recognizing him at once, Naomi barked,
“You’re Elliot’s assistant, aren’t you? Bring Anastasia out right now!”
“Miss Tillman is currently with President Tillman while the doctors run the necessary tests on him.
Please refrain from causing a scene here,” Rey pointed out sternly, frowning.
“She has no right to transfer my husband here! I’ll make her pay if anything happens to him.”
“That’s right! If my father’s condition worsens after this, it’ll be all her fault,” Erica chimed in hotly.
Rey raised a brow and said with forced patience, “I assume that both of you are unaware that
Presgrave Hospital has the top-of-the-line facilities and the finest medical team, which will be of great
help to President Tillman’s condition and subsequent recovery. There is absolutely nothing for you to
worry about,” Rey exined.
However, Naomi panicked even more when she heard this. It was precisely because she knew about
Presgrave Hospital’s advanced facilities and world-ss medical team that she did not want Francis to
be here.
“You don’t even know what Anastasia is plotting! She’s only after her father’spany, and no one
else wants him to die more than she does! I don’t feel safe leaving my husband in her hands. She’s up
to something, and trust me when I say it’s nothing good!” Naomi snapped belligerently.
Upon hearing this, Rey grew grim and countered, “Mrs. Tillman, I suggest you refrain from casting
aspersions on Miss Tillman’s character. She will be Mrs. Presgrave soon, and she is President
Tillman’s daughter. I can assure you that she bears no ill will toward him.”
This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
“Well, how do you know she isn’t just a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Do you know her better than we do?”
Erica bit out angrily.
“Miss Tillman will have an insurmountable fortune to her name once she bes Mrs. Presgrave, so
why would shee after Tillman Constructions? The both of you, however, are acting highly
suspicious right now,” Rey pointed out sardonically. He was Elliot’s assistant, and being demanding
aside, the job also required a sharp and analytical mind.
Naomi gaped at Rey speechlessly, and jealousy shed in Erica’s eyes. When did Anastasia gain
superiority over us?
Just then, Rey’s phone rang, and he quickly picked up after ncing at the caller ID. “Yes, President
Presgrave?”
“Throw those women out of the premises right now. I don’t want them making a scene there,” came
Elliot’s curt reply. While he was not at the hospital, he had gotten word about Naomi and Erica being
there and causing a scene in the main lobby. He was admittedly bearing a grudge against them,
especially after Naomi had pped Anastasia in the facest night. That alone was enough to make
him want to ruin their lives.
Rey answered solemnly, “Yes, sir.” Then, he shot the security guards a look and instructed, “Escort
them out of the hospital at once and do not let theme back in again.”
The security guards leaped into action at once. Before Naomi and Erica knew what was happening,
they were held by the arms and frog-marched toward the lobby exit.
“Hey! What are you doing? Let me go right now!” Naomi hollered.
However, no one heeded her warning, and just like that, the mother-daughter duo was thrown out the
door. Following this, the security guards fell into formation and stood in a line of six, effectively blocking
the women’s way into the building.
“How dare that useless little wench treat us like this! If she thinks she’s so great, then why doesn’t she
just kill me already?” Naomi seethed.
Humiliated and not wanting to turn into the butt of the joke now that she was thrown out of a hospital,
Erica quickly grabbed her arm and urged, “Mom, we should go.”
Naomi had no choice but to leave with her daughter. Once they burrowed into their car, Erica pulled out
her phone and called Alex.
“Hello?”
“Alex, Anastasia had Dad transferred to Presgrave Hospital! We tried to bring him back, but security
threw us out. What do we do now?”
“What? How could you have let her take him away in the first ce?”
“We didn’t let her!” Erica argued. “She signed the transfer paperwork this morning while Mom and I
were away from the hospital. What if the medical team at Presgrave Hospital manages to save him
from hisatose state?”
“I’d only just switched out the old will. It’ll be the end of us if President Tillman wakes up, so you have to
make sure he never does!” Alex ground out icily.
“What the hell do I do now?”
“Continue pressing them until they hand over President Tillman, and you have to find out his current
condition no matter what,” Alex urged.
“Okay.” Erica hung up and nced at Naomi, saying, “Mom, I think I have a way that might just work.
We could call the press and have them expose Anastasia. We’ll make it sound like she has taken Dad
away so that she could kill him and im Tillman Constructions all for herself. Then, we’ll use the
subsequent public discourse to force her into handing Dad over.”
Naomi pondered on this and decided that it was a viable option. Now that Anastasia had Elliot to
protect her, she was untouchable. Calling the press on her and painting her as some greedy spawn
who only wanted to take thepany for herself would undoubtedly disrupt her life to some extent.
“Alright then. We’ll just use the press and have her facing bacsh afterward,” Naomi said, agreeing
with her daughter.
Erica knew a couple of reporters from various mediapanies, and she decided to have the
powerhouse among them cover the news.
In the guest lounge of the presspany, Erica and Naomi exined to the person they were meeting
about how Anastasia was after Francis’ fortune.
The man who had joined them in the lounge was the editor-in-chief. He did not care about the truth,
only about the buzz that such news would bring. The issue would be a subject of dispute among
the public, which was the most valuable oue.
But neither Naomi nor Erica told the editor-in-chief a vital piece of information, which was that of
Anastasia and Elliot’s engagement. They had only painted her as a scheming no-good wench who had
been vying for Tillman Constructions.
“Very well. We’ll be more than happy to expose this woman for you. It’s a matter of life and death, after
all. I’ll head on to write the article right now, and we’ll feed it to the public. Once the bacsh starts
kicking in, she’ll cave under the pressure and return your sick andatose husband and father.”
“Please hurry with the exposé on Anastasia. She’s far too vicious to get away scot-free like this. We’re
talking about my husband and Erica’s father here. How could she be so cruel as to stop us from seeing
him?” Naomi cried, looking anguished as she buried her face in her hands.
“We’ll finish the write-up and publish it as soon as possible. Can’t have someone so downright
heartless to her own father do this without repercussions, can we? Do you have any pictures for the
column?” Timothy, the editor-in-chief of the press, asked.
“Yes.” Erica fished out her phone and pulled up the candid shot she had taken of Anastasia in the
conference roomst time. She had been bored and decided to take several pictures for her own
amusement, only to find that she had taken one where Anastasia was sitting next to Francis.
Upon seeing the picture, Timothy nodded in approval and said, “That’s a good one, and the public will
perceive it as Anastasia being eager to get close to Francis for the sake of taking over thepany as
CEO.” He stared at the picture for a moment longer, and he had to admit that Anastasia was stunning.
With her perfect features and warm smile, it was hard to believe that she was capable of doing
something so underhanded.
This could give rise to another hot topic. Anastasia was like a rose in full bloom in that picture, but
concealed within her was greed and fierce ambition to take Tillman Constructions for herself, and
apparently, she would stop at nothing to achieve that goal.
Naomi and Erica were like a pair of thieves when they left the presspanyter that day. Now that
they had done their part, all they needed to do was for the press to do their dirty work and ruin
Anastasia’s reputation.
Meanwhile, Francis had undergone a series of check-ups at Presgrave Hospital, and Elliot came
rushing back just as the doctor was reporting the medical findings to Anastasia.
The atmosphere in the conference room was grim as Theodore Dugray, the Head of Neurology in
Presgrave Hospital, announced, “Your father’s condition is worse than we presumed and based on the
tests we ran on him, we found that his brain is severely damaged. Self-recovery is nearly impossible,
and while surgery is the best option we have, he does not meet the requisite standards for us to carry
out the operation immediately. We’ll have to keep him under observation for at least three months
before we draft out the surgery n.”
Anastasia had been wound up so tightly over thest few days that she almost snapped after hearing
the news. She pped her hand over her mouth as tears spilled down her face. I didn’t know Dad’s
condition would be so serious. Is this it? Do I not get to see even a glimmer of hope for this situation to
turn around?
At the sight of this, Elliot quickly handed her a piece of tissue, a gentle gesture that did little to soften
the impact of the hard news. He felt his heart twist when he saw how devastated she looked, but there
was nothing he could do to take the pain away from her.
“Do not give up, not while there is still hope,” Elliot said to the doctor.
“We’lle up with the best solution to save Mr. Tillman,” the doctor promised.
Another doctor who hade in with Theodore’s small medical team added, “Miss Tillman, preliminary
checks have led us to believe that your father will remain in aatose state for the rest of his life if he
does not undergo surgery. That said, the chances of him regaining consciousness after the surgery are
slim, and we’d like you to be mentally prepared for any unfavorable oue.”
She nodded weakly. She knew that almost all the odds were against Francis now, but she wouldn’t give
up on even the slightest chance to save him. She took a deep breath and asked, “Have you found any
traces of the pill I brought in my father’s oral cavity?”
The doctor from theboratory shook his head and answered, “We’vepared the samples and
found that the traces of the pill in your father’s mouth are different from the pills you brought.”
“So you’re saying that the pills hest took not only did not help with his condition but also caused him
to go into cardiac arrest?”
“Yes. The pills he ingested are lethal to the human heart, and if we were to go by pharmaceutical
standards, these pills would be considered highly poisonous. More importantly, we have deduced
based on theb tests that this was not the first time your father has taken these pills; he might have
taken them for days prior to his cardiac arrest.”
Anastasia’s fists clenched under the table, and her palms hurt where her nails dug into them. She was
almost certain that Naomi had plotted this against Francis, and the motive behind such a deadly move
more likely than not had something to do with Tillman Constructions.
Francis had on several asions mentioned that he would leave thepany to Anastasia. He even
joked about having his son take over the reins back in the hospital the other day. Anastasia thought
about this, and she wondered if his intentions to deprive Naomi and Erica of getting their share in the
company led the woman tomit such a horrendous act.
Knowing Francis, his sentiments for Naomi as her husband prompted him to put his guard down
around her. He wouldn’t lie to her about any ns he might have for hismercial or personal assets.
As such, he definitely told her about the sessorship of thepany.
Right now, Anastasia would give up seeding thepany if it meant her father could be saved and
live out his best life. However, it was all toote. Francis’ body had gone into shock, and he was as
good as brain-dead.