Chapter 267: Surgery
After confirming that Rex was okay, Samuel began his plan.
A phone call was made by Rex to the landline of the overseas villa where Zachary was staying.
Zachary didn't answer the call himself. Rex told the person on the other end about Stanley's condition.
"Mr. Crawford suddenly fell ill and lost consciousness. He's been rushed into the emergency room. The situation doesn't look good, and the lead surgeon is one of Samuel's people. I'm worried something might go wrong. Please tell Zachary to return home as soon as possible."
"Also," he added, "Nash is missing. I can't find him anywhere."
The servant on the other end of the line nodded.
"I'll inform Zachary right away."
The call ended. Rex nodded at Samuel, "Done as you asked."
"Good, thanks for your help."
"No trouble at all. I just don't understand why you're asking him to come back at this time."
"If I don't lure him back, how can I watch the show I want to see?"
Rex was even more confused.
"Rex, you keep resting here. If you need anything, just ask them. If they call back, don't answer."
"Okay."
Samuel quickly left the hospital room and returned to wait outside the operating room.
...
It didn't take long for Zachary to learn the details of that call. His expression turned cold.
"Letting his people operate on Dad - isn't that giving him the perfect excuse to kill Dad openly? What are the Thornfield people doing! How can they let him harm people so brazenly!"
No wonder Rex, who was only loyal to Stanley, would call him.
If he were Rex, he'd be going crazy too right now.
His trusted aide reminded him, "But we definitely can't make it back in time now. Even if we fly directly to Phoenicia, it'll take at least eight hours. By then, Mr. Crawford's funeral might have already started. When we get back, not only will we get nothing, we'll probably be detained by Samuel. The smartest thing for us now is to stay here, wait and see."
Zachary said coldly, "Wait and see? Should I wait until Samuel completely controls the Crawford Group before going back? By then, we'll be completely out of the game!"
"But going back now won't help either."
"Who says it won't help? We can use public opinion against Samuel. You don't understand the situation in Phoenicia - public opinion is a weapon that can harm, or even destroy anyone! "
He ignored his aide's attempts to dissuade him. While having someone prepare the private jet and apply for a flight route to Phoenicia, he called another subordinate and told him to spread news online in Phoenicia at the right time.
Saying that Samuel was trying to kill Stanley.
The man from earlier couldn't help saying, "But what if we're wrong, and Samuel doesn't want to kill Mr. Crawford, but actually wants to cure him?"
Zachary sneered.
"If you were in his position, would you pass up such a great opportunity?"
The aide stayed quiet.
"They are father and son after all."
Zachary’s smile twisted, the mockery in it reaching a new, biting height
"Apart from their blood relation, what father-son bond do they have? Don't forget how Samuel grew up. All these years, my dad has ignored him, just like he ignores me now."
Just one year of "abandonment" and he already hated Stanley to death.
Let alone Samuel who had been abandoned for so many years.
Samuel must hate Stanley just as much as he did, wishing Stanley would die immediately.
They connection they shared stopped at their father, but the lack of mercy was identical.
"Samuel is even more ruthless than I am when it comes to getting things done."
With just this one statement, no one else objected.
Only the man who had initially tried to stop Zachary from returning home looked worried.
He had a bad feeling about this.
So he asked to go back to Phoenicia with Zachary.
Zachary agreed.
Although Stanley had abandoned him overseas, he hadn't cut off his money.
In this place, money could do anything.
For him, a flight request was a purchase. He made a single call, authorized a wire transfer that would have bought a house, and watched the red tape disappear. An hour later, he was walking across the tarmac toward the waiting Gulfstream.
In seven hours, he would arrive in Phoenicia and take over everything from Samuel!
Although he was now an illegitimate son, who could deny he was Stanley's son?
With this identity, it was enough to convince people.
All those years of carefully building connections weren't wasted effort.
When the time came, people would rally to his call. Samuel would not only be stripped of power, but would go to jail.
"He'll pay for it," Zachary muttered. "He's been greedy for too long." He swirled the dark wine in his glass, watching the red stain the crystal.
He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes, his mouth curving into a joyless line.
The entire cabin was filled with a cold atmosphere.
Five hours later, the "Surgery in Progress" sign outside the operating room finally went dark.
Amelia removed the double-layer mask from her face and walked out.
She'd looked fine when she walked in, but now she was a wreck. Her hair was matted to her forehead, and her clothes were dark with sweat.
Samuel was across the room in a second, catching her before her knees could hit the floor.
"How are you? Can you stand? Should I carry you to rest?"
Last time after operating on Quinton, Amelia had fainted. Samuel had been terrified when he found out.
He feared it would happen again.
But last time was due to low blood sugar, plus passing out from lack of oxygen to the brain after prolonged concentration.
Learning from that experience, this time before going in, Amelia had specifically asked for chocolate to boost her energy before starting the surgery.
So she was fine, just a bit tired.
"I'm not going to pass out on you, Samuel. Relax." She leaned into him, the heat of his palms soaking through her damp shirt.
Samuel had been waiting outside the operating room for nearly seven hours.
But when she came out, the first thing he asked about wasn't Stanley, but her.
This behavior seemed like nothing special, but most people couldn't do it.
She pulled herself upright, the exhaustion in her eyes replaced by focus. "The surgery was very successful, but I need to tell you about the process."
Samuel Responded,"I don't know anything about this stuff. You don't have to tell me. First eat something and recover your strength. I had people prepare food. Can you eat a little?"
Amelia was indeed a bit hungry.
She'd entered the operating room at ten-thirty, and now it was already evening.
The sunset's afterglow streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, scattering golden powder all over the floor.
"Let's talk while we eat then."
"Okay."
Samuel nodded and turned to Jeremy, "You handle the others."
Stanley's surgery had to be kept secret, so these doctors all had to be temporarily "invited" to the floor where Rex and Nash were, to make sure no information leaked out.
Amelia added something.
"This surgery wasn't just my achievement. The neurosurgeons, brain surgeons, and anesthesiologists here all helped me tremendously."
Samuel's gaze shifted to Jeremy yet again. "Take good care of the other surgeons. Give them whatever they need."
"Understood."
Jeremy was careful in his work. Amelia felt assured and obediently followed Samuel to eat.
He'd arranged for them to eat at a restaurant across from the hospital.
But it had been reserved, and the food wasn't made by this restaurant - it was from a star-rated hotel further away.
Samuel pushed the bowl toward her, the steam from the broth curling between them. "I've had this a hundred times back at the hotel. It's the only thing that actually tastes like anything. Try it."
Amelia nodded. After drinking half a bowl of chicken soup, she said, "I need to tell you about the surgery process."
This was the second time she'd mentioned it. Samuel's expression became serious.
"Go ahead."
He already knew that when Stanley collapsed, it wasn't because of the tumor in his brain, but because of a sudden spike in blood pressure.
He was also the one who signed the surgery consent form.
"This surgery is called left temporal lobe glioma resection, also commonly known as awake craniotomy."
Samuel was a bit confused by the first part, but after hearing "awake craniotomy," he vaguely understood.
Amelia continued."It's exactly what it sounds like. During the surgery, we need to wake him up and have him cooperate. He was very uncooperative at first, so I used some scare tactics. So when he wakes up, he'll probably be angry. You might need to help me explain."
Samuel's heart raced as he considered what might have happened if Stanley hadn't cooperated.
"He's very stubborn, the most stubborn person I've ever met. As long as it gets him to cooperate, whatever method you used was right."
"But he'll definitely hold a grudge against me for it, so you need to help me explain."
Samuel nodded. "A successful surgery is the best explanation. Don't worry, he's stubborn, but he's not stupid. As long as you explain the reasoning to him, he'll understand."
"Really?"
"Even if he doesn't understand, he'll have to. After all, you succeeded with the surgery. You saved his life - he'll only be grateful to you."
Amelia breathed a sigh of relief.
"Besides that, did you encounter any other dangers during the surgery?"
He originally didn't want to know about the surgery process, because he knew nothing about medicine. Listening wouldn't help him understand, and would just waste Amelia's energy.
But Amelia was very good at explaining things. She could simplify difficult matters, and listening to her wasn't boring.
Samuel leaned back, his eyes narrowing as he replayed the last seven hours. He needed Stanley to see exactly how thin the line could have been if someone else held that scalpel.
Amelia described it truthfully.
"There was one major bleeding incident during the process. You know, the reason his surgery was so difficult was because the tumor was close to an artery."
"I was very careful in handling it, avoiding that artery."
"But unexpectedly, there was a hidden vein nearby."
"My assistant accidentally ruptured that vein while helping me."
"Fortunately, it was a close call. I performed vascular suturing in time."
Her tone was calm, but her words were enough to make someone break out in a cold sweat.
Samuel held her hand and said, "Amelia, you're his lifesaver. If he still blames you after this, I won't acknowledge him as my father anymore."
"I've never seen a son cut ties with his father."
"Well, now you have."
"Eat up. You like chicken wings, so I had them make them sweet, the way you like."
Amelia nodded and continued eating.
After dinner, Samuel told her about his plan to deal with Zachary.