Chapter 498 Is He Okay?

Chapter 498 Is He Okay?

On the fourth day at noon, Timothy found Alice.

Alice had already adapted to life on the cruise ship, and her mood wasn't as restless anymore, because Michael had woken up.

Though there was only the tiniest bit of news coverage, it still put her mind at ease.

"Alice, may I come in?" Timothy wore the gentle smile of an elder, and Alice stepped aside to let him enter.

Timothy surveyed the room, then looked at her with some embarrassment. "This all happened so suddenly—I could only arrange for you to stay in a mid-tier cabin. I'm truly sorry."

"You saved my life. I'm grateful." Alice spoke sincerely.

She knew that getting onto this kind of cruise ship wasn't just a matter of having money. Even for a conglomerate, Zaid's current status probably wasn't enough. The King family must have pulled every string they had.

Timothy looked at her with appreciation. "You're just like your mother—resilient and intelligent."

At the mention of her mother, Alice lowered her eyes. "My birth mother? Was she the one who asked you to take care of... my brother?"

She still felt awkward calling Zaid her brother, but she knew it was an undeniable fact.

Timothy pondered for a moment before nodding. "Yes, it was indeed she who came to me for help."

He gazed out at the ocean view through the window, as if returning to the past. "It was a rainy day, the second week after your father was imprisoned. Everything was already beyond saving."

When Marcus was imprisoned, he had put out word that no one should try to rescue him anymore.

How could Anissa possibly give up so easily?

But no matter how hard she tried, even with the King family's help, she ultimately couldn't save Marcus.

And on that rainy night, Anissa secretly came to the King Manor and entrusted Zaid to Timothy.

"Your brother had a high fever that wouldn't break, and was already delirious. She said those people would never let Marcus's son go. I asked her what about the daughter, and she said she would take her daughter and commit suicide. If not for that, no one from the Phillips family would survive."

Timothy's voice grew choked with emotion. "She even deceived me, so naturally, she fooled the people from the four major families too. Each of those four families had its own agenda, and they all thought someone had deliberately taken Marcus's son away. In the end, they never reached a conclusion."

"And you." He looked at Alice with even more guilt. "Don't blame Zaid—he only just learned about his own background. He's been blaming me for separating you two this whole time. Thank goodness Michael kept helping, or there really would have been no way to keep him under control."

Thinking about what happened back then filled him with mixed emotions.

If they hadn't been careful, they might have ended up with the scandal of siblings committing incest.

Alice listened quietly throughout, never interrupting.

She understood in her heart that everything—absolutely everything—had been for her and Zaid, for the last traces of the Phillips family bloodline.

Only after Timothy had explained everything did she ask, "Could you help Michael? The Johnson family must be in complete chaos right now."

She'd been following the news these past few days.

All kinds of internet bloggers were digging up dirt about the Johnson family from years ago.

Michael's mother had indeed been driven away by a mistress who had stolen her position, and Rachel's background was also being criticized.

But there was one thing that couldn't be denied—Rachel was Vaughn's biological daughter, and legally, she had inheritance rights too.

"The Johnson family is indeed in chaos right now, but Michael—he'll be fine." Timothy stood up. "Alice, I only came today to tell you the truth. Your parents all loved you very much, including your adoptive parents."

After Timothy left, Alice sat there for a long time.

He was right—everyone had loved her, even sacrificing their lives for her.

It was just that she hadn't been able to understand any of it before.

That very night, the cruise ship arrived in Aetheria.

Alice received an Aetherian green card and passport, and immediately followed Zaid to Marigoldia overnight.

She'd originally thought everything would be difficult, but when they actually did it, Alice discovered it was all quite simple.

She quickly adapted to her new identity as Zaid's cousin.

After resting for a few days, at the corporate board meeting, Zaid directly transferred half of his shareholdings to her.

Not only were all the board members shocked, but Alice hadn't expected it either.

Even though everyone opposed his decision, Zaid insisted.

His shareholdings, plus the will their mother had prepared early on, left the board members with nothing to say.

But when they returned to the villa, Alice still refused the shares.

"Zaid, you've worked so hard to build this up for so many years. I don't want your shares." Her heart ached a little.

Regardless of whether Zaid had known her identity before, he had protected her all these years.

Alice couldn't bear to take away Zaid's shares.

Moreover, if the shares were split in half, Zaid's influence in the conglomerate would be greatly diminished.

But Zaid smiled and ruffled her hair. "Alice, this is all Mom's dying wish. She was willing to marry Dad, that poor boy who started from nothing, because of love."

"She loved us and was willing to share everything with us. This is what you deserve."

"But..."

Before Alice could continue, Zaid interrupted her. "Your mother woke up. Ivy has regained consciousness. Michael has already arranged for people to bring her to Marigoldia immediately for rehabilitation treatment."

"Really? My mom woke up?" Alice's eyes widened, filled with joy.

This had to be the happiest news she'd heard in days.

Zaid nodded. "She was indeed in critical condition before, but Michael kept Marigoldia's medical team in the country. Fortunately, he had prepared two medical teams in advance, or they wouldn't have escaped those people's notice."

Mentioning Michael again, Alice felt her heart ache.

"Is he okay?" Her voice was so soft she could barely hear it herself.

"Good and not good." Zaid sighed and sat down beside Alice. "He's awake, but his body is still recovering. You know how intense his work schedule is, and then there's that Rachel... Anyway, during this time, his days probably aren't easy."

After Zaid left, Alice couldn't fall asleep.

She took out her phone and kept checking the domestic news.

She knew that being able to leave the country and save her life had cost Michael dearly. Once she was exposed, probably all four major families would target Michael.

But even though Michael had personally "killed" her, his days weren't much better.

Vaughn had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and had completely lost his cognitive abilities.

Before that, he had signed a will and power of attorney, leaving all his future shares and assets to be handled by his wife, Serafina.

Rachel, as Serafina's biological daughter, naturally returned to the Johnson family, planning to take control of everything.

However, Michael had been with the Johnson family for years, and whether in terms of status, position, or ability, he far exceeded Rachel. Naturally, not many people in the company supported Rachel.

So online smear campaigns against Michael began to multiply.

From claims that he mistreated employees and used underhanded competitive tactics, to allegations that he kept various female celebrities and was even having inappropriate relationships with company employees, every kind of dirt was being thrown at him.

Some people even brought up Alice, suggesting that the beautiful female secretary who had always been by Michael's side had also disappeared without a trace, possibly silenced because she knew too much.