Chapter 513: Might As Well Be Dead
Benjamin nodded along, silently agreeing to the plan.
Only then did Alaric curl his lips with satisfaction.
Seeing Preston's somewhat gloomy expression, Alaric tried to reassure him: "Grandpa, you don't need to worry. The Smiths got their backs, they're safe with them .
With the Smith family watching over them, no one in Harmony City would dare touch Sophia and Benjamin.
Benjamin might've mellowed out, but that pride of his was still on.
He was definitely not someone who would let others push him around.
In the end, the minority had to follow the majority.
Preston couldn't really say no, so Sophia and Benjamin were off to Harmony City.
Before Sophia and Benjamin left, everyone came to see them off.
Adelaide being stuck in Silverlight City meant Matthew wasn't taking any chances, he'd rather stay close.
He and Adelaide were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, when it was hard to be apart.
They had a chat with Tobias, and the plan was set - he and Adelaide would tie the knot. as soon as possible. Matthew had gone to the hospital for a vasectomy. He would never have children of his own.
This was his promise to Adelaide.
The accident hadn't helped Adelaide's health, and with her family's medical history, things had gotten pretty serious.
Later, due to a misdiagnosis, she had her uterus removed.
This was the deepest wound in her heart.
To put her mind at ease, Matthew had the sterilization surgery.
In his eyes, none of this mattered.
He wasn't really thinking about kids, to be honest.
If Adelaide liked children, they could adopt one.
If kids weren't her thing, no worries, just the two of them, forever vibes.
Adelaide knew what he'd given up for her, and it melted her heart - no more doubts.
Now, Matthew and Adelaide had no barriers between them at all.
So now, wherever Matthew went, he wore a smile at the corners of his lips.
He looked completely pleased with himself.
Matthew was beaming, even more than Benjamin back in the day. Sophia was sure he'd be grinning like crazy.
Matthew reminded her: "Robert, Joshua, and Gregory are all in Harmony City. If anything comes up, just contact them directly."
Sophia nodded obediently. "Okay."
Matthew messed up her hair, "Take care, and keep Benjamin in line. He steps outta place, you tell me."
Benjamin's eyelid twitched hard. He figured he'd be the one getting bullied by Sophia.
Sophia was so adorable. How could he bear to bully her?
—Unless it was in bed.
Benjamin puffed out his chest, gave a fist pump, cleared his throat, waved goodbye, and led Sophia onto the plane.
After arriving in Harmony City, they first returned to the villa they had bought before, put away their luggage, and immediately headed to the hospital.
Francis was at Harmony Hospital, and she'd scored a meeting with her doc, Albert Sanchez.
Albert and the big boss, Harold Rogers, rolled out the red carpet. As they walked, they filled them in on Francis's status.
Francis had been fine a few days ago, but suddenly fell ill.
Francis was a lone wolf, lived by himself. That day, he'd just left Oasis University, worked pretty late.
He had an important meeting the next morning, but he didn't show up.
The students felt something was wrong and called Francis.
But no one answered.
That's when it clicked - something was off. A student knew Francis's address, headed straight there.
Albert sighed: "If that student hadn't arrived in time, Francis would probably be in even more danger now."
Sophia trailed behind, eyes on the files. "Get the OR ready, stat." Albert hesitated, "Sophia, you sure?"
Sophia nodded firmly. "Yes."
When she said she was confident, she really was.
Francis's issue was an old one, manageable with meds, till now.
But he was the restless type, always wanting to do something to realize his own value.
Francis had worked himself sick.
His condition had also worsened.
The surgery was still a gamble. Francis's condition was no joke, the risks were stacked against them.
An ordinary-level doctor probably couldn't perform his surgery.
This was also why Harmony Hospital had invited her over.
Sophia picked up pace, heading for the OR. Francis was her mentor, taught her the ropes, she wasn't gonna let him down.
So she had to cure Francis.
This surgery could only succeed.
And would only succeed.
But as she got to the OR door, she spotted a bunch of family members lurking in the hallway.
There were two middle-aged men and one middle-aged woman.
The blame game was on, neither side wanna take the fall or put pen to paper.
From their words, Sophia quickly gathered the information.
These three people were Francis's sons and daughter.
Francis had never mentioned his family before, and he liked living at the school.
Now she finally knew why.
No wonder Francis didn't wanna go home, if those were his kids.
Sophia walked over quickly and scolded them angrily: "This is a hospital. Please don't make noise."
Ralph Vasquez, Francis's son, gave Sophia a hard stare, his eyes icy.
"Who are you? What right do you have to tell us what to do?"
"I'm a doctor. Please sign quickly so we can operate on the patient."
"A doctor? You're so young, can you really operate on people? Are you kidding us? Who will be responsible if something goes wrong? I don't agree!"
Sophia called them out, "You don't think I can fix Francis, or you're scared I'll actually pull it off?"
At these words, the three people's expressions immediately stiffened, and guilt flashed in their eyes.
They had long wished Francis would die. What was he doing alive in this world?
Critical was an understatement, the docs were clear - even if the surgery went well, Francis might still be stuck in bed.
When Francis died, they could at least get his inheritance!
Not to mention, the docs had already warned them - Francis's condition was critical. Even with a successful surgery, paralysis was a real possibility.
Then Francis would need someone to take care of him.
Rather than suffering like that, Francis might as well die!