“I heard Kai wasn’t feeling well. Is he doing better now?” Zane inquired.
Freya pretended as if nothing had happened, maintaining a calm tone. “Where did you hear that Kai wasn’t feeling well?”
Zane replied, “Aunt Elowen mentioned it.”
Freya feigned surprise, “My mom?”
Suddenly an idea struck her, so she intentionally revealed a flaw.
Zane, hearing her words, questioned anxiously, “Is something really wrong with Kai?”
Coldness flashed in Freya’s eyes; she was surprised that Zane was different from Yolanda. Despite her efforts to influence him, to care for his feelings, and to make him a part of the family, it seemed futile.
“Yes,” she affirmed. “He’s in the hospital. If you’re concerned, you can come and see for yourself.”
“Alright, which hospital? I’ll come right away,” Zane responded.
Freya provided an address and ended the call. Immediately, she dialed Elijah’s number.
“It’s me. Can you send a few capable people my way?”
Elijah instantly grew tense, “What happened?”
“Can you send them?” Freya avoided revealing Kai’s situation, not intending to keep it from Elijah, but because this involved the Stone family. If Zane was truly behind it, Elijah would undoubtedly not spare him.
Of course, if it was Zane, Freya wouldn’t let him off either.
“I can.” Elijah replied.
Freya provided him with the address and then hung up. Elijah found it suspicious. Freya wouldn’t casually ask for help. He pondered for a moment, picked up the phone, and called the driver.
“Bring the driver in.”
“Yes.” The secretary answered the phone and went to handle it.
The driver arrived quickly.
Elijah inquired, “After you dropped off Freya, did she leave the house?”
The driver replied, “She went back home, but there was no one at home. She went to the hospital again.”
Elijah raised an eyebrow, immediately sensing that something was amiss.
…
At the hospital, Freya waited for about half an hour, and Elijah’s people arrived. All of them were skilled bodyguards. Freya needed them not to deal with Zane but to protect Kai.
“Guard here. No matter who it is, without my permission, no one is allowed near this room,” she instructed.
“Yes, when we arrived, Mr. Silverton personally instructed us to follow your orders. If you have any needs, feel free to let us know.”
“I only hope you can protect my child,” Freya said.
“Rest assured.”
Five people arrived, all of them appearing formidable. With arrangements in place, Freya left the ward. She trusted Elijah’s people. As she reached the elevator, Zane arrived. He looked very anxious, “Where’s Kai? I want to see him. How is he doing now?”
Freya gazed at him calmly, attempting to discern any cracks in his facade. His worry appeared partly genuine and partly contrived.
“Zane, come with me,” she walked into the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor.
“What do you need me for?” Zane asked.
Freya responded, “I’ll tell you in a moment.”
Zane said, “Okay,” and didn’t press further.
As the elevator stopped, Freya led him out and headed towards a park behind the hospital. There was a forested area where Freya took him.
“Why did you bring me to a place like this?” Zane asked, puzzled.
When Freya made sure there was no one around, she confronted him, “I want to ask you, are you sure my mom told you about Kai’s discomfort?”
Zane didn’t expect this question, his face instantly changed. Attempting to maintain composure, he said, “Yes, she told me.”
He wasn’t mature enough, nor was he skilled at concealing emotions. His face showed signs of a crack. Freya stared into his eyes. He became nervous, and his gaze averted.
“I instructed my mom that only she and I know about Kai’s discomfort. She promised not to talk, and if she says she won’t, she won’t, especially when it comes to Kai. How did you find out?”
“What does this, this indicate?” Zane forced himself to pull out a smile.
Freya looked at him and said, “If I remember correctly, your first question was whether Kai was feeling unwell. Only my mother and I know that Kai is not feeling well. My mother wouldn’t have said anything, and I haven’t told you before. How did you guess that Kai was feeling unwell?”
Zane was speechless. His eyes shifted left and right. He was nervous and at a loss.
“I…” He wanted to explain, but he couldn’t say it. He was at a loss for words.
Freya didn’t want to hear his explanations.
“Did you tamper with Kai’s formula?” she asked. At this point, she was convinced it was Zane.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t mean to harm your child!” His explanation was incoherent, revealing guilt.
Freya turned cold, “You are father’s only son, inheriting everything from the Stone family. I had no intention of taking it away. I entrusted everything to you. Why would you do this?”
“I didn’t, I truly didn’t!” Even in this situation, Zane still tried to hide and deny.
Freya, without warning, took out a surgical knife and held it against his chest. “I’m a doctor. I can accurately find your heart location. Don’t look at this knife, it’s not big, but if I stick it in, you won’t have time to go to the hospital. I can make you die here and now!”
She called out Zane alone and was prepared. She couldn’t meet him alone in such a secluded place without anything prepared. From the moment she lured Zane out, she had already thought of a plan.
Zane was truly scared, “You, you…”
“You still don’t intend to say it?” Freya pressed.
Zane saw that he couldn’t hide it and said, “I really didn’t mean it. Please trust me…”
“I don’t want to hear this!” Freya interrupted directly. “Speak up, is it because you still have a grudge against me, or are you being commanded by someone?”
Zane immediately shook his head, “I already treat you as family, I really don’t have any grudge against you, I… I was also threatened.”
“Who threatened you?” Freya asked fiercely.
Zane handed over his phone and said, “I don’t know who the other person is. It’s an anonymous message. I can’t find any trace of the other person.”
Freya looked down at the phone and then her brows furrowed. “Isn’t your mother in jail?”
“I went to see her, but she’s not there anymore. I don’t know who sent me the message either. The ID of the message was encrypted, so I couldn’t find anything either.” Zane Stone said honestly, “They used my mother’s life to threaten me, so I couldn’t…”
Freya continued, “So they wanted you to harm Kai?”
Zane nodded, “They sent me the medicine through courier. They seemed to know all my information very accurately. Although they didn’t say what the medicine would do to Kai, I also knew that it wouldn’t be good. So I only took a little bit of the medicine…”
Freya listened with horror and anger.
She couldn’t keep calm and slapped him in the face with all her might. The sound of the slap was clear and sharp.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You think that I will forgive you?” Freya couldn’t keep calm and said angrily, “This won’t end here!”
“I know, it’s all my fault. I apologize.” Zane lowered his head and there was a bright fingerprint on his face.
Freya didn’t accept the apology.
“Okay, tell me then, besides giving Kai the medicine, what else did they ask you to do?”
Zane honestly admitted, “They sent me information about the casino on the ship, asking me to leak it to the media. I think they don’t want to be traced back, so they manipulated me using my mom’s life as a threat.”
Freya thought of Xander’s information; Zane was indeed the one who leaked information to the media.
So, who was behind Zane?
“I understand that I was wrong. Please forgive me,” Zane, now on his knees, begged. “My mom is still in their hands.”
Freya, although still furious, recognized the severity of the situation. “We can’t easily forgive this. Regardless of your reasons, you almost killed my child!”
She almost gnashed her teeth.
“I know.” Zane’s eyes reddened. “I’m afraid for my mom. Even though she has her flaws, she’s still my mother. I can’t ignore her.”
Freya turned away. “We’ll settle this matter later. For now, we need to figure out who these people are. If we’re in the light, and they’re in the dark, we’ll be defenseless!”
Zane nodded vigorously. “Yes, Freya, you’re right.”
Freya tightened her grip on her hands. “You regard me as your sister, yet you didn’t trust me. When something happened, instead of consulting me, you let others manipulate you. You almost harmed Kai. Do you know how small he is?”
Thinking of the suffering Kai endured, she choked up.
“I’m sorry…”
Freya didn’t want to hear apologies now.
“If you receive any instructions again, you must inform me immediately,” she declared.
Zane nodded.
“We have more people, more ways,” Freya said. At this moment, she couldn’t figure out who the perpetrators were. However, they had to act quickly; otherwise, they would be at a constant disadvantage, always vulnerable.
“And now, what do we do? If Kai is fine, they’ll target me again.” Zane said.
“Let’s wait until you get more information. For now, go back,” Freya instructed.
With that, Freya turned and walked away. Kai was alone in the hospital, even though someone was watching over him. She couldn’t feel at ease. Returning to the ward, she saw Elijah sitting by the bedside.