In the VIP room of the hospital, Garrett sat on the bed with a white bandage wrapped around his forehead, faint traces of blood seeping through. His face was dark as he gritted his teeth and questioned Mia, who stood beside him, "Where is Kamden?"
Kamden had dared to hit him, and Garrett would not let him get away with it. Mia, noticing his grim expression, replied awkwardly, "When the assistant found you, Kamden had already run away. But I have reported it to the police; he won't get far."
Hearing this, Garrett's expression softened slightly but quickly turned sour again. "What, I'm in trouble, and you're the only one who came?"
"Emily and Raphael are already on their way," Mia quickly defended her daughter, understanding Garrett's implication.
Garrett snorted and continued, "You only notified Emily? What about Deanna?"
At this point, a vague idea formed in his mind. No matter what, he was Deanna's biological father. If something happened to him, shouldn't Deanna come to see him?
Mia, unaware of Garrett's thoughts, frowned and hesitated. "Deanna has never liked us. If I call her, she won't come."
"You haven't even called her; how do you know she won't come? Tell her I'm injured and she needs to visit. If she doesn't want the Mercer family name to be tarnished, she'd better come."
The more Garrett spoke, the more he felt his excuse was justified. Filial piety was paramount. No matter how he had treated Deanna in the past, as her parent who gave her life and raised her, she owed him.
He planned to make Deanna hand over the new project or even Vortex Technology. If she refused, he would ruin her reputation.
Seeing Garrett's determination, Mia said no more. She took out her phone and called Deanna as instructed by Garrett. However, as expected, the call didn't go through.
"Deanna seems to have blocked me; I can't reach her," Mia said innocently, looking at Garrett.
Garrett frowned and tried calling Deanna himself, but the result was the same. Clearly, Deanna had blocked both Mia and him.
With no other option, he called Lance.
On the other side, Lance was having lunch with Deanna when he saw Garrett's call. He frowned and pushed the phone towards Deanna. "Garrett is calling me. Should I answer?"
Deanna frowned, knowing Garrett wouldn't call without a reason. Considering his character and the information she had received earlier, she figured it wouldn't be anything good.
She shook her head and declined. "Let's not answer. I'm in a good mood today and don't want it ruined by irrelevant people."
"If you don't want to answer, then I won't," Lance said indulgently and hung up the call.
While they enjoyed their meal in the restaurant, Garrett's face darkened further as he failed to reach anyone from the hospital.
At that moment, Emily finally arrived. As soon as she entered the room, she sensed the tense atmosphere and shot a questioning look at her mother.
Mia mouthed "Deanna," and Emily understood what was going on. Despite this, she pretended not to know anything and walked over to Garrett with concern. "Dad, how did you get hurt? Who upset you?"
Seeing only Emily had come, Garrett's already dark face turned even darker. "Why are you alone? Where is Raphael?"
"Raphael is in a meeting and couldn't leave, so I came alone," Emily replied stiffly.
Clearly, she wasn't telling the truth. Raphael had refused to come, but Emily didn't dare say that.
To avoid further questioning from Garrett, she changed the subject. "Dad, how did you get hurt?"
"I was beaten," Garrett replied angrily.
Emily was shocked. "Beaten? By whom?"
"Don't worry about it. Just take care of yourself. How are things between you and Raphael? Have they improved?" Garrett was more concerned about the marriage alliance with the Howard family.
Emily didn't dare tell the truth and forced a smile. "Raphael and I are doing well now. You don't need to worry."
"Oh right, Dad, did you know Vortex Technology held a press conference today? They're developing a new product that could be worth billions if successful."
Her words ignited Garrett's fury. "What do you mean 'their' product? That new product was developed by my people; they stole my results!"