The moment the subject came up, Niamh couldn’t help but glance at Jonathan, Her eyes were rimmed red,
Jonathan’s face showed no emotion. Still, his grip on the mug tightened until his fingernails dug painfully into his palm.
“It was Jonathan himself who ended that child’s life… He’s also the reason I can never have children again–he’s the one who damaged my uterus beyond repair…”
Crash!
From the front door of the house came the sharp clatter of something hard hitting the polished wooden floor, snapping everyone’s attention to the entryway.
“Grandpa!”
Jonathan shot up from the couch.
Niamh never expected Clifford to show up at Verdant Lake Estates. Much less at this exact moment, just as she was saying those words.
“Nia… Did you… Is what you just said true?”
Clifford’s eyes were wide with disbelief, his entire body trembling.
“Jonathan was the one who… who killed your child? And he… he made it so you
can never-”
Before he could finish, Clifford clutched his chest with a strangled cry.
“Grandpa!”
Niamh reached him first, steadying his collapsing body. She quickly fished a bottle of nitroglycerin tablets from his coat and slipped one beneath his tongue.
Meanwhile, Jonathan was already on the phone, dialing 911.
Because of the snow, the ambulance took a little longer to arrive. When it finally did, Clifford was rushed to/Harmony General Hospital.
His situation was dire–he needed an emergency heart bypass. The procedure was risky.
Sprague, agitated, refused to let just any local doctor handle it.
Clifford was the backbone of the Thomas family. Nothing could be left to chance.
1/3
14:42
Chapter 298
“Didn’t we have a world–class cardiologist from Aldonia? What was his name-?”
“Nestor Benson.”
Niamh’s voice cut through the tense hush of the hospital corridor. It was the first time she’d spoken since Clifford had been wheeled away.
Sprague’s glare toward Niamh intensified. If it hadn’t been for her big mouth, Clifford wouldn’t be on an operating table fighting for his life.
“If anything happens to the old man-”
He strode over to Niamh, hand raised for a slap.
But the blow never landed.
Jonathan appeared behind him, catching Sprague’s wrist mid–air with one hand.
For a split second, Jonathan’s and Niamh’s eyes met. Then she looked away, her face pale and closed off.
Jonathan’s expression was cold as ice.
He released Sprague’s arm, and Sprague lowered his hand. Jonathan spoke quietly, “I’ll get in touch with Nestor. The doctors said the surgery needs to happen within ten hours…”
With that, he stepped away to find somewhere private to make the call.
Sprague paced anxiously up and down the hallway.
Marigold tried to soothe him, though she wasn’t pretending–she was worried about Clifford, too. If Clifford died, the Thomas family business would never be the same. This disaster had dropped on them out of nowhere, and Marigold’s resentment toward Niamh only grew.
“Ungrateful wretch. Bad luck follows you wherever you go. After everything Grandpa’s done for you, this is how you repay him.”
Niamh said nothing. She didn’t have the heart for a fight.
Not long after, Jonathan returned, looking grim.
“I spoke to Nestor. He’s in Coralis right now, but if he leaves immediately, ne can be here in under three hours…
”
Sprague’s eyes lit with hope. “Then-”
14:42 @
Chapter 298
“But he refused to come.”
As the words left Jonathan’s lips, Sprague’s face twisted in panic.
“Offer him more. Whatever it takes, the Thomas family will pay.”
Jonathan shook his head, jaw set. “Nestor isn’t interested in money.”
At that moment, he realized Niamh was no longer in the corridor.
She’d slipped away without anyone noticing.
Outside Building Three, beneath the shadow of the wall, Niamh was on her phone. It rang twice before the call connected.
She spoke quietly, “Hello? Dr. Benson-”
“Call me cousin.”
