Chapter 43 Not Fit to Be Blair's Sister
Blair looked frail, her complexion washed out, her whole demeanor subdued as if even speaking took effort.
Jason had told Rufus she'd been unconscious for a long stretch, only regaining consciousness a short while ago.
The moment she saw Rufus, Blair's lips lifted in a faint, instinctive smile. "Rufus… you came…"
Her voice trembled, and her eyes glistened with tears. "I thought I might never see you again."
"What kind of talk is that?" Rufus replied, his tone firm but laced with disapproval.
He sat down beside her without hesitation, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, wordlessly offering support and comfort.
Yet Blair's body continued to tremble, her words spilling out in a stream of quiet fear.
Jason, standing nearby, added his own grave commentary—how dangerously close she had come to a crisis, how a delay of even minutes could have led to consequences too grim to imagine.
Rufus listened, a cold knot forming in his chest, the thought of what could have happened making him both uneasy and increasingly angry.
"Find them," Rufus ordered, his voice hard as steel. "No matter what it takes, find out who stole those drugs."
The command was absolute. Still, somewhere deep inside, Rufus harbored a reluctant hope—that this had nothing to do with Cecilia.
Blair leaned weakly against Rufus's chest, her posture soft and yielding, but her gaze—hidden from him—sharpened with a sudden, ruthless glint.
Louis worked fast. In less than an hour, the security footage from the camera directly facing the medication room had been pulled.
He produced a small USB drive. "This contains the footage from the time the drugs went missing. It clearly shows who entered the medication room."
Rufus took the drive, hesitating for a moment. Blair, however, seized the opportunity to stoke the fire. "Rufus, let's watch it together, okay? I want to know who would hate me enough to do something so cruel."
Her words left him no room to sidestep. Together, they began reviewing the footage.
After about ten minutes of fast-forwarding, the timestamp hit 5:32 a.m.—and a familiar figure appeared near the medication room.
Rufus's brows drew together instinctively.
Blair's hand flew to her mouth in feigned shock. "Isn't that… Cecilia?"
The camera caught Cecilia's profile clearly. Anyone who knew her would recognize her instantly—especially Rufus and Blair.
Cecilia lingered outside for a moment, glancing around, then stepped inside.
The door remained ajar, offering a partial view of her moving quickly within, rifling through drawers and shelves.
Moments later, she emerged. The pockets on either side of her hospital gown bulged conspicuously.
The segment showing Blair at the doorway had already been erased—by Blair herself—so she had no fear of exposure.
When the video ended, Blair didn't speak immediately. Instead, she studied Rufus's expression, gauging his reaction.
He stayed silent for a long moment before asking, "Is there any other camera angle? This one only shows Cecilia entering. It doesn't show exactly what she took."
Blair's heart sank. Even now, with the evidence nearly complete, Rufus was still trying to find a way to shield Cecilia?
Louis shook his head. "The medication room rarely stores anything of high value. This time, it was pure coincidence that Miss Ember's post-surgery anti-rejection drug was kept there for safekeeping. There's no more direct footage."
He paused, then added, "But I reviewed the entire recording. During that time frame, Ms. Thorne was the only one who went in."
With Louis's statement, there was little left to argue.
Rufus's anger flared. He strode to Cecilia's room and kicked the door open, his voice sharp and accusing. "Every time I think you've hit rock bottom, you find a way to sink lower."
Stunned by the sudden accusation and the venom in his words, Cecilia froze. "What are you talking about?"
Rufus's laugh was cold, humorless. "Still pretending? How long do you plan to keep up this act?"
He pulled out his phone, bringing up the footage Louis had given him—the damning image of Cecilia slipping into the medication room.
So this was the reason. Cecilia's face flushed with a mix of guilt and shame. This was the first time in her life she had stooped to something so low. Even she found it humiliating—but the pain had been unbearable.
Thinking Rufus was angry over her taking painkillers, she tried to explain. "I didn't mean to take painkillers without permission. I'll pay the hospital back—three times the cost."
Rufus's expression twisted as if she'd told a joke. "Painkillers? Is that really all you took? Even now you're lying to me?"
His tone sparked a flare of defiance in her. "I admit it was wrong to take them without asking, but it was only painkillers. Why would I lie about that?"
"I'd like to know why you keep lying, over and over," Rufus shot back. "Blair's medication was stored there. You went in, and now it's gone. And you dare claim it wasn't you?"
Only then did Cecilia realize why his anger was so sharp—Blair, again. Somehow, she always ended up in the crosshairs.
She swallowed her frustration, forcing herself to keep her voice level. "I had no idea Blair's medicine was there. I don't even know what that drug looks like. How could I have stolen it?"
Her reasoning was sound, but Rufus was too far gone in his fury to hear it.
"Then answer me this—if you're not sick, why steal painkillers at all?"
She hadn't cried when she was accused of theft. She hadn't cried when she first learned of Patrick's death. But now, with Rufus's words cutting into her, she felt tears threaten.
Last night she'd been alone in her room, writhing in agony, searching desperately for relief—only to be told Rufus had taken every last dose away.
Stealing had been her last resort, born of desperation. Was she supposed to simply lie there and suffer?
Yet all he saw was deceit. All he spoke of was her supposed malice toward Blair. That disregard for her pain—that was what chilled her to the bone.
And still, Rufus pressed on. "You've always been like this—calculating, relentless, looking for ways to hurt Blair. Same father, yet you're so vicious."
His gaze hardened. "No wonder Brad doesn't acknowledge you as his daughter. He's only ever recognized Blair. With your temperament, you don't deserve to be her sister."