Chapter 220
Chapter 220
Elizabeth didn't open her eyes, struggling to steady her breathing. After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice trembling, "When did this happen?"
Ethan sat back down, his posture upright, and answered in a low voice: "I only found out two months ago myself."
Elizabeth took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, they were already red-rimmed: "What did the doctor say?"
"The only option is a transplant. Her surgery is scheduled for next week."
Elizabeth nodded, her voice full of concern. "You should have told me earlier. It was such a significant matter, and I knew nothing. Christina always likes to handle everything herself. Back then, she liked you, but you liked Emily—she endured it. Now, even with such a serious illness, she's enduring it too."
Ethan made a sound of acknowledgment, lowering his eyes. "Don't worry. There's a good chance she'll recover after the transplant."
"You owed her a wedding from the start. If the surgery goes well and Christina is willing, you should hold the wedding soon."
Ethan had originally thought that after Elizabeth learned about Christina's illness, she would oppose them being together. He hadn't expected her reaction to far exceed his expectations.
"Christina doesn't want me to make a big deal about her illness. Just pretend you don't know. Anyway, we still need to pick her up from the hospital. I'll leave as soon as I get the documents."
After Ethan left, Elizabeth sat alone against the headboard, her gaze falling on the sunlight by the window, where she remained lost in thought for a long time.
Ethan had told Henry not to wander off, so Henry obediently sat on the steps at the villa entrance, playing with his newly bought building blocks while a servant watched over him nearby.
Rachel came out of Elizabeth's room, leading Nolan. When she saw Henry's back, she pulled Nolan over.
"I'm taking Nolan outside to fly a kite. Go upstairs to his room and get the kite," Rachel ordered the servant.
The servant glanced at Henry, looking troubled: "But Mr. Carter told me to watch Henry."
"You're just going upstairs to get a kite—two minutes at most. Besides, Nolan and I will be right here. Henry will be fine."
"But..."
"What? Can't I even ask a servant to do something?" Rachel snapped.
The servant didn't dare argue and could only compromise: "Then please watch Henry for me. I'll be right back."
"Fine." Rachel agreed.
Once the servant disappeared at the second-floor landing, Rachel gently nudged Nolan and whispered a reminder: "That's Henry. Uncle Ethan has been spending all his time with him and his mom lately, not with you anymore."
Henry looked up and saw Nolan staring at the blocks in his hands. He smiled and asked: "Do you want to play too? We can play together. Mr. Carter bought these for me—they can make lots of different shapes."
A slight smile curved Rachel's lips as she said to Nolan: "Nolan, play with Henry for a bit. When the kite comes down, I'll take you to fly it."
With that, she walked aside to take a phone call, leaving just the two children.
At Henry's invitation, Nolan crouched down to play blocks with him.
Rather than playing together, it was more like Nolan crouched nearby watching while Henry built with the blocks and explained how to play.
Henry was very good-looking, with delicate features, smooth skin, and long, curled eyelashes.
"Nolan, Uncle Ethan is actually your daddy," Rachel's earlier words echoed in Nolan's mind. "But now Uncle Ethan likes Henry more. He's going to steal your daddy from you..."
In the child's mind, those words intertwined with Henry's sweet voice, gradually becoming clearer.
"Uncle Ethan is Nolan's daddy." Nolan, who had been staring at Henry, said quietly.
"What did you say?" Henry didn't hear clearly and tilted his head slightly to ask.
Just as he turned his head, Nolan suddenly reached out toward Henry...
"Nolan!" A sharp rebuke rang out.
It was Ethan.
Seeing this scene, he rushed up in a few quick steps and scooped up Henry, who was sitting on the steps.
"Mr. Carter." Henry looked at Ethan's tense expression and called out, confused.
Ethan suppressed the anger in his heart, his gaze falling on Nolan by his leg, full of disbelief.
At that moment, the servant who had been watching Henry came down from upstairs and happened to see Ethan's barely contained fury. Frightened, she quickly ran over.
"Didn't I tell you to watch Henry? Where did you just go?" Thinking of the close call, Ethan's tone was full of lingering fear.
The steps to the ground were a good three feet high. If he hadn't appeared in time, Henry would likely have been pushed down by Nolan, with unthinkable consequences.
"Just now Ms. Carter asked me to go upstairs to get Nolan's kite. I'm sorry, Mr. Carter. I didn't mean to leave my post..."
The servant kept bowing in apology, still clutching a kite in her hand.
Ethan glanced at the kite in her hand but said nothing.
At that moment, Rachel, having finished her phone call, walked over from the side, feigning calm as she asked: "What happened? What's going on, Ethan?"
Her gaze met Ethan's dark eyes, and a sense of guilt immediately rose in her heart. She glanced at the servant with her head bowed and asked with fake concern.
Ethan's expression remained unchanged. After a moment of silence, he put Henry down and instructed the servant: "Take Henry to the car and wait for me first."
The servant quickly and carefully tucked the kite into Rachel's hands, took Henry's hand, and walked down the steps toward the Bentley parked by the fountain in the distance.
Only when Henry was seated in the back did Ethan withdraw his gaze and turn it on Rachel's face.
His face was dark, his tone icy as he looked at Rachel and said her name: "Rachel."
Rachel feigned innocence: "What exactly happened?"
Ethan then turned his gaze to the dazed-looking Nolan and spoke slowly: "With so many servants in the house, you had to have the one watching Henry go upstairs to get something for you?"
His voice was gentle, but each word carried weight, striking Rachel's heart with force.
Rachel forced herself to stay calm: "Everyone else was busy. I could only ask her to get it."
"If I hadn't just happened to come out, Henry would probably have been pushed down the steps by Nolan by now!" Ethan's voice suddenly rose as he scolded her.
The sudden sharp rebuke startled Rachel, and she shrank back, enduring his fury.
"I didn't know..." Rachel said quietly, her voice guilty.
Ethan clearly didn't believe her and lashed out: "Didn't know what? Didn't know Nolan isn't a normal child? Or didn't know you have to watch him every second?"
"Why are you yelling at me?!" Rachel snapped back, also becoming defiant, turning the question back on him. Her eyes instantly reddened. "Ever since Christina and her son came back, you've been like a different person, favoring them at every turn, as if I'm not even your sister! And Nolan—you clearly know he's not normal, so why don't you spend more time with him?"
"You were the one who brought him back to the Carter family, so you have an obligation to take care of him. But ever since Christina and Henry came back, have you even cared about Nolan? Ethan, you can't be this biased! Even if Henry is your son, isn't Nolan too?!"
Rachel didn't know about Zack's existence.
When Zack left years ago, Rachel was still young. Later, Zack cut off contact with the Carter family and hadn't shown his face in ten or twenty years. Probably because the events of that time weren't honorable, the family deliberately avoided mentioning that period.
After Ethan brought Nolan back to the Carter family, aside from Elizabeth, everyone else probably assumed Nolan was his child.
"Nolan and Henry are two separate matters." Ethan said in a deep voice.
"That's just your excuse for being irresponsible!" Rachel shot back.
Ethan didn't bother arguing with her. He had received news from abroad a couple of days ago—they'd found Zack. Soon, Nolan's true identity would come to light.
"What just happened better not have been intentional on your part." At this moment, Ethan no longer believed anything Rachel said.