Chapter 150
William dialed Sarah's number, and an old, sorrowful male voice came through - it was clearly Steven.
"Mr. Morgan, I finally managed to reach you. Sarah's having a heart attack. You need to take care of her. This girl has suffered so much. If it weren't for that drowning incident back then..."
On the other end, Steven wiped away tears, paused, then continued, "Forget it, let's not talk about that. It's just that Sarah's body can't take any more shocks. Come see her. She's carrying your child."
Steven deliberately brought up how Sarah nearly drowned years ago while saving William, which led to her heart condition, trying to gain William's sympathy and make him feel indebted.
From when Sarah had her attack and called William with no answer, to when Emily finally got through, and he still hadn't shown up, Steven had already realized William was avoiding them.
The child in Sarah's belly clearly brought him no joy, or his attitude wouldn't be like this.
Any normal father-to-be, hearing that his child's mother was having a heart attack, would be worried sick. But William needed a thousand calls before they could reach him - this could only mean one thing: he had no expectations for this child, or even the child's mother.
Steven looked forward to this marriage. William controlled Emerald City's economic lifeline. If he could latch onto him, his own business would take off. All those people who looked down on him and sabotaged his business would have to kiss up to him - how great would that be?
Just thinking about it made Steven feel like he was floating.
After hanging up, Sarah asked urgently,
"Dad, what did he say? Is he coming?"
Steven tossed his phone onto the bed. "He said he's coming."
Nola quickly gathered up the snacks on the hospital bed and threw them in the hallway trash, then came back to remind Sarah,
"Stop spacing out. Lie down quickly and act weak. Don't let anyone see through this."
Then she turned to Steven, "Did you arrange things with the doctor? We won't get caught, right?"
Steven was busy thinking about how to make William devoted to Sarah and was already irritated. Hearing Nola's constant questions, he snapped at her,
"Of course it's fine. Why do you keep asking the same thing over and over? So annoying!"
Caught off guard by his yelling, Nola was stunned for a few seconds before responding angrily,
"You only know how to take that nasty temper out at home. If you've got the guts, yell at William and tell him to hurry up and divorce that bastard and marry our Sarah."
Steven was already annoyed, and hearing the word "bastard" made his anger flare up. It was fine to curse that arrogant girl, but she was still his biological daughter - it felt like Nola was cursing him too.
"Shut up! You nag all day long. So annoying, you ignorant woman!"
Nola was deeply hurt by Steven's attitude. Before she got together with him, he used to pamper her completely. He said his wife only knew how to criticize him for being useless, living off his wife, having no business sense, and making no money, only using his wife's savings to start businesses. He said only with her could he find his dignity as a man.
Now that his business was doing well and she was no longer young, this bastard was getting tired of her.
Nola started crying,
"If you regret it, let's just get divorced. You can go to the suburban cemetery and find your heartless mother and your quiet, virtuous wife who doesn't annoy you."
Steven's eyes turned cold,
"What kind of talk is that? Can dead people come back? Why didn't you say this ten years ago?"
Nola's heart skipped a beat. She was just speaking out of anger - who knew this bastard actually had those thoughts?
She was scared into silence. After all, she was old now and held no attraction for him. With his ruthless nature, dumping her and marrying someone young - that bastard would definitely do it.
He controlled the family finances, and she hadn't saved much of her own money. How could she survive if they divorced now?
The hospital room returned to silence.
Sarah watched her parents argue without being able to get a word in. Now it was finally her turn to speak.
"Dad, you're experienced. Is there any way to make him divorce Ava quickly?"
Steven paced back and forth, then, after a moment, let out a cold laugh,
"Men all value their heirs. Especially the Morgan Family, that kind of top-tier wealthy family - generations of endless wealth need a son to inherit. Once your son is born, I don't believe Howard Morgan won't take you seriously."
Sarah got anxious,
"Dad, that won't solve the immediate problem. The issue now is that Ava is pregnant too, much earlier than I. What if she has a son first? What do I do?"
Steven clapped his hands - he'd forgotten about that.
That Ava girl was quite lucky to latch onto this powerful family. If he'd known his mother had such a deep friendship with Howard, he would have brought her back and treated her well no matter what.
But there's no medicine for regret in this world. Ava, that ungrateful girl, got this huge advantage and still wouldn't acknowledge him as her father.
Steven's mind raced,
"Here's what we'll do, Sarah. Don't worry yet, just protect your baby. I heard there's technology in Imperial City that can tell the baby's gender early through a blood test. Let's first check if it's a boy, then decide what to do."
Sarah found her anchor - her dad really was experienced and cunning.
William smoked a cigarette in the courtyard. Knowing Sarah and Howard were in the same hospital, he didn't need to rush over. From the phone call, he felt Sarah wasn't seriously ill - at most, it was another false alarm like before.
Steven's words made him very unhappy. No one in Emerald City dared to threaten him.
And Steven, by bringing up what happened years ago, was essentially demanding repayment.
This life-saving debt meant something entirely different if he repaid it voluntarily rather than being forced to repay it.
Steven had triggered his disgust, making him even more resistant to Sarah.
He was thinking - what could he do to repay this life-saving debt once and for all? He shouldn't be someone who gets tied down.
When William arrived at the hospital room, Sarah was lying weakly in bed, tape on her arm as if she'd just had an IV.
Seeing him enter, Sarah burst into tears within a second,
"William, you're here. The baby and I almost didn't get to see you."
Steven covered his face, crying,
"Silly girl, don't say such things. I can't take any more scares like this. You and the baby need to be fine. I'm still waiting for him to call me Grandpa."
Sarah comforted him,
"Dad, you heard what the doctor said. Who knows what day some shock will trigger another attack? My condition is getting worse and worse. I'm not afraid of dying, but thinking of my unborn baby, I can't accept it! He hasn't even been held by his father yet - he can't just leave this world without a sound."
Steven and Sarah put on quite a performance, acting as if it were real.