Chapter 221
"Amelia, let's go! We're going to the hospital where Mrs. Alicia Percy is staying!"
Though Amelia didn't understand my meaning, she still followed me.
Tammy and the bodyguard followed close behind.
Once in the car, Amelia asked me in confusion, "Cindy, why do you suddenly want to visit Grandmother? Should we call Leopold? Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you."
"Don't call him." I looked at her. "I suspect Irma is targeting Mrs. Alicia Percy."
"What!" Amelia was shocked by my theory. "How would she know which hospital my grandmother is in? And why would she go looking for Grandmother?"
"I know my idea sounds absurd, but my instinct tells me Irma is going after Mrs. Alicia Percy. As for everything else, we'll understand once we see her."
Amelia still couldn't quite grasp it, but she didn't ask further questions.
When we rushed to Alicia's hospital room, we heard voices inside.
Amelia pushed the door open first, her expression immediately darkening. "Irma, what are you doing in my grandmother's room?"
I walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder inside. I saw Irma standing up from a chair, looking at Amelia with nervous constraint.
Alicia, sitting on the hospital bed, looked toward Amelia. "Amelia, you know her?"
"Grandmother, she's a dancer in my company." Amelia explained.
"I see." Alicia was about to say something more when she unexpectedly caught sight of me behind Amelia. Her eyes immediately turned cold. "Lucinda, you came too? Are you here to see if I'm dead yet?"
Her words were pointedly aggressive. Anyone could hear she didn't want to see me.
"Grandmother, Cindy came with good intentions to visit you. How can you..." Before Amelia could finish, Alicia coldly interrupted. "I'm old, not dead. It's not your place to tell me what to do!"
Amelia's expression soured as she fell silent.
"Mrs. Alicia Percy, if you don't want to see me, I can leave, but there's no need to make things difficult for Amelia," I explained calmly.
Alicia snorted coldly. "If I'd known this jinx was coming today, I wouldn't have gone downstairs for a walk earlier. Then I wouldn't have twisted my ankle or nearly made a fool of myself."
"Grandmother, you twisted your ankle downstairs because your caretaker wasn't careful. What does that have to do with Cindy?" Amelia couldn't help defending me again.
Alicia flared up. "You ungrateful child! Who exactly is your blood relative? How can you keep siding with an outsider!"
Amelia's momentum weakened a bit, but she still said quietly, "I side with what's right, not with family."
"Heartless!" Alicia grew even angrier. She tried to sit up, but pulled at her injury and fell back down.
"Mrs. Alicia Percy, please be careful. Don't hurt yourself." Irma, who had been silent until now, quickly moved to support her.
Her tone and phrasing were identical to Sophia's from before.
Except Irma wasn't as good at hiding it as Sophia. Her triumph and calculation were written plainly in her eyes.
"Thank you." Alicia imperceptibly avoided her touch.
"Mrs. Alicia Percy, since you're my elder, I'll let today's incident go." I reminded Alicia calmly. "But if there's a next time, I won't be so easy to talk to."
Alicia scoffed coldly. "When have you ever been easy to talk to? When have you ever had a pleasant expression when seeing me?"
I smiled faintly. "I've always treated people according to how they treat me. If you feel I've offended you, it means you've been offending me all along."
"You!" Alicia angrily pointed at me. "You're becoming more and more lawless."
I didn't care in the slightest. "Since you don't want to see me, I won't disturb you anymore."
With that, I turned and left.
Not long after I went downstairs, Amelia also came out fuming.
The moment she got in the car, she couldn't help complaining, "I really don't know what my grandmother is thinking! One Sophia wasn't enough—now she's chatting with Irma too. Has she gone senile?"
I shook my head gently. "Mrs. Alicia Percy hasn't gone senile. She's too shrewd, if anything."
Amelia looked completely confused. "Cindy, why do you say that?"
"Mrs. Alicia Percy has always wanted to choose an obedient, easily controlled wife for Leopold, which is why she picked Sophia and Irma, who act sweet around her. That way, she can control Leopold by suppressing his wife."
Before, I hadn't understood why both Donovan and Alicia were good to Leopold, yet Leopold was closer to Donovan.
Now I understood. It was because all of Alicia's kindness toward Leopold came with conditions.
As long as Leopold didn't obey or show filial piety, she would reach out to those around him.
After hearing my words, Amelia was silent for a long time.
Seeing her like this, I couldn't help reflecting. Had my words been too blunt? Had I hurt her? "Amelia?"
Amelia suddenly looked up at me. "Cindy, you're right. When my parents used to fight, I was afraid my mom would lose out, so I'd go ask Grandmother for help. But Grandmother would say my mom wasn't virtuous or gentle enough, that she didn't put her heart into taking care of my dad."
"I wanted to argue, but Grandmother said I was unfilial, that my mom hadn't raised me properly, which is why my dad was disappointed in her and wouldn't come home."
"For a while, I wondered if it really was my fault. Now I'm certain—it's not my problem, and it's not my mom's problem either."
Remembering the last time at the hospital when David and Harper's relationship seemed to have hit rock bottom, I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. "You're right. This isn't your problem. Amelia, just listen to Mrs. Alicia Percy's words and let them go. Don't take them to heart."
Amelia gripped my hand tightly. "I know. When I get back tonight, I'll tell my mom to divorce my dad. Dad hasn't had Mom in his heart for a long time. Rather than having Mom passively endure it, she should escape this quagmire early."
Since this concerned the Percy family affairs, I couldn't take a position. I could only say, "As long as you've thought it through."
Amelia couldn't wait. She got out of the car directly in the city center and took a taxi back to her own home.
Before leaving, she specifically told me, "That Irma not only knows what you wore the first time Leopold saw you, but also knows which hospital Grandmother is in. Someone must be coaching her from behind the scenes."
"I suspect they're planning something against the Percy family. Have Leopold investigate her too and figure out her identity as soon as possible."
This was exactly what I wanted to do. "Don't worry, I'll tell him."
I watched Amelia disappear into the distance. Seeing it was still early, I was about to have the bodyguards take me to the dance company when my phone suddenly vibrated.
It was a call from Ethan.
I hung up directly. Then I said to Tammy and the bodyguard, "I pre-ordered two gifts at this mall. Could you get out and pick them up for me?"
Tammy and the bodyguard exchanged glances, looking somewhat hesitant. "Ms. Wipere, but Mr. Percy instructed that you can't be left alone."
I said calmly, "It's just picking something up. Round trip won't take more than five minutes. I'll be fine. Just hurry."
Seeing the two of them still not moving, I added weight to my tone. "What, my words don't count? Should I call Leopold right now and have him tell you?"
"No need. We'll go right away."
I handed the receipt to Tammy. She quickly pulled the bodyguard out of the car with her.
Only after they'd gone far enough did I return the call.
"Cindy, is this a good time? I have something very important to tell you." Before I could speak, Ethan's voice came through.