Chapter 49

He hung up the phone, his hands trembling, palms covered in cold sweat. He looked at the auction screen—still locked in a standoff—but he couldn't wait any longer. There was no time to waste here.

Gwendolyn couldn't hold on much longer.

He took a deep breath and, with shaking hands, dialed Evelyn's number, without a moment's hesitation.

Every second felt like walking on a knife's edge.

Evelyn was waiting for the results when she saw the caller ID. She froze for a moment, her heartbeat inexplicably skipping a beat.

William?

She frowned but still answered, her voice tinged with irritation: "Hello?"

"Evelyn..." William's voice carried an unprecedented panic and hoarseness, shaking uncontrollably. "My grandmother's in trouble. Amelia gave her supplements that conflicted with her medication. Now she's unconscious and being resuscitated. I don't trust anyone else—can you help treat my grandmother?"

Evelyn's heart sank heavily, plummeting down, her whole body turning cold.

Something happened to Gwendolyn?

She instantly pushed the auction to the back of her mind, her tone turning cold with barely contained urgency: "How serious is it?"

"The doctor says it's very bad." William closed his eyes, his voice terrifyingly low. "I'm abroad right now, rushing back. Please... please get there as soon as you can."

His tone carried a plea, a weakness never shown before. In his twenty-something years, this was the first time he'd been so humble.

Evelyn's expression changed slightly, her chest tightening. Without any hesitation, she immediately agreed.

"I understand. I have something to handle here, but I'll meet up with you right after."

William hung up the phone and didn't spare the auction device another glance. He grabbed his coat and rushed out.

Because of William's sudden withdrawal, no new bids appeared on the auction screen.

The auctioneer called out three times, his voice trembling, before bringing down the gavel.

"Congratulations to Phoenix in the top-floor suite for winning the wild ginseng!"

Evelyn was about to give up on the auction when she heard this and was somewhat surprised.

After all, Echo had just shown a do-or-die attitude, yet gave up just like that—quite unusual.

But the next second, Gwendolyn's image flashed before her eyes, and she immediately pushed aside these stray thoughts.

Soon, a server knocked and entered, respectfully presenting a rosewood box containing the wild ginseng: "Phoenix, your item, please take care."

Evelyn took the box. It felt cold to the touch, heavy, pressing painfully into her palm.

She opened it for a quick look. The ginseng was in excellent condition, indeed, with a hundred years of history.

She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly had her people arrange a private jet.

When the plane landed, the sky had already turned completely dark.

A cold wind blew, and Evelyn shivered slightly, only then realizing she'd been so tense the whole way that her shoulders and back were stiff, her muscles aching.

She hailed a car straight to the hospital. The car had barely stopped when she saw a familiar figure standing at the emergency building entrance.

William was pacing back and forth at the entrance. His suit was wrinkled, collar open, hair disheveled.

He kept looking up toward the street, a cigarette between his fingers, nearly burned down without him noticing.

Seeing Evelyn get out of the car, he froze completely. The cigarette dropped, burning his shoe without any reaction from him.

"You..." William's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice terribly hoarse, eyes red. "Evelyn, please save my grandmother."

He'd seen every kind of situation in his life, faced gunfire without flinching, but at this moment, he was so scared his legs felt weak.

Evelyn glanced at him coolly, her chest tightening slightly, trying to keep her tone steady: "How is Gwendolyn?"

"She's still being resuscitated." William's chest tightened. He instinctively reached out to grab her wrist, then pulled back midway, clenching his hand into a fist so tight his knuckles turned white. "I haven't gone in yet... I'm afraid."

He was afraid that once he went in, he'd hear the worst news.

Evelyn didn't call out his panic. She walked straight toward the building, her voice cold and steady: "Lead the way."

William quickly followed, his steps somewhat chaotic, his heartbeat ready to explode.

Outside the VIP ward, the lights were blindingly bright, so white they hurt the eyes. The air was full of a disinfectant smell, suffocating.

Willow sat on a bench, eyes red and swollen, lashes wet with tears. Seeing Evelyn was like seeing a pillar of support—she immediately stood up, legs nearly giving out.

"Evelyn! You're finally here!"

"Mom," William called out softly, his voice hoarse.

Seeing William, Willow's eyes reddened even more, but she didn't say much to him. She grabbed Evelyn's hand, her cold fingertips gripping tightly, voice shaking: "Please help Gwendolyn, she... she's really in danger this time."

Evelyn patted the back of her hand and was about to speak when the ward door opened.

Amelia walked out with red-rimmed eyes, tears still on her face. Seeing Evelyn, she instinctively shrank back behind William.

Seeing her, Willow's anger flared up immediately, her voice trembling: "You still have the nerve to show your face here? Tell me, what exactly did you feed Gwendolyn? The doctor said what Gwendolyn ate conflicted with her medication. Did you do it on purpose!"

Amelia shuddered in fright, tears falling again, voice trembling: "Aunt Willow, I didn't... I just heard those supplements were good for elderly people's health. I wanted to help Grandma get better faster. I really didn't know this would happen... I didn't mean to..."

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at William, hoping he'd speak up for her, but William didn't even give her a look.

William didn't look at her. His gaze was entirely on Evelyn, his expression frighteningly cold, filled with anger and regret.

He should never have let Amelia near Gwendolyn.

Evelyn stepped forward, her gaze landing on Amelia without warmth, her tone calm yet cutting: "Gwendolyn has been on long-term medication; her blood clotting function is weak. Those supplements you sent were too strong—they directly triggered internal bleeding."

Amelia's face turned pale, lips trembling: "I... I didn't know... I really don't understand these things..."

"If you don't understand, don't give things randomly." Evelyn's voice wasn't loud, but each word was clear, hitting people's hearts. "Every medicine's contraindications are clearly written in the instructions. You didn't even look, just sent them straight to a patient—are you being kind, or are you trying to kill someone?"

Amelia was left speechless, nails digging into her palms so hard they drew blood without her noticing.

She was seething with hatred but didn't dare talk back.

Right now, everyone was on Evelyn's side. If she made a scene, she'd only be more disliked.

Just then, a white-haired doctor in a white coat walked out of the ward, composed in bearing but grave in expression.

It was the country's leading internal medicine expert, Terrence Wheeler, specially in charge of Gwendolyn's treatment.

Terrence saw Evelyn and paused, not recognizing her as Phoenix, taking her for an ordinary family member. His gaze quickly returned to William and Willow, his tone heavy: "Gwendolyn's condition isn't looking good."

He paused, each word seeming to carry the weight of a stone: "Gwendolyn's organs aren't getting enough blood supply, and her blood pressure keeps dropping. I have a plan—use high-dose cardiac stimulants to maintain her, combined with shock therapy."

Willow's voice trembled, tears falling: "Can she still be saved?"

"The success rate isn't high—thirty percent." Terrence closed his eyes, his face full of reluctance. "But this is currently the only option. If Gwendolyn can pull through, there's hope she'll wake up. If she can't pull through... there's nothing we can do."