Chapter 265: When Did William Become Blameless?
Sophia hadn't told Isabella where to go. Once at the hospital, she headed straight for the emergency room.
When Isabella discovered the patient inside wasn't William, she went to the information desk. Just as she was about to look up which department he was in, Sophia's call came through again.
"How much time has passed? Why aren't you here yet?"
Sophia's voice was icy with accusation.
Isabella's own temper flared, her tone cold and sarcastic. "I'm not some omniscient god. If I don't come to the hospital to find out which room your son is in, what do you expect—that I can teleport to his bedside?"
Sophia paused briefly, then answered, "Infectious Diseases."
She hung up again without waiting for a response. Isabella asked for directions to the Infectious Diseases department and hurried over.
It struck Isabella as bizarre—she'd just returned to Seaside City with Olivia, and now William had been rushed back here due to worsening complications.
Sophia and Henry were waiting outside, along with the ever-devoted Laura. When they saw Isabella, all three faces turned cold.
"What did you do to William? Why is he like this?!" Sophia demanded loudly.
Isabella was genuinely confused. "When he was hospitalized in Luminous City, he was recovering well. What happened so suddenly?"
The doctors there had treated his wound, and nurses had been managing his care. Isabella had no idea what could have gone wrong.
Laura's eyes were bloodshot. "It must be your fault. If it weren't for you, how could William have ended up like this? After you left, he kept running a fever. The doctors there suddenly issued a critical condition notice. If we hadn't transferred him in time, William might have died!"
Henry looked up at Isabella, his face—bearing some resemblance to William's—flashing with menace.
"William is our only child," Henry said calmly. "If anything happens to him, I won't let you off."
"Did the doctors say what caused the infection?" Isabella asked.
No one answered.
"He was injured by a pitchfork there. Did you tell the doctors that?" Isabella turned to Laura.
Sophia erupted, shouting at Isabella in a low, furious voice. "When he was in the hospital and you were supposed to be taking care of him, where did you disappear to? And now you're putting on this act? As if we're the ones who failed to take care of William!"
"You won't tell me anything about what happened to William. I'm not a professional doctor—why did you even call me here? To serve as your emotional punching bag?"
Isabella's voice and expression went cold.
She hadn't rushed over just to have her kindness thrown back in her face.
"If William hadn't been chasing after you, he never would have gone to Luminous City, and none of this would have happened. It's all your fault. You're a disaster—you only exist to bring William endless trouble!"
With William being treated inside and chaos erupting outside, Isabella's mind was in turmoil. She had no energy left to deal with Sophia and Laura's unreasonable attacks.
The door to the Infectious Diseases operating room suddenly opened. A nurse rushed out to brief them.
"The patient's condition is currently unstable. He's showing systemic inflammatory response and persistent high fever. Our preliminary diagnosis is septic shock. We're preparing to intubate and perform surgery."
The nurse delivered the information rapidly. Sophia grabbed her arm.
"What is this septic shock? Why did he suddenly get this disease?"
The nurse politely pulled away from Sophia's grip. "The patient's vital signs are relatively stable. Our doctors have administered emergency measures. Please rest assured."
With that, the nurse turned and went back inside.
Sophia collapsed onto the cold bench, all her usual poise and composure gone.
She was consumed by the agonizing possibility of losing her son.
"If you can't hold up, go rest. If you're not feeling well, get checked out," Isabella said with measured calm. "William is still in there fighting for his life. If you collapse too, no one will be able to spare the attention to take care of you."
Sophia's breathing suddenly grew labored. She stared at Isabella with wide eyes.
"I knew you had some scheme. You're just waiting for me to leave so you can refuse treatment for William and let him die, aren't you? Your heart is so vicious. They say women are the most poisonous creatures, I should have insisted William never marry you in the first place..."
Isabella had only been concerned that Sophia might also have a medical emergency, but in an instant, Sophia's mind had conjured up all these dark intentions.
"You're right, you shouldn't have let William marry me. All your family's troubles started with me. If William hadn't been with me, none of these problems would exist."
Isabella took a deep breath. "Whenever something goes wrong, you people always deflect responsibility or blame others. You never reflect on whether the problem might be your own."
This had been a disastrous marriage from the start—Isabella couldn't argue with that.
But having been pushed this far, she had to stand up for herself.
"I have my own regrets too. If I hadn't gotten involved with William back then, maybe I would have already developed Crystaphene. Maybe I'd already be a scientist who made outstanding contributions to the new energy industry, instead of having to start everything over from scratch like I am now."
William had a path arranged by his family. Isabella had her own secure life trajectory as well.
Two parallel lines that should never have crossed had intersected due to some minor error. They'd traveled together only briefly, their separation seemed inevitable.
"According to your logic, I'm not a good person—but when did William become blameless? Have you never considered that all of this stems from his infidelity? This is all his own doing!"
Sophia gasped for air, her hand pointing at Isabella, trembling violently.
Isabella sat down on the bench across from them, her gaze icy and unflinching. She was unafraid of standing against the entire family.
The surgery lasted over an hour. Everyone waiting outside felt as if their hearts were suspended by a thread.
The moment the operating room doors opened, Sophia sprang up from the bench, then stumbled as her legs had gone numb beneath her.
"The patient was quite fortunate. We've initially resolved the blood infection issue. He'll need to be monitored for the next day. As long as his vital signs remain stable tonight, he'll most likely be out of danger."
The nurse explained their situation.