Chapter 37
"Let's go." David didn't give it much thought.
In the car, Matthew sat quietly in the back seat. David glanced at him several times in the rearview mirror before finally speaking. "Why so quiet? Didn't have fun at the Hales'?"
Matthew shook his head.
"Fight with your grandparents?"
Another head shake.
David raised an eyebrow. The kid was acting strange today.
"Alright then." He didn't press further.
The car pulled into the Sharp estate. The living room blazed with light. Matthew immediately spotted Ashley in her wheelchair, sipping chicken soup a servant had brought her.
Her complexion looked much better—she could sit up and eat on her own now.
Grandma was better! That meant Mommy's surgery was a success!
He immediately pulled free from David's hand and ran to Ashley, looking up with hopeful eyes. "Where's Dr. Wells? Did she go home?"
Not asking about his grandmother's condition, but concerned about that woman instead?
Ashley's expression darkened, but with David present, she held back her temper.
David walked over and ruffled Matthew's hair. "Dr. Wells was exhausted after the surgery. She went home to rest. She said she'd come see you another day."
"Really?"
"Really."
That's wonderful!
Matthew spun around in excitement. Grandma had accepted Mommy, Daddy liked Mommy too—they'd all be together as a family soon!
He bounded upstairs to his room, grabbed his smartwatch, and called Damian's number.
The call connected quickly. Damian's boisterous voice came through. "Hey! I'm at school! Almost got caught! It's so late—what's up?"
"Dami! I have great news!" Matthew lowered his voice. "Mommy's surgery on Grandma was a success! I just saw Grandma drinking soup!"
"Really?!" Damian responded immediately. "Does that mean... Grandma doesn't hate Mommy anymore?"
"Yeah!" Matthew nodded vigorously. "Uncle David said Mommy went home to rest and she'll come see me soon! Daddy definitely knows too. Maybe he'll bring Mommy home really soon!"
"That's amazing!" Damian shouted excitedly on the other end. "We'll get to live with Mommy soon!"
The two boys lost themselves in beautiful fantasies, completely unaware that the mother they longed for was lying in a hospital emergency room at that very moment, her life hanging in the balance.
At the hospital, VIP room. Lucas sat beside Juliana's bed.
The woman lay motionless. Transparent liquid dripped slowly into her body, one drop at a time.
These fluids could only delay death. He needed the antidote, but it remained elusive.
After a moment's thought, he picked up his phone. Bianca's number glowed on the screen.
The call connected almost instantly.
"Lucas, did you miss me..."
"The antidote."
Bianca's breathing hitched.
"Bring it to me now. Every minute you're late, the Hale family stock drops one point."
Sharp intake of breath on the other end.
"If it takes more than an hour..."
Lucas's gaze fell on Juliana's pale lips, the murderous intent in his eyes impossible to hide.
"I'll bankrupt the Hale family."
At the Hale Mansion, Bianca gripped her phone, trembling all over.
"The antidote?!" Marcus, who'd been listening, rushed over with bloodshot eyes. "The antidote Lucas wants! Give it to him now!"
"I... I..."
A resounding slap struck her face.
Emily screamed and lunged forward. "Are you insane! Why are you hitting her!"
"Hit her? I want to kill her!" Marcus looked deranged, pointing at Bianca's nose. "I told you to teach her a lesson—who told you to poison her! Now the entire Hale family will go down with you! The antidote! Where is it!"
The blow knocked Bianca's head sideways. Her cheek burned, blood seeping from her lip. Covering her face, she finally broke down sobbing. "I don't have it! I threw it away!"
"Threw it away?" Marcus couldn't believe it.
"I thought she was just some ordinary doctor. How was I supposed to know Lucas would... I was afraid of leaving evidence, so I... I tossed it in a trash can on the roadside..."
Marcus's vision went black. It was over. The Hale family was finished.
At the hospital VIP room, the line representing her heart rate on the monitor grew flatter and flatter, nearly a straight line.
Doctors came in multiple times, only to leave shaking their heads.
"Mr. Sharp, it's been almost an hour. Without the antidote, the patient's central nervous system will completely fail..."
Just then, the door burst open.
David rushed in, forehead slick with sweat, clutching a small sealed glass vial.
"Got it! Quick, give it to her!"
Lucas immediately turned and took the tiny syringe, leaning down to gently pry open Juliana's jaw, trying to feed her the liquid.
But the unconscious woman's teeth remained clenched. He barely managed to open a small gap, only for the medicine to trickle out the corner of her mouth.
"It's not working! The patient has no swallow reflex!" The doctor was frantic, sweating profusely. "What do we do? If she can't take it orally, the medicine is useless!"
David froze too. He looked at Juliana's weakening vital signs on the bed, then at Lucas.
Lucas's gaze locked onto Juliana's face—bloodless and deathly pale.
Several seconds later, he made a decision that dropped everyone's jaw.
He took the syringe and emptied the entire contents into his own mouth.
"Lucas! What are you doing!" David cried out.
Lucas ignored him.
He cradled the back of Juliana's neck with one hand, gripped her chin with the other, and—under the shocked stares of the doctor and David—lowered his head and kissed her.
Parting her lips and teeth, he transferred the medicine-laced liquid bit by bit down her throat.
Lucas grabbed the water glass beside him, took a large mouthful, and used the same method to help her wash it down.
The medicine was in.