Chapter 357 Setting Conditions

Chapter 357 Setting Conditions

"Thank you."

Daniela said gratefully.

Years of professional experience had trained her to stay calm under pressure, but at this moment, Oliver's words and actions made her heart feel warm.

Oliver nodded slightly, but only held Riley tighter in his arms.

"Uncle, I can hardly breathe."

Riley struggled free from Oliver's embrace and lifted her head from his chest.

She blinked her big eyes at Sunny, who was wearing an oxygen mask.

"Is he dead?"

Riley, whose concept of life and death was still quite vague, suddenly blurted this out.

Oliver was shocked, silently thinking this was bad. His brother's parenting philosophy was way too progressive - as long as Riley dared to ask, that father dared to answer, so that at only two years old, Riley's head was already filled with too much random stuff.

"Don't talk nonsense, he's just sleeping."

Oliver said in a low voice, reaching out as if to cover Riley's mouth.

The little one was clever and pushed Oliver's hand away, completely breaking free from his embrace.

"Daniela."

Riley called out in a sweet childlike voice.

Daniela's head was a bit foggy right now. She knew Justin was scheming against her, and she knew she needed to be on guard, but now, with Sunny actually collapsed in front of her, her heart wasn't calm at all.

"Mm."

Daniela responded.

She looked up to see Riley blinking those big eyes at her, and she reached out to pat Riley's fuzzy little head.

"What's wrong with him?"

Riley asked like a little adult.

Oliver reached out to pull Riley back, "Be good, come here to me."

The ambulance space was cramped, and Sunny's situation was special. Oliver knew Daniela's mind was in chaos, and he couldn't bear to let Riley disturb her.

"Don't bother me, I'm talking to Daniela."

Riley turned her head back, glaring fiercely at Oliver.

Then she threw herself into Daniela's arms, "Don't be scared, I'll keep you company."

She was just a tiny bundle, snuggling in Daniela's embrace.

Daniela reached out to hold Riley, burying her head against the little one's back and nuzzling it, "Thank you, Riley."

Before, no matter what happened, she always dealt with it and faced it alone.

But now, she had Oliver by her side, and Riley too.

Although they hadn't done anything, the power of their companionship felt heavy in her heart.

At the hospital, Sunny had already been wheeled into the emergency room for examination.

"Give me your phone, I'll call him."

Oliver reached out his hand to Daniela.

She had sent Justin messages and called him, but he didn't reply to messages or answer calls - clearly on purpose.

"Forget it."

Daniela said coldly.

She didn't like asking people for favors. If the other party really wanted to dig a pit for her, she could only jump in and then figure out how to climb back out.

"Why forget it? I can't just let him get away with this."

Oliver reached out again. When Daniela didn't move, he took the phone from her hand and pulled up Justin's number.

The call went through, but same as before.

Oliver's anger immediately surged in his chest.

He called three times in a row, and the other party simply ignored it.

Soon, the emergency room door opened, and a doctor in a white coat walked out.

"Who is Sunny's family member?"

Daniela stepped forward, "That's me."

"The patient's condition is very critical right now. We need to complete the admission procedures immediately. Also, how is the bone marrow transplant coming along? With his current condition, we can't delay any longer, or his life will be in danger."

"What bone marrow transplant?" Daniela frowned and asked.

"He has leukemia. Don't you know? This disease is very dangerous and requires an immediate bone marrow transplant. You're his relative, right? Have you done bone marrow matching?"

At this moment, Daniela completely understood.

This was the trap Justin had dug for her.

The doctor urged again: "Hurry up, you can wait, but he can't."

Daniela didn't make a sound, her hands clenched into tight fists.

"Daniela, this has nothing to do with you, don't get involved."

Oliver knew Daniela's temperament and quickly reminded her.

Soon, Sunny was wheeled out from inside, still unconscious.

The admission procedures were completed.

Riley had long since fallen asleep, now curled up on the sofa, sleeping soundly.

Daniela stood by the window, her face calm.

After almost twenty years of not seeing each other, she never expected that when they finally met, that person wasn't here to make up for fatherly love, but to take her bone marrow, and even in such a disgraceful way.

If it were her previous style, she would definitely choose to ignore it.

Not being held hostage meant not being hurt.

But Sunny wasn't just anyone - he was her younger brother, they shared the same blood.

"Daniela, you should go back. I'll stay here."

Oliver said with concern.

He hoped Daniela could extract herself from this situation, but it didn't seem that simple.

Daniela took a deep breath, "He's my brother. You go back. Riley is tired, take her home."

Oliver's gaze swept over to Riley sleeping on the sofa, "He's your brother, but you don't have much connection with him. His illness is his business, or rather, his parents' business. Finding bone marrow isn't that difficult. If they love this son, they should actively search for bone marrow for him, not dump him here and threaten their own daughter in such a despicable way."

"I'm not his daughter."

Daniela corrected him.

She just felt like a huge stone was pressing on her heart.

After being schemed against, it wasn't that she had no anger in her heart, just endless sorrow.

"Since you're not his daughter, you have even less obligation to take this risk. They don't deserve it."

Oliver's words were a bit harsh.

"But he's my brother, Mr. Oliver. Some things you might not understand. The grievances between my mom and him, the bond between him and me - none of this has anything to do with him. My mom's misfortune, my misfortune - none of it was caused by him. I admit, when I first learned of his existence, I resented him, but when I saw how hard his life was, so young yet tormented by illness, my heart ached for him."

Actually, at that moment, Oliver already knew that Daniela had made her decision.

He took a deep breath, "Okay, I respect your decision, but Justin must make a statement."

"Zach, help me find someone."

Oliver pulled out his phone and called Zachary directly.

"Make it quick, Quinley and I are watching a movie."

On the other end, Zachary's voice was very low.

"Justin, I need to find him immediately."

"Who?"

"Daniela's biological father."

After Oliver finished speaking, there was silence on the other end, then the call quickly hung up.

Finding someone in Rosewood City was the easiest thing in the world, especially for Zachary.

So in less than twenty minutes, Justin called Oliver back.

"Mr. Oliver, I heard you were looking for me. Sorry about that, I was busy with something today, so I didn't get your calls."

Justin shamelessly made up a bunch of lame excuses on the other end.

Oliver had no patience to listen to his stories.

"If you don't get to the hospital within half an hour, I'll make your company disappear from Rosewood City."

Just this one sentence was devastating enough.

Justin's voice trembled as he responded: "Okay, I'll be right there."

By the window, Daniela and Oliver both stood tall, neither saying a word.

Outside the hospital room door, there suddenly came a rush of hurried footsteps, chaotic and hasty.

Soon, the door was pushed open from outside, and Justin and Caroline appeared in the room looking panicked.

"Sunny, Sunny, what's wrong with you?"

Caroline cried out, rushing toward Sunny on the bed.

Justin's eyes were fixed on Sunny in the bed, but his feet walked toward Oliver.

"Mr. Oliver, I'm really sorry, I really had something going on today, I..."

Before he could finish, Oliver raised his hand, signaling him to shut up.

"We brought him to the hospital. Now, we should go."

As he spoke, he bent down and scooped up the sleeping Riley, then grabbed Daniela's arm and headed for the door.

"Mr. Oliver, please don't leave."

Justin quickly moved to block them.

Oliver shot him a murderous look, "Let go, or else—"

Justin was so frightened he immediately released his grip.

He looked at Daniela as if pleading for help, "Daniela, I..."

"Justin, you're really something. Twenty years ago you abandoned Daniela, and twenty years later you come back to dig a pit for your own daughter. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be a father."

After Oliver finished speaking, he pulled Daniela toward the exit.

In the hospital room, Caroline's crying continued nonstop.

When Oliver and Daniela were waiting for the elevator, Caroline rushed out.

She dropped to her knees in front of Daniela with a thud, "Daniela, it's all my fault, everything is my fault. If you want to hate someone, blame me. Sunny is my life, I just need him to live. Your father won't ask you, so I'm asking. You can take all your anger out on me, just please save Sunny."

She grabbed Daniela's sleeve, saying these emotional words.

Oliver's brow furrowed. The elevator arrived at this floor, and he pushed Caroline away.

"Now you know you were wrong? Where were you before?"

When the elevator reached the first floor and Oliver and Daniela stepped out, they unexpectedly ran into Zachary and Quinley at the hospital entrance.

Quinley quickly stepped forward and took Riley from Oliver.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jennings."

Daniela greeted them with red eyes.

Zachary walked over and patted her shoulder, "Why didn't you tell us about something this big?"

Daniela hung her head without speaking.

Quinley walked over and linked her arm through Daniela's, "Let's go, we'll head home first."

The car drove toward Maple Estate, the atmosphere in the cabin heavy.

When they arrived home, Martha had already come out to greet them.

"What a coincidence today, everyone coming home together! I just made soup."

Martha wiped her hands on her apron.

Quinley said, "Martha, you just got out of the hospital, rest more. Don't worry about the housework."

"I'm used to it, I'm not tired. Come inside quickly."

She turned her gaze to Daniela, who slightly avoided it.

She moved closer to Oliver and lowered her voice, "Don't tell my mom about today."

"Okay."

Oliver responded.

Sure enough, after everyone went inside, Martha found an excuse to pull Daniela aside.

"Where did you go today?"

"Work stuff." Daniela said dismissively.

During dinner, Riley woke up.

"Weren't we at the hospital? When did we come home? I don't remember at all."

Her casual remark sent a chill down Daniela's spine.

"Why did Riley go to the hospital today?"

Martha happened to be bringing soup from the kitchen and asked with a puzzled look.

Just as Riley was about to answer, Oliver panicked and stuffed a peeled tangerine into Riley's mouth.

"This tangerine is so sweet, Riley, you'll love it."

Riley's mouth was small, blocked by the tangerine, unable to speak for a moment.

Her little short legs kept kicking as she spread her arms seeking help from Quinley.

Oliver winked at Quinley and picked Riley up.

"Haha, now you know how tough your uncle is, right?" He started playing with Riley, carrying her toward the back garden.

Martha still stood by the table, looking at Daniela with confusion.

"Riley is too hyperactive, we took her to the hospital for a checkup, worried it might be ADHD."

Martha looked relieved, "It's normal for kids to be lively and active. Don't make such a big fuss. Besides, Riley is great just the way she is."

In the back garden, Riley kept squirming in Oliver's arms.

"Riley, we have to keep today's hospital visit a secret from Martha, or else Daniela is done for."

There's that word "done" again!

Riley didn't understand what "done for" really meant.

"Like that uncle?" The tangerine in her mouth had long been swallowed.

"Yes." Oliver nodded.

Riley didn't have a concept of life and death, but a person lying motionless in bed didn't seem fun at all.

"Then you have to take me to the amusement park tomorrow, or I'll tell Granny."

When it came to making deals, Riley had been gifted since childhood.

Oliver had no choice but to pinky promise with her, "Okay, we'll go tomorrow."

Before bed, Martha reminded her again, "Don't let my words go in one ear and out the other. Don't contact those people, he's not a good person, he'll hurt you."

Martha had hatred for Justin, and Daniela understood that.

She had no interest in caring about the previous generation's grievances.

"I know."

She responded impatiently and turned off the bedside lamp. But when she closed her eyes, she couldn't shake Sunny's image from her mind.

His clear eyes, affectionate smile, frail body.

If everything Justin did was an act, then Sunny was playing himself.

She wasn't someone overflowing with empathy, but if a person could help another person within their ability, wasn't that also a kind of responsibility and joy?

If Sunny weren't her biological brother, if her bone marrow could save that person's life, she would definitely step forward.

On this dark night, Daniela made a decision.

The next day, Riley woke up early and insisted on waking Oliver from his sleep.

"You promised yesterday to take me to the amusement park. If you don't take me, I'll tell Granny right now."

She stood with her hands on her hips, fiercely threatening Oliver.

He opened his eyes groggily, his head in a fog.

Oliver never expected that the first woman in this world to have him completely under her thumb wasn't his mother, wasn't his girlfriend, but his little niece.

"Okay, we'll go in a bit."

He said unhappily.

"You also have to take me for ice cream."

Riley continued making demands. Naturally, she wanted to taste all the delicious food she could think of.

Of course, this was a secret between her and Oliver. Besides playing, there was naturally plenty of eating and drinking.

"Fine, go out first, I need to change."

Oliver had no way to deal with her and could only comply.

When Oliver was taking Riley out, Daniela also left.

"Where are you going?"

Martha followed her out.

"Daniela is going to the amusement park with us."

Riley shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Yeah."

Daniela responded.

She wasn't good at lying, and the hand gripping her bag strap was extremely nervous.

However, after leaving Maple Estate, she got out of the car halfway.