Chapter 518: Odette
"Elijah, how can you even say something like that?"
Lowell sneered. Even now, he still clearly remembered how determined Elijah had been when he abandoned him and his mother.
Back then, he had cried and screamed, chasing after him, trying to make Elijah stay.
He had desperately shouted, "Dad, don't leave me, please come back!"
But in the end? He couldn't save anything.
A couple of years ago, Elijah had come looking for him, saying he wanted to acknowledge him as his son again.
But he had refused.
His father had died long ago. The current Elijah was just someone who looked exactly like his biological father, nothing more.
He didn't want to acknowledge Elijah as his father anymore.
Elijah opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself again, but Lowell was already too tired to listen.
He gritted his teeth, rushed forward, and grabbed Lowell's hand, begging desperately, "Lowell, can you really bear to watch your dad get arrested?"
"If your mom's soul saw you ignoring me like this, she'd definitely be heartbroken, wouldn't she?"
Hearing Elijah say this, something flickered in Lowell's eyes.
Elijah's heart leaped with joy, and he continued, "Back then, I didn't actually mean to abandon you. I just wanted to give you a better life, so I had no choice but to leave."
Lowell sneered, "Do you think I'm still a kid who's easy to fool?"
If he had heard these words as a child, he definitely would have believed them without hesitation.
But now, he just found them fake.
Elijah's face darkened after being rejected.
If it weren't for avoiding those chasing him, how could he possibly put up with this?
But thinking of the people hunting him outside, he could only force down the anger in his heart.
"Lowell, I'm begging you. You know me—if I wasn't desperate, I would never come to you."
Lowell closed his eyes tightly. "Just tonight. You leave first thing tomorrow morning."
This was the biggest compromise he could make for Elijah.
"Okay!" Elijah agreed happily, but inside, he was thinking that once there was one compromise, there would be countless more.
He knew his own son.
Elijah knew better than anyone that although Lowell seemed cold on the surface, he was actually the softest-hearted.
So he settled into Lowell's apartment without any guilt.
The next morning, Benjamin drove Sophia to Harmony Hospital and then went to work.
As soon as Sophia walked into the hospital, she heard many nurses and doctors gathered together, quietly discussing something.
As Sophia passed by, she caught some of what they were saying—apparently, a new doctor had arrived at the hospital.
This doctor was a well-known medical expert from abroad, with excellent credentials and good looks.
Sophia continued walking inside, planning to check on Francis in his room first.
Last night, after she got home, a hospital nurse had called her to say that Francis's condition had stabilized.
Francis was probably awake by now.
She walked to the door of the room and was about to open it when the door was suddenly pushed open from inside.
Sophia froze and saw a woman in a white coat standing at the door, with striking, alluring features.
The other woman also froze when she saw Sophia, then slowly broke into a smile.
"You must be Sophia. Hello, I'm Odette Chambers."
"Hello." Sophia shook her hand in greeting.
Odette smiled. "Francis is awake. He just mentioned you. Go in and see him."
Sophia nodded and immediately went inside.
Seeing Sophia appear, Francis immediately broke into a smile.
"Sophia, you're here?"
Yesterday, he had been too sick and had passed out, so he had no awareness during the surgery.
When he woke up, he was told the surgery had been successful.
He had guessed right away that Harold must have asked Sophia to come.
He knew his own condition well—only Sophia could cure him.
"Francis, how are you feeling? Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?"
Francis slowly shook his head. Aside from his pale complexion, he hardly looked like a patient.
"I'm fine. I heard from the other doctors and nurses that your surgical skills are getting stronger and stronger."
Sophia felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and waved her hand with a smile. "I still have a lot to learn. Aren't you afraid I'll get cocky if you praise me like this?"
Francis laughed. "There's nothing wrong with capable people being a little proud."
He suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, I heard the GeneCipher Society has been taken down? I heard there were some victimized children, too."
Sophia nodded. "Yes, some children have been picked up by their parents. For the other homeless children, Benjamin and I set up a charity fund to support them."
Francis nodded. "You did well."
After chatting for a bit longer, Sophia suddenly brought up Odette.
Francis explained, "She used to be my student too. She dropped out midway, then went abroad to study, and just came back recently."
When talking about Odette, Francis's tone was full of emotion.
Speaking of students other than Sophia, the one who left the deepest impression on him was Odette.
She had great talent in medicine, but then her family went through some troubles, and she dropped out.
After that, he never heard from her again.
Until this morning, when he woke up to find Odette sitting by his bedside.
They had talked for a long time, but Odette seemed very unwilling to talk about the past.
"She'll probably stay here from now on. You can look out for each other."
Francis felt his life could be complete now.
Sophia and Odette were both students he really liked. As long as they worked together, they would definitely achieve something in the future.
He just didn't know if his physical condition would last long enough to see that day.