Evelyn didn’t respond but entered the room instead.
Zebulon had just awakened, weakly leaning against the bedside. His lips were pale, but his eyes were sharp as he scanned between Shirley, Mia, and the others.
“Grandpa.” Mia hurriedly stepped forward to Zebulon, a look of concern on her face, “It’s all my fault. I didn’t take the initiative to have the doctor examine Evelyn’s prescription beforehand, which led to such a big trouble for you.”
“I know Evelyn didn’t mean to. Grandpa, can you forgive her this time? After all, she had good intentions,” she pleaded.
Evelyn remained silent, pondering when it became her fault?
“Mia, my biggest mistake was not keeping a closer eye on you, allowing you the chance to harm Grandpa.”
Mia looked astonished, “Evelyn, what… what are you saying? In the entire Taylor family, Grandpa is the person I admire the most. How could I possibly harm him?”
“I know you’ve always had misunderstandings about me, but in such a big matter, you can’t…”
Mia started crying with a helpless expression.
Evelyn coldly sneered, yet before she could speak, Shirley stepped forward to protect Mia, “For so many years, it was Mia who accompanied Grandpa. Evelyn, where were you during that time?”
“It was the medicine you provided that caused trouble for Grandpa. How can you blame Mia? Where’s your conscience?”
“Conscience?” Evelyn’s face turned cold, “My conscience is on a piece of chocolate cake.”
At that moment, a knock on the door announced, a servant carrying a chocolate cake arrived.
Mia’s expression changed instantly, “How… how did you get that?” Realizing she spoke too much, she quickly covered her lips.
A moment later, she whispered again, “Why did Evelyn bring a piece of cake when Grandpa just woke up and couldn’t eat something greasy?”
“Heh,” Evelyn looked at Mia’s skillful act of pretending ignorance and chuckled. “Did you forget? You brought this cake. Grandpa couldn’t eat chocolate while taking the medicine. Didn’t you know?”
Upon hearing this, the seriousness on Zebulon’s face turned to anger.
“I… I…” Mia was at a loss for words, guilt filling her eyes. “Grandpa, I didn’t check the prescription. I really didn’t know.”
“It was Jasper. Jasper said this cake was good, so I planned to buy it for Grandpa. I’m sorry, Grandpa…”
She lowered her head, and a glistening tear dropped to the ground with a soft ‘plop.’
Mia had always been good at pleasing Zebulon, so Evelyn wasn’t expected to won her over in a single encounter. Moreover, today’s cake speculation was just her guess, lacking concrete evidence.
“Mia didn’t mean to. As for you, running off with a older man and suddenly returning, stirring up trouble in front of Grandpa, what are you up to?” Shirley taunted.
Looking at Evelyn’s increasingly unpleasant expression, Shirley felt a sense of triumph. Although they had lost this round quite miserably, as long as she could provoke Evelyn and make her lose control in front of Grandpa, that would be…
Shirley was immersed in her fantasies when Evelyn’s shoulders suddenly slumped, and her once bright eyes lost their luster. She appeared unexpectedly pitiful.
“Grandpa.” Evelyn pursed her lips, looking at Zebulon, “If Aunt insists on blaming me, let her. You need to rest now. I’ll leave first.”
Shirley watched in surprise as Evelyn walked silently to the door.
Just as reaching the entrance, Evelyn turned around, “Grandpa, remember to take your medicine properly,” Evelyn reminded him, “And that chocolate cake, don’t eat it again.”
This reminder made Zebulon’s expression even worse than before.
Shirley’s words were stuck in her throat, her face uglier than if she had eaten something disgusting.
Seeing the rekindled anger in Zebulon’s eyes, Evelyn was satisfied, and gracefully left.
“Grandpa.” Mia hurriedly approached, ready to explain, but Zebulon closed his eyes directly.
The butler understood Zebulon’s intention and whispered, “Mr. Taylor is tired, perhaps we can discuss other matters another day.”
Mia could only leave helplessly.
After everyone else left, the butler approached Zebulon, “Mr. Taylor, everyone has left.”
Zebulon opened his eyes, “What do you make of today’s events?”
The butler replied, “The cake, Miss Mia, and Miss Evelyn, all quite clever.”
“Mia is becoming more complicated.” Zebulon expressed some disappointment, but then, thinking of Doctor Zion who treated him, his eyes gradually cleared. “But Evelyn has become much more composed lately.”
…
Fabian and his assistant had just finished eating when they decided to open another bottle of red wine.
“Mmm, that was really good.” Fabian wiped his mouth and glanced at the time.
“Doctor Fabian, it’s been so long. Why haven’t the people from The Taylor family come to see you?”
“What’s the rush? Considering Mr. Taylor’s condition, they won’t last much longer.” Fabian said.
Just as they were talking, they saw a servant from The Taylor family approaching through the glass window.
Fabian was somewhat surprised. They hadn’t revealed their location yet, and The Taylor family was already coming? He knew The Taylor family couldn’t do without him. Otherwise, why would they send someone to keep an eye on his movements?
Fabian pointed at his assistant, “Go check it out. Make sure they settle the bill for me.”
The assistant’s eyes lit up, and he quickly went outside. After negotiating with the servant, he hurriedly ran back.
“Doctor Fabian, they… they’re not here to see us.”
Fabian was anxious, “What… what are you saying?”
“They said Mr. Taylor has already woken up and wants to have the chicken soup from here. That’s why they came to buy it. They’re not here to find us.”
Upon hearing this, Fabian nearly threw the glass of red wine in his hand.
He was full of disbelief, “This can’t be possible. Without me, how could he have woken up?”
“It’s because Miss Taylor invited Doctor Zion to come.”
“Doctor Zion!” Fabian exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief, “Nonsense! How could that clueless Miss Taylor possibly know Doctor Zion?”
The assistant didn’t know what else to say.
At this moment, the waiter entered the room and said, “Gentlemen, the allotted time for this private room has expired. Would you like to settle the bill or extend the time?”
“How… how much?”
“There’s a promotion today. After the discount, it’s a total of one hundred twenty-eight thousand. Will you pay by card?” The waiter patiently repeated.
“How… how much?” Fabian was still in shock.
The assistant, frightened, hesitated for a while before finally admitting the truth. The waiter got angry on the spot and called the police…
As the two were taken away by the police, Evelyn had just returned to the villa. Upon entering, she was embraced by Ellis.
Before she could react, she noticed a snake slithering from the doorway, rapidly approaching them. The snake was pitch black, with a triangular-shaped head, indicating its venomous nature.
“Don’t move.” Evelyn urgently shouted.
Although Ellis didn’t understand what was happening, seeing Evelyn’s expression, he behaved very well, not moving.
Generally speaking, snakes cannot see stationary objects. Evelyn wanted to take advantage of this and guide Ellis to jump onto a nearby coffee table. However, she miscalculated. The snake seemed to have been specially trained, showing no signs of pausing and directly charging towards them.
Seeing the snake getting closer, she could only shout, “Baby, run.”
Upon hearing the command, Ellis stood up. In the instant he started running, the snake darted toward Evelyn’s foot.
Almost instinctively, Evelyn lifted her foot and stomped hard on the snake’s body. However, the snake’s vitality was more tenacious than she had imagined. In a swift turn, it bit Evelyn on the calf.
She felt a sharp pain, and a numbness quickly spread throughout half of her body.
“Auntie, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.” Suddenly, Ellis’s voice came to her ears.
Evelyn watched the returning figure of the little one. Her mind was filled with one thought-she had to kill this snake.
With determination, she used her other foot and ruthlessly stepped on the snake’s head.
This time it was smooth. The snake’s head burst, and she succeeded.
After kicking the snake away, Evelyn took Ellis’s offered hand. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words came out, she fell into darkness.
With red eyes, Ellis hastily dialed Frank’s number.
…
Half an hour later, Evelyn woke up in the hospital, wrinkling her nose at the smell of disinfectant.
“Auntie, you’re finally awake,” Ellis said, rushing to the window, grabbing a cup of warm water, and swiftly returning.
“Have some water. Uncle Frank said water helps detoxify.”
Evelyn looked at Ellis, whose fingers were damp with water, her eyes reddened, “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“Where’s Frank?”
She was the one bitten by the snake, and that guy Frank had actually left her alone here. Without waiting for Ellis to answer, Evelyn took out her phone and dialed Frank’s number.
“Frank, you…” she began, but Frank cut her off.
“Miss, your blood is the best antidote. Even if a couple more venomous snakes come, they won’t be able to poison you.”