Chapter 51

Chapter 51
Clara’s POV

 

I pushed open the car door. Through the windshield, I could vaguely make out the figure sitting in the living room.

 

Monica.

 

She had already seen me before I entered. Her face instantly changed from lazy indifference to false delight.

 

“Clara, dear, you’re finally back! I’ve been waiting so long.” She stood up, her tone sugary sweet.

 

I gave her a sidelong glance. “Monica, please remember your place. My mother died many years ago.”

 

She was not choked by that at all. Her fake smile remained steady. She lifted the bag in her hand. “You’re always so distant with me, Clara. I didn’t come here to argue with you today. Look, I brought you something tasty.”

 

She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room. Before I could react, she took out several biscuits from the plastic bag and placed them on the coffee table.

 

“Dear, I know these pastries are your favorite. I specially picked them for you. They’re absolutely delicious.”

 

I glanced down at the biscuits on the coffee table and wrinkled my nose. I recognized them at once—they were the kind sold by the pound at the corner store for five dollars a pound, and the price tag had not even been fully removed.

 

She picked one up and held it out to me with fake attentiveness.

 

I pushed her hand away. “I’m sorry, but I’m allergic to pastries. Please take them with you when you leave.”

 

I turned and sat down on the sofa in the living room.

 

Monica stood there awkwardly for a moment. That awkwardness was real—she clearly had no idea about my allergy.

 

“Clara, dear,” she said as she sat back down, using that fake intimate tone again, “I heard your team has been assigned to perform surgery on Iris’s daughter? That child has a very serious heart condition. I only want to know whether your team can really handle such a difficult surgery successfully.”

 

I had reviewed Zoe’s medical record. The surgery was challenging, but the success rate was quite high. My team had taken the case only after repeated discussion and confidence in our ability.

 

Why had Monica come all the way to my house to say this?

 

I did not answer right away. I looked at her first, then replied, “Our team only accepts cases after a thorough evaluation. If we were not confident, we would not take the risk.”

 

She leaned a little closer, carrying a deliberate sense of pressure. “Well, let me remind you— Iri’s daughter is Kael’s child. If you don’t do the surgery and she dies, then it has nothing to do with you. But if you do perform the surgery and she still dies, then it becomes your responsibility.” Her smile faded slightly. “Clara, dear, you should think very carefully about whether you really want to go through with this surgery.”

 

She patted my knee. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m only giving you a kind warning.”

 

I sat there, carefully turning over every word she said.

 

Zoe was her granddaughter, yet she was sitting in front of me, and every word out of her mouth was urging me to give up the surgery.

 

A grandmother was persuading someone to give up a potentially life-saving surgery for her own granddaughter.

 

Something did not add up, and whatever did not add up left a heavy, nameless chill in my heart.

 

I asked directly, “So what exactly are you trying to say? Are you saying my team should not perform this surgery?”

 

Monica did not answer right away.

 

She probably had not expected me to make it so plain. After a pause, she spoke again.

 

“Clara, dear, I’m only reminding you that with this kind of high-risk surgery, if something goes wrong, the consequences are very serious. Kael won’t be easy to deal with, and the medical team’s reputation will suffer too.” She paused, lowering her voice a little. “I mean well, you understand?”

 

I listened to her and understood exactly why she had come today.

 

I lifted my eyes and looked straight at her. “Monica, you’ve talked in circles, but your meaning is perfectly clear to me.”

 

I paused.

 

“I accepted this surgery because my team made a professional judgment after repeated evaluations. That judgment will not change because of anyone’s ‘kind reminder.’”

 

I stood up and smoothed my skirt. “If that is the only reason you came today, then you’ve made your point, and I’ve given you my answer.”

 

Monica sat there, and at last she could no longer keep the smile on her face. Once that sugary layer peeled away, what remained underneath was the dark resentment of someone who had been seen through.

 

She let out a cold laugh.

 

“That’s not what I meant. I’m only warning you—if the surgery fails, Kael will never let you go. When you’re left with nowhere to turn, don’t come running to the Bennett family for protection.”

 

She folded her arms across her chest, her smile gone.

 

I gave a cold laugh in return.

 

“Monica, I suggest you stop worrying about me,” I said. “Even if the surgery fails and Kael drives me into a corner, I will never treat the Bennett family as my refuge.”

 

“Do you really think the Bennett family, in its current state, can offer me any protection at all?”

 

“Instead of worrying about me, perhaps you should worry more about your daughter. From what I’ve observed, Kael doesn’t seem especially fond of her. Monica, if you’re so desperate to marry into wealth, maybe you should make the effort yourself. Your methods seem far more skillful than your daughter’s.”

 

Monica said nothing. Her speechlessness was real—it looked as though she had never imagined I knew the Bennett family’s situation so thoroughly.

 

“You! How dare you, Clara! This is how you repay kindness!”

 

I had no desire to say another word to her. I looked at Marnie. “Marnie, please have security escort our guest out.”

 

Marnie called in the security team, and they immediately guided Monica toward the door.

 

Monica grabbed the bag of cheap pastries from the table. As security escorted her out, she finally dropped all pretense and began screaming abuse in a shrill voice. “What does she have to be so proud of? She’s just someone else’s little assistant, acting like she’s above everyone. When Gloria kills that child during surgery, she’ll get exactly what’s coming to her.”

 

Her sharp voice pierced through the hallway and into my ears, but I sat there without any change in expression.

 

Then I heard the sound of rushing water from upstairs, followed by Monica’s scream from outside the door. I walked to the window and saw her clutching her head and running out of Bennett Hall, soaked from head to toe.

 

Marnie stood beside me, the corners of her mouth slightly curved. Even the security guards gave a thumbs-up toward the upstairs floor.

 

I said nothing and drew my gaze back from the window.

 

---

 

Iris’s POV

 

When Monica returned, she was still soaked.

 

The moment she came in, she started complaining, pouring out all the humiliation she had suffered at Clara’s place. “Clara is so despicable. I warned her not to take Zoe’s surgery, but not only did she refuse to listen, she even had someone splash water on me. That bitch! I should have dealt with her back when I first married into the Bennett family.”

 

I sat beside her, my expression grim. “Mom, what do we do now? I asked around about Gloria’s team. Everyone says she’s an extremely skilled surgeon. She’ll definitely be able to cure Zoe. That child belongs to that bitch Clara. If one day Kael finds out, what will happen? Will he...?”

 

Ever since Clara came back, I had noticed Kael becoming colder and colder toward me. I was afraid he would discover what I had done years ago. If the truth came out, I would definitely have to bear Kael’s fury.

 

“Don’t worry, Iris, dear. I won’t let that happen. Since Clara insists on performing Zoe’s surgery, I’ll make sure she can’t.”

 

Monica bit her lip, her words full of vicious resolve.

 

I sat there and did not ask further.