Chapter 119 Pretending to Faint

Meanwhile, Ryan had already carried Amelia to the shore.

Amelia was soaked and shivering, her hair dripping wet. She sneezed twice in a row. Ryan grabbed the jacket he had tossed on the ground earlier and wrapped it around her.

Sophia had been pulling her into the water, making Amelia accidentally swallow some dirty water. Her stomach felt terrible, and she just wanted to throw up.

Ryan patted her back, helping her get rid of the dirty water from her stomach. Then he bent down and lifted her up, ready to find a room where she could change clothes.

Behind them, Sophia's weak voice called out, "Ryan!"

But Ryan didn't even look back. He quickly carried Amelia to an empty room with a bathroom. He brought her inside and told her to take a shower. He also took out his phone to call Emory, asking for some clean clothes to be brought over.

By the pond, Christopher had dragged Sophia to the shore. She could swim, which was why she had dared to pull such a stunt.

Seeing everyone was safe, Royce clutched his chest, looking like he might faint. Luckily, someone was there to support him, but his lips were still pale.

Sophia was scared. She timidly approached Royce, holding his hand, and anxiously asked the people around, "Is my grandpa okay?"

Christopher heard Sophia's question. He looked up and gave her a cold stare. "If something happens to Royce, you'll be the murderer!"

Tears streamed down Sophia's face, filled with regret. She had only wanted to see who meant more to Royce—her or Amelia. She couldn't stand hearing him praise Amelia every day, nor could she tolerate how Amelia's rough behavior seemed to have no effect on her public image. In her distress, Sophia called out, "Grandpa."

But Royce's hand was cold and wrinkled.

A sense of dread crept into Sophia's heart, and she cried even harder. "Grandpa, don't leave me!"

Christopher found her noisy and scolded, "If you want to cry, go somewhere else!"

His stern face scared Sophia into silence.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, stood up, and instinctively reached into her pocket for her phone to call an ambulance.

But after searching for a while, she remembered her phone was dead and charging in the house. She turned and ran to get it.

Once Sophia was gone, Christopher patted Royce's shoulder and said, "She's gone, Mr. Greer. You can open your eyes now."

Royce slowly opened his eyes, looking slightly confused. "How did you know I was pretending?" he asked.

Christopher stood up, wringing out his wet clothes.

Royce smiled awkwardly. "Sophia has been spoiled by us since she was little. She likes everyone to revolve around her. If I don't scare her, she'll dare to do this again."

Christopher raised an eyebrow slightly. "You guessed it was her?"

Royce nodded and slowly walked forward.

Christopher asked, "How did you figure it out?"

Royce replied slowly, "Amelia is cautious and wouldn't accidentally fall into the water. Sophia can swim and wouldn't drown. Both falling into the water at the same time is clearly Sophia's ploy for attention. Amelia is steady, but Sophia is competitive. It's easy to deduce that Sophia was behind it."Christopher smirked. "You see things pretty clearly."

Royce thought back to some old memories and said, "I have two daughters, Serenity and Jessa. My eldest, Serenity, is like Amelia—steady and gentle. My second, Jessa, is like Sophia—competitive and strong-willed. They've been fighting for attention since they were kids. I've had plenty of practice."

His smile faded as he remembered his eldest daughter, Serenity, who was now in a mental health facility.

Seeing this, Christopher didn't say anything, just reached out to support him as they walked back.

Passing by a side room, Royce said, "You should change your clothes too."

"Alright," Christopher agreed, realizing his soaked clothes made him look pretty rough.

They then entered the room.

Royce pointed to the landline and recited Sophia's phone number to Christopher. "Call Sophia and tell her not to call an ambulance."

Christopher nodded, then dialed Sophia's number. In a cold voice, he said, "Don't call an ambulance."

Sophia was stunned. "Why?"

"It's not necessary." Christopher hung up immediately.

To Sophia, it sounded like Royce couldn't be saved even with emergency help.

She didn't even bother to change her clothes. She ran into the living room, grabbed Jessa's hand, and pulled her outside, all the way to the yard.

Jessa's wrist hurt from the pulling. "What are you doing? Why are you in such a panic?" she asked.

"Mom, Grandpa's in trouble!" Sophia's tears kept falling.

Jessa frowned. "Sophia, can you speak properly? It's his birthday today. Crying like this is bad luck."

Sophia choked up as she recounted the events of competing for attention with Amelia, kicking Amelia into the water, and Royce fainting. She continued crying, "Christopher just called me and said there's no need to call an ambulance."

"What?" Jessa was shocked.

Sophia said, "Grandpa's dead."

Jessa was furious. "How could you be so foolish! If something happens to Grandpa, I'll make you pay!"

Sophia saw that even Jessa, who usually favored her, was now against her. Her resentment towards Amelia grew. She argued, "If Amelia hadn't competed with me for Grandpa's attention, I wouldn't have tested him, and he wouldn't have fainted."

Jessa's head was about to explode. "Stop talking nonsense! Where is he? Take me to him!"

The two hurriedly ran to the pond, but the courtyard was empty.

Sophia dialed the number Christopher had called from, but no one answered. They were completely panicked, searching everywhere.

In another side room, Amelia came out of the shower, wrapped in a large towel, and sat on the bed.

Seeing this, Ryan handed her a bowl of medicine. Amelia obediently drank it, and Ryan said calmly, "After we left, Royce fainted. Christopher said he was pretending to scare Sophia so she'd learn a lesson. We don't need to worry."

Hearing this, Amelia couldn't help but laugh. It was Royce's birthday, but he pretended to be dead. How childish!