“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.Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    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. | didn’t know Dad''s condition would be so serious. Is this it? Do | 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 | 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 thepany 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.