Chapter 399

Chapter 399

Henry pulled Sterling out and mysteriously whispered something to him.

For two consecutive days, Sterling didn't show up at the hospital room. He only called Willow daily to check on her health.

Kaitlyn and Maria, unable to rest easy, took turns caring for Willow at the hospital.

Early one morning, Maria came to relieve Kaitlyn.

Seeing that Sterling still hadn't appeared, Maria couldn't help asking, "What on earth is Ster so busy with? Why hasn't he shown his face these past two days?"

Kaitlyn had heard some things from her son. Hearing this, she smiled and linked arms with Maria.

"Ster has his own matters to handle," she said. "Don't worry—if he dares wrong Willow, I'll be the first one to deal with him."

Maria still looked unhappy.

Willow's injuries hadn't fully healed, and she was carrying his child. No matter what, Sterling should at least show up at the hospital room every day.

Willow had her suspicions but couldn't be certain.

Seeing Maria's displeasure, she still spoke up for Sterling. "Grandma, because of my situation, Ster has delayed a lot of work. He really has been quite busy lately."

She continued, "Besides, my injury really isn't serious anymore, and Ster calls me every day..."

Halfway through her words, Maria cut her off with gentle reproach. "Alright, alright, I can see you care about him. You're not even married yet and already taking his side."

Willow smiled with pursed lips.

Maria didn't say anything more.

She'd seen with her own eyes how Sterling treated Willow.

"Ster might not necessarily just be busy with work," Kaitlyn said. "There's also their wedding to plan."

Willow's face warmed slightly.

As the three were talking, footsteps sounded at the hospital room door.

A moment later, someone knocked.

Kaitlyn said to Maria, "See? I bet that's Ster."

She went to open the door.

Maria and Willow also looked toward the entrance.

The door opened to reveal an elderly man with graying hair, leaning on a cane. The hospital director stood respectfully at his side.

Seeing the visitor, Willow's brow furrowed slightly.

Maria, who hadn't met him before, looked questioningly at her granddaughter.

Seeing Willow's expression, Maria's gaze turned wary.

The next second, she heard Kaitlyn's voice from the doorway.

"Mr. Lancaster, what brings you here?" Kaitlyn was also somewhat guarded, glancing behind him. "Where's Ster? Isn't he with you?"

Harold snorted with displeasure. "Can't I come see my future daughter-in-law?"

Kaitlyn smiled politely. "Of course you can."

She stepped aside to let him through, introducing him to Maria in the room. "Mrs. Spencer, this is Ster's father."

Maria immediately went on high alert.

This was the man who looked down on the Spencer family background and made Willow suffer considerably.

Harold entered, leaning on his cane.

As the younger generation, Willow stood to greet him, but Harold waved her off. "You don't need to get up. You're a patient—lie down."

Willow felt this wasn't quite appropriate. However, before she could speak, Maria's voice rang out first.

"What made Mr. Lancaster willing to lower himself to visit our Willow?"

Maria's tone was far from courteous, and her gaze toward Harold was full of hostility.

Everyone present heard the antagonism in her words.

Harold's footsteps paused. He looked toward Willow and Kaitlyn.

Maria immediately stepped forward, positioning herself between him and Willow, giving Willow no chance to speak.

Kaitlyn pretended not to notice.

She'd heard more or less about Willow's experiences over the years from Maria and was also dissatisfied with Harold. But as a member of the younger generation, there were things she couldn't say.

If Maria wanted to seek justice for Willow, Kaitlyn supported it in her heart.

The hospital room fell briefly silent.

Harold spoke with a dark expression. "Your Willow? Willow is now a child of the Brown family."

At his words, Maria's expression grew even uglier. "So you're saying if it weren't for the Brown family, you'd still make things difficult for my granddaughter?"

Harold didn't respond—a tacit admission.

He walked to the bedside and glanced at Willow's stomach. "The baby's alright?"

From the moment he entered, Harold's attitude had been crystal clear.

He would accept Willow for her status as the Brown family's daughter and for the child in her belly.

As for Willow herself, he didn't care about that.

Seeing this, even Kaitlyn couldn't hold back.

"Mr. Lancaster." She walked to Willow's side, looking at Harold with clear displeasure. "The baby is certainly important, but I think what matters most is my daughter's health."

Her tone carried obvious reproach.

Harold's brow furrowed with displeasure.

Kaitlyn saw it but continued anyway. "If you can't treat Willow as family, then the Brown family won't be marrying our daughter into yours."

She might not have known how Harold treated Willow before, but now she couldn't sit by and watch her daughter be wronged.

"You..." Harold was clearly displeased with her attitude. Just as he was about to lose his temper, hurried footsteps sounded from the doorway.

Everyone turned to look.

They saw Sterling walking in quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Harold's face was stiff. He glanced at Willow, assuming she'd complained to Sterling.

Sterling gave everyone an apologetic look, then addressed his father. "I stationed people at the hospital."

Harold was displeased. "To guard against me?"

Sterling replied, "You're overthinking it."

Before Harold could respond, he added, "However, you really shouldn't have come."

Harold's expression turned cold.

Sterling addressed Maria and Kaitlyn. "Grandma, Mrs. Brown, if my father said anything inappropriate just now, please don't take it to heart. I won't let him interfere in matters between Willow and me."

Their expressions improved somewhat.

Harold's face, however, grew even darker. "What do you mean? I just handed the Lancaster Group over to you, and you—"

Sterling cut him off. "I've already arranged accommodations for you abroad. Your health needs rest—go overseas."

Harold's words died abruptly. His eyes widened in disbelief.

He could clearly hear that Sterling's arrangement wasn't out of concern for him, but rather a plan to send him abroad like Charles, cutting off all future ties to the Lancaster Group.

"You insolent—!" Harold's face flushed with rage. "You wouldn't dare!"

Sterling's features were stern. "I'm a Lancaster. What do you think?"

Under Harold's upbringing, the Lancaster family valued only power, with no room for sentiment.

Just sending Harold abroad was already showing mercy by Lancaster family standards.

Harold glared furiously at Sterling. After a long moment, he forced words through gritted teeth. "Fine. Just fine!"

With that, he turned and left without looking back, leaning heavily on his cane.

Sterling exchanged brief words with the others and followed him out.