Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Sophia told Catherine that when Philip rushed to the hospital and saw her barely conscious being wheeled out by the nurse, he lost it right then and there.

The first person he blamed was Lyra.

Lyra tried her best to explain to Philip, but he wouldn't listen. He insisted she was guilty of medical malpractice and threatened to sue her.

Lyra, known for her integrity, wasn't afraid of an investigation by the hospital.

But Philip clearly used his influence. The hospital dug up Lyra's earliest surgical records and blew a minor mistake out of proportion to fire her.

Soon after, Lyra's license revoked, and she even faced possible jail time.

Sophia sighed and said, "I watched the surveillance video of Lyra operating on you. You were hemorrhaging badly, and it was a critical situation. If it hadn't been for Lyra, you would've lost your fallopian tube, or even your life."

She looked at Catherine seriously. "You can't be so heartless. You can't just ignore what's happening to Lyra."

After Sophia left, Catherine sat there, holding her phone in a daze.

This was supposed to be just between her and Philip, but it ended up dragging so many innocent people into it.

Taking a deep breath, Catherine gathered the courage to call Philip.

She was afraid he'd answer, but also afraid he wouldn't.

Just as she thought he wouldn't pick up, a familiar, deep male voice came through.

"Hello."

Hearing Philip's voice, Catherine felt a rush of emotion.

After a moment of silence, Philip, not hearing a response, sounded clearly annoyed.

"If you've got nothing to say…"

"I want to see you," Catherine interrupted, getting straight to the point.

This time, it was Philip's turn to be silent.

Catherine wasn't in a hurry. She leaned against the headboard, hugging her knees with one arm, waiting for his response.

After a while, Philip sarcastically asked, "Do you really want to see me?"

Catherine tightened her grip on the phone and softly replied, "There are things I need to say to you in person."

"Your ulterior motive is to get me to let Lyra off."

Philip saw right through her, effortlessly understanding her intentions.

She wanted to see him to plead for Lyra.

He knew her too well; she didn't need to say anything for him to guess her thoughts.

Catherine panicked, her mind going blank for a few seconds.

By then, Philip had already hung up.

For the next few days, Catherine didn't see Philip.

One evening, the new gynecology chief, Harper Anderson, came to check on her and told her she could be discharged the next day.

The news of her discharge made Catherine quite happy.

"Harper, can I ask you a favor?"

Harper smiled kindly. "Sure, what is it?"

"Could you let Philip know that I'm being discharged tomorrow?"

Harper paused for a moment, then smiled. "Don't worry, Mr. Foster already knows."

With that, Harper left.

Catherine was puzzled. Philip already knew when she would be discharged?

But he hadn't come to the hospital at all.

A bold guess suddenly crossed her mind.

That night, Catherine deliberately went to bed early, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep.

In the first half of the night, her mind was still alert. In the latter half, as she was about to drift off, she heard a faint sound.

The door to her room was gently pushed open.

The person's footsteps were light, as if afraid to wake her.

A rough fingertip gently brushed her face, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Catherine's eyes snapped open, and she grabbed the sneaky hand.

Meeting her clear, bright eyes, Philip immediately realized he'd been caught red-handed.

Catherine held his wrist tightly with one hand and propped herself up with the other.

"You didn't stay away from the hospital. You just waited until I was asleep to come."

Caught, Philip didn't struggle.

He casually asked, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

Catherine blinked and asked, "Are you still angry?"

Philip let out a cold laugh. "Angry? Why would I be angry? It's your body. None of my business."





Catherine lowered her head and instinctively said, "I'm sorry."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she wondered why she was apologizing.

Philip sneered. "Sorry? For what?"

His eyes were cold, piercing.

"You did all this just to make me suffer. Why apologize now?"

Catherine bit her lip, feeling wronged.

She couldn't refute any of Philip's questions.

From the moment she decided to hide her ectopic pregnancy and surgery, she knew this day would come. She didn't expect Lyra to get dragged into it.

"I didn't expect you to worry about me so much…"

"Didn't expect?" Philip cut her off coldly. "You pretended to confess to me, waited for my proposal, waited for me to say I love you, just to see me go crazy for you?"

By the time he finished, he was gritting his teeth.

Catherine lowered her eyes, her expression full of melancholy. "Philip, I didn't want to treat you this way either."

Philip nodded. "Indeed, if you didn't suspect I was involved in your father's death, you wouldn't have."

Catherine looked up at Philip and asked directly, "Were you?"

"No."

His voice was icy as he repeated, "I didn't harm your father."

Catherine clenched her fists, her expression intense. "Fine, then let me ask you, when did you start wanting my dad's formula? Was it before or after his death?"

Philip's lips tightened, his expression darkening. "Does it matter?"

Catherine straightened up, meeting his cold gaze bravely. "Yes!"

She wanted to know if Philip's desire for Harry's formula led Terry to act.

If so, then Philip was the one responsible for her family's downfall!

Philip's lips curled into a cold smile. "Would you believe what I say?"

The seed of doubt had already been planted.

Since the incident seven years ago, Catherine had believed he was the culprit. Whatever he said now would only be seen as an excuse.

Catherine bit her lip hard, drawing blood.

Philip's eyes locked onto her bleeding lip. He suddenly grabbed her chin, forcing her to stop biting.

He stared at her beautiful yet wary face and sneered, concluding, "You don't believe me."

"Yes!"

Catherine admitted it directly.

Without objective evidence, everything he said could be a lie.

Philip smirked. "So what do you want? Break up again? At this point, we're…"

Catherine grabbed Philip's collar. "I'm not breaking up!"

Philip raised an eyebrow, finding the situation interesting. "You still want to stay with me?"

Catherine's grip on his shirt tightened, her clear eyes full of determination.

She didn't answer his question, calmly asking instead, "What about you? Do you want me to stay?"

Philip studied Catherine's delicate face, his gaze deepening. "Yes."

How could he not?

He had invested too much love in her. He couldn't take it back, nor could he forget.

He'd already decided: if their relationship was poison, he'd stick with it till the end.

Catherine nodded. "Alright, then let's make a deal."

Philip frowned. "A deal?"

He didn't like the sound of that.

Catherine didn't waste words, negotiating rationally. "I'll stay with you, but you have to let me investigate you."

Philip teased. "You'll stay with me to investigate me?"

He laughed in disbelief, pulling her hand into his palm. "You're so blunt about investigating me. Aren't you afraid I'll fabricate evidence to fool you?"

Catherine had considered the consequences before making this request. "If you didn't hurt my dad, you wouldn't hide evidence. You'd even present evidence to prove your innocence. If you hide or fake evidence, it indirectly proves…"

She paused deliberately, meeting Philip's deep gaze. "That you did it."

This deal was interesting and challenging, and Philip was indeed intrigued. "Haven't you considered that with my abilities, it would be easy to deceive you for life?"

Catherine bit her lip, looking uneasy. "If you can deceive me for life, I'll accept it."

"Really accept it?" His voice was laced with amusement, clear and gentle.