Chapter 1435
Based on my nature, there''s absolutely no way that I will let Asher off the hook. I would have ordered
Asher to be disposed of if it weren''t for Sonia. Yet, Asher just had to be acquainted with her. He''s not
just a mere acquaintance either. In fact, he just had to be the senior member of Paradigm, which has
brought significant contributions to thepany. Moreover, not only was he her father''s business
partner, but also his good friend.
Even though their friendship crumbled to dust afterward due to conflicts caused by Asher''s inferiority
complex, we still can''t deny that Asher had been a decent friend in the past. Coupled with her soft-
hearted nature, it''s very likely that she won''t mete out a heavy punishment toward Asher out of respect
for his contributions to Paradigm. Although I can''t deny that my wishes are the exact opposite of her
possible decision, I would still respect her choice. That''s why I decided to ask her about what she will
do with Asher.
That was what Toby thought.
On the contrary, Sonia didn''t know what he was thinking. Even so, a hint of hatred immediately
appeared on her face when she heard him asking about Asher. "Of course, I will make him pay a heavy
price. He nearly killed the two of us, so we should not handle his case lightly."
She balled her fists tighter as her anger grew, so she added, "Nevertheless, I have inquired about
Asher''s case. ording to the police, the most severe punishment he will receive is life without parole.
Still, nothing is set in stone. It''s also very likely that he may just be sentenced to more than ten years in
prison. That''s why I''m mad. I would be fine if he receives life without parole, but I would be utterly
disgusted if he only gets sentenced to more than ten years in prison.''''
Toby stared at her with slight shock in his eyes and asked, "So, you want Asher to receive life without
parole?"
Sonia nodded resolutely. "Yes. The only problem is that life without parole in Caruna doesn''t mean the
individual convicted in court will spend the rest of their natural life in prison. They will still be released
after spending 20 or 30 years, at most, in prison. Oh, how I wish for Asher to spend the rest of his life in
prison so that he will never taste freedom. Just imagining him being released and tainting the cityscape
20 or 30 yearster makes me want to shudder."
Life without parole, huh? That''s a rather vague sentence in Caruna. Here, getting sentenced for up to
20 or 30 years is defined as life without parole. Therefore, there''s no such thing as truly locking the
individual up for the rest of their life. However… There are such criminal sentences abroad, though.
As Toby thought of that, he curled his lips into a faint smile. He couldn''t deny feeling relieved after truly
understanding her sentiments regarding Asher.
I was truly afraid that Sonia would go soft on Asher. Nheless, I''m also surprised that her hatred for
Asher has peaked to such an extent. Is it because of my near death?
No words could describe how triumphant Toby felt at that very moment. He would probably be wagging
his tail so hard he might strain it if he were a puppy.
N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.
"I can make it work if you want Asher to receive a genuine life sentence or even the death penalty,"
Toby answered nonchntly with narrowed eyes.
As Sonia never doubted his words, she was overjoyed when she heard his words before she shook her
head in resignation. "There''s no need for Asher to receive the death penalty. After all, Paradigm is
indebted to him. Besides, his crime doesn''t warrant the death penalty. In fact, imprisoning him for the
rest of his natural life and taking away his freedom forever is far more tormenting to him than receiving
the death penalty. Since death can be considered a way out for him instead, I think he should receive a
life sentence. But I have to ask, what do you intend to do with him?"
"There''s no actual life without parole in Caruna, but there is such a sentence abroad. Therefore, I will
change Asher''s nationality and send him to a country where he will be forced to spend the rest of his
days behind bars. I assure you that he will spend the next few decades of his life in a small prison in a
foreign country."
"That''s good." She nodded agreeably.
After he received her agreement, he spoke once more, "Call Tom and inform him of this decision. He''ll
know what to do."
"Okay," she immediately agreed. Then, she thought of something and smiled. "Speaking of which, Mr.
Brown still doesn''t know you''re awake yet. We really should call him and inform him of this good news.
He will be thrilled. He had transformed into a busy bee these past few days, moving back and forth
between Fuller Group and the hospital. He even had to make a trip to the airport to pick up the
predetermined heart from the carrier for the heart transnt procedure. His dark circles had gotten
almost as dark as a panda''s eyes. I was so worried that he wouldn''t be able to hold on and copse
when I saw him working himself to the bone. Now that you''re awake, he can finally breathe a sigh of
relief. Make sure to reward him well once you have recovered and are discharged from the hospital.
But don''t you dare try to leave the hospital without the doctor''s green light."
"I will." Toby nodded, for he knew very well all the pressure would be on Tom alone when he copsed.
Since he was never a stingy boss who liked to be indebted to his subordinates, he surely would
compensate for Tom''s sacrifices twofold.
"Alright, then. I''ll be making that phone call in a bit. Besides, my 10-minute visit is almost up. We can
talk through the ss if there''s anything else you want to discuss," Sonia said as she gestured to the
ss wall.
As Toby, too, knew very well that he wasn''t in a general ward, he instantly pouted andined, "But
the ss wall is both bulletproof and soundproof. You can''t hear me."
"It''s okay. I''ll write what I want to say on a clipboard and stick it on the ss," she said with a smile,
utterly dismissing hisint.
He frowned upon hearing her remarks. "But I can''t write."
She tilted her head as she tried to think of a solution before musing, "It''s okay. I''ll make sure to write
things that wouldn''t require you to overexert yourself. Then, you only need to nod or shake your head
in response. That way, I''ll know what you want to say."
With that, Sonia slowly rose to her feet and intended to leave the ward when suddenly, Toby called out
to her, "Wait!"
"What''s wrong?" She stopped in her tracks to nce at him.
Toby rested his worried gaze on her face and asked something that had been bothering him for a while
now, "I forgot to ask you about this earlier. Why are you suddenly wearing sses?"
The instant she heard his question, she silently thought, I knew he would eventually ask me about this
matter. As she never thought of hiding the truth from him, she lightly touched her sses before she
frankly replied, "My eyes were hurt rather severely from the smoke that day. As a result, my eyesight
has weakened, and I need sses to see clearly."
"What?" Toby''s pupils shrank. "Was it because of me?"
He figured it out right away. It''s definitely because of me! She was probably worried sick after I passed
out and entirely forgot to take care of herself. There''s no doubt that she had ced her entire focus on
my condition. It even caused her to injure her eyes to such an extent.
Sonia lowered her head and gently kissed Toby''s scrunched-up forehead. "Now, now. It''s just a trivial
matter. Don''t take it to heart. Tim said that there''s still hope for my eyes to achieve full recovery, so
don''t worry about me. You can ask Tim and Mr. Brown if you don''t believe me. They are aware of my
condition. In short, don''t overthink things and just focus on getting better. What you have to do now is
to have proper rest, receive your treatment, and try to get discharged from the hospital as soon as
possible. Alright, I''ll be leaving now."
Then, she waved at him and left the ICU ward.
After Sonia left, she deliberately went to the ss wall and shed Toby a smile, who had a sullen look
on his face. Finally, she whisked out her phone and dialed Tom''s number.
Tom was delighted when he heard that Toby had gained consciousness. He immediately threw his work
out the metaphorical window and rushed to the hospital. Work isn''t my priority right now. I''ll just do
overtime in the officeter tonight.
By the time Tom arrived at the hospital, she had already returned to her ward to rest.
Actually, even though her condition wasn''t serious, her body still suffered from some seque after
being rescued.
The pace of her breathing would be very short and rapid if she stood for too long. It felt as though
she could hardly breathe.
ording to Tim, she suffered from shortness of breath because she inhaled a lot of smoke and dust,
which damaged her lungs. In addition, medical care procedures such as bronchoalvervage were
also detrimental to her lungs. Therefore, it was inevitable that she would face some difficulty breathing.
Of course, such a condition wasn''t permanent, and she would be healed with time as long as she took
good care of her health. Regardless, Tim also warned her that it would very likely develop into asthma
or lung cancer if she didn''t.
Given that there were currently enough matters troubling everyone, Sonia didn''t want her loved ones to
worry about her, especially Toby. Hence, she forbade Tim to inform Toby and Tom of her actual
condition.
This was followed by her getting threatened by Tim to take good care of herself. Otherwise, he would
inform the others no matter what.
Tim told her that he would be supervising her throughout her stay. He also created a daily schedule for
her and ordered her to follow it to the letter. He also made it explicitly clear that he would inform Toby of
her condition the minute she refused to listen to his advice.
Due to Tim''s very effective threat, Sonia would obediently return to her ward when it was time for her to
rest.
Even if Toby looked at her with such reluctance when she left the ward, she still heartlessly turned
around and left.
Although she was also equally reluctant to part with Toby, she had no choice in this matter. She didn''t
dare to confront a devilish figure such as Tim.
Tom arrived not long after Sonia departed for her ward. After he hastily changed into a sterile gown, he
entered Toby''s ward with undisguised concern painted across his face.
When he saw Toby, Tom sped his hands in excitement as he eximed in sheer relief, "President
Fuller! You''re finally awake! You have no idea how worried we all were these past few days."
Toby wearily opened his eyes upon hearing the warble in Tom''s voice. He couldn''t help but feel
speechless at the sight of Tom''s teary eyes.
Good God, I''m just injured, not dead!
Even so, Toby didn''t lecture Tom this time. He knew full well that Tom had gone above and beyond for
him when he was temporarily indisposed.
So, Toby parted his lips tiredly and sincerely thanked Tom in a hoarse voice, "Thank you for your hard
work."