Chapter 182 James Can See
James woke up from his coma three days after falling down the stairs.
A lot can happen in three days.
For instance, Nicholas put pressure on the Johnson group, causing it to go bankrupt rapidly within those three days. To pay off the massive debts, Finn sold the villa and moved his wife and daughter into a rental house.
And Verity was burned to death in the courtyard one night in a fire.
The maid Clea, who was taking care of Verity, also died in the same fire.
Since Verity had been illegally detained by the Johnson family, after confirming her death, Finn and his family didn't dare report it to the police and had to accept their bad luck.
After all, despite everything they'd done, they still hadn't gotten the key to the Gibson family fortune from Verity. Now with Verity's accidental death, their fantasy of using the Gibson family assets to revive the Johnson group was shattered in an instant.
Finn and Della, now living in their rental house, didn't know that Verity wasn't actually dead.
On the night of the fire, Clea had secretly smuggled Verity out. She was now hiding at Elysian Residences, being cared for by Thora.
Besides the Johnson family drama, the Thomas group also went through some upheaval.
Through a vote by the board of directors and all employees, James was removed from his position as CEO due to his messy personal life and negative press that had caused major damage. Rhett took his place.
When James woke up three days later, the matter of the Thomas group's new CEO was already settled.
But James, just waking up and still a bit dazed, didn't know any of this yet.
He stared blankly at the familiar yet strange ceiling, blinking hard in disbelief.
I can see?
It won't suddenly go dark again, will it?
James blinked several times to be sure, and seeing that his eyes were fine, he slowly felt relieved.
Just then, the door opened.
"Mr. Thomas, you're finally awake."
Marc looked up and saw James lying in bed with his eyes open. He immediately walked over and asked carefully, "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Should I ask Ms. White to come check on you?"
Thora?
James had heard of her, but supposedly she was hard to track down, had a difficult personality, and only treated patients when she felt like it. How did Marc manage to get someone like that to treat him?
James's cold eyes swept across the quiet room. When he realized Emily wasn't there, his expression grew even darker.
That damn woman. As his wife, she wasn't by his side taking care of him while he was sick and unconscious, but was running around somewhere instead.
Did she even understand her position!
James felt a surge of frustration.
"Where's Emily?"
James asked coldly.
"Ms. Johnson should be with Verity. Clea faked her death to get Verity away from the Johnson family, and then Ms. Johnson secretly hid her... Mr. Thomas, you can see now?"
Marc was talking when he suddenly realized.
How could James tell Emily wasn't in the room if he couldn't see?
So James's vision came back after being unconscious?
"Yes."
James slowly sat up. His cold eyes fixed intently on Marc's face. Those eyes that used to be empty were now bright and sharp, making Marc shiver involuntarily.
The cold, proud, and decisive James was back!
"Mr. Thomas, do you remember what happened before you passed out?"
Marc hesitated, then asked quietly.
Before passing out?
James frowned, trying hard to remember, but felt a sharp pain in his head.
"Can't remember."
James said honestly.
He only remembered that he seemed to be going to the company and had Marc prepare the car. He couldn't quite recall what happened after that.
"Marc, how long was I unconscious?"
"Three days."
"What? I need to go to the company now!"
James was shocked. He threw off the covers to get out of bed, but Marc stopped him.
"Mr. Thomas, it's too late."
"What do you mean? Too late for what?"
James grabbed Marc's collar tightly, his eyes full of dark fury as if they could shoot flames.
"Three days ago, the Thomas group's board of directors issued an announcement removing you from your position as CEO and putting Mr. Rhett Thomas in charge. Just yesterday, Mr. Rhett Thomas used improper methods to transfer the shares you held. Now the entire Thomas group is under Mr. Rhett Thomas's control."
"We originally had people planted in the company, but somehow Mr. Rhett Thomas got rid of them all—they were either laid off or fired."
"Damn it!"
James slammed his fist hard on the bed. Gritting his teeth, he said bitterly, "If I hadn't suddenly passed out three days ago, I definitely could have stopped Rhett's schemes!"
But no matter how much he regretted it, it was useless. Rhett had stopped pretending and, taking advantage of James being incapacitated, had seized control of the entire Thomas group.
James wasn't actually that attached to being CEO of the Thomas group, but the company was founded by Hazel and Kian when they were young, and more than half the company shares belonged to Hazel.
He could give up being CEO of the Thomas group, but he had to get Hazel's shares back.
James calmed down a bit, his bright eyes burning with determination.
"Marc, tell me exactly how I passed out three days ago, and have someone keep close tabs on Rhett's movements. Report to me immediately if they do anything."
"Yes."
Marc nodded.
Then, as if remembering something, he slowly said, "Oh, and Mr. James Thomas, after learning the results of the Thomas group board vote, Ms. Johnson told me to block the news and not let it reach Mrs. Qiana Thomas's ears."
"Ms. Johnson said that given Mrs. Thomas's current condition, she can't handle any shocks. We should keep this from her as long as possible."
"Okay." James's eyes darkened. "But you can't hide the truth forever. Grandma... will find out eventually."
When that happened, who knew how angry Qiana would be.
To keep it from Qiana, they'd have to take the Thomas group back from Rhett before she learned the truth.
Don't panic! Don't panic! This needs to be thought through carefully.
James closed his eyes, silently telling himself to calm down.
Marc stood to the side carefully observing James's expression. Seeing his face was calm, he slowly began to recount the memories James had lost from before he passed out.
...
Meanwhile, at Elysian Residences, Emily looked at Verity lying in bed, her expression troubled.
"Emily, don't worry too much. Like I said, Mrs. Gibson's poison isn't incurable. As long as a patient in my care still has a breath left, there's nothing I can't cure."
The door opened and Thora walked in, speaking in a flat tone.