Sylvia took a deep breath and called Carley. “Is Olivia the biological daughter of the Hogan family?”
Carley had just driven into the Kaur family estate and hadn’t even parked in the garage yet. She slammed on the brakes. “Her background is tightly kept. I heard from my brother that she might not be the Hogan family’s biological child, but I don’t know who her real parents are.”
“So, she isn’t related to Dexter by blood?” Sylvia frowned slightly. “Does she have a boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend? She hasn’t even had a first love. I don’t know what kind of rich man the Hogan family will find for her in the end. Dexter and Bryce are so protective of her, they think no man in the world is good enough for their precious sister.”
Carley couldn’t stop talking once she started on this topic. “I heard Olivia’s mom might have escaped from a big family, and the Hogan family hid her for a while. You know, big families have many secrets; who knows which one it was.”
“So Olivia could be an illegitimate child of some big family?” A cold glint flashed in Sylvia’s eyes. She felt like she was missing something but couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
Especially those long, narrow eyes of Olivia’s-they seemed somewhat familiar…
It couldn’t be that she was her sister, right? Sylvia had almond-shaped eyes, and there was no resemblance between her and Olivia. Speaking of almond-shaped eyes… Jenna’s pretty little face suddenly floated before Sylvia’s eyes.
While she was lost in thought, Carley sighed heavily. “Olivia seems to have a good life on the surface, being treated like a biological daughter by the Hogan family, but she’s sensitive by nature. Despite all the money in the family, she has everything she wants but ended up with depression. It’s a tough life.”
Sylvia found Olivia intriguing and decided to investigate herself. “You’re right, this girl is quite pitiful. I’ll hang up now. Thanks for telling me so much. We’re so familiar now; you can just call me Sylvia from now on.”
Carley was flattered. “Really? Can I?”
“Yes.” Sylvia responded and hung up.
Outside the car window, the drizzle continued. Carley excitedly jumped out of the car as if she had won the lottery and shouted before entering the villa, “Brother! Brother, my relationship with Sylvia has progressed!”
Dariel was watching TV in the living room. Seeing her rush in soaked with rain, he couldn’t help but be speechless. “I thought you were talking about a romantic relationship! Turns out it’s Miss Andrews.”
Carley grinned and ran over. “Miss Andrews is more important than any man!”
“Go upstairs and take a shower, change into dry clothes. Look at you, all wet.” Dariel patted her head to hurry her along.
Carley stuck out her tongue playfully and ran off.
Meanwhile, Sylvia continued driving her BMW towards the Hipps Family estate, feeling an inexplicable tightness in her chest. Just as she started the car, her phone rang.
To her surprise, it was Brayden calling. “What’s wrong? Is something up?”
“Auntie, Jenna is sick. The doctor says it might be acute leukemia…” Brayden’s voice was tinged with exhaustion. “We urgently need bone marrow. We’re searching nationwide, but the chances are very low. If you have any connections or methods…”
“What did you say? Jenna has acute leukemia? How is that possible? She’s not in great health, but this serious?” Sylvia asked in shock.
This disease was no joke; its causes were numerous. One cause could be ionizing radiation or nuclear leaks; another could be viral infections like adult T-cell leukemia virus; some toxins could also trigger it, especially for those exposed to paint and dyes, who have a higher incidence rate.
Her heart pounded like a drum. “If we can’t find bone marrow, she’ll die!”
Brayden felt a sharp pain in his chest hearing Sylvia say that, almost suffocating from the anxiety. “It’s a virus; she doesn’t know where she got it from. She attended a piano recital alone recently, where there were many people. She got jostled and felt a mosquito bite-like pain on her arm, then developed a high fever and fell into a coma… The hospital diagnosed her with this disease.”
Sylvia felt dizzy listening to this. “So… you suspect someone infected her with the virus?”
Brayden felt a wave of helpless despair. “Yes, that’s what I think, but I have no evidence. She only had brief encounters with people at that recital; she remembers nothing. I have no leads to investigate. Auntie… please help us! I don’t want Jenna to die.”
Hearing Brayden’s helpless voice and imagining Jenna lying pale on a hospital bed, Sylvia could hardly bear it. “Bring her to Aettosa as soon as possible; the medical facilities here are better, and I can take care of you nearby. Franklin and I will try to find compatible bone marrow. Send me her medical records as photos.”
Brayden felt reassured as if he had taken a calming pill. “Alright, we’ll set off immediately.”
After hanging up, Sylvia didn’t return to the Hipps Family estate but drove straight towards the Presidential Palace.
She parked at the entrance of the Presidential Palace and got out of the car, intending to walk inside when the guards stopped her. “Show your pass.”
Sylvia bit her lip; she was so anxious that she had forgotten about needing a pass. She took a deep breath. “Sorry, I don’t have one; I’ll wait here.”
She took out her phone to call Franklin but found his line busy after three attempts. What was he doing?
She thought about calling Jasper but remembered he had gone to see Evie and wasn’t with Franklin.
She had no choice but to wait there anxiously.
As she waited, a black car slowly approached, its window rolling down to reveal a familiar beautiful face glaring at Sylvia with jealousy. No matter how simply dressed this woman was, she always looked stunning.
Seeing Sylvia pacing in front of the Presidential Palace, Sabrina immediately understood what was happening and spoke mockingly. “Well, if it isn’t Miss Andrews! What a surprise to see you at the Presidential Palace entrance.”
Sabrina signaled her driver to stop and sneered at Sylvia. “Oh my, aren’t you quite capable? Can’t get in?”
Sylvia glanced at Sabrina’s smug face and thought about Olivia’s treatment in the Hogan family. She spoke calmly, “Sabrina, long time no see.”
Sabrina became even more smug and waved her long-term pass in front of Sylvia’s face. “See this? In Aettosa, you’d better keep your head down.”
Sylvia looked at her silently. “So having this pass means you can go in?”
“Of course, no pass means no entry.” Sabrina thought Sylvia asked a stupid question.
“Thank you then.” The next second, before Sabrina could react, Sylvia had taken the pass from her hand. Only then did Sabrina realize what Sylvia meant by “thank you.”
Sabrina stomped her foot in anger and chased after Sylvia in high heels. “Give it back!”
“Sabrina gave it to me, so I’ll keep it.” Sylvia handed the pass to the guard, who searched her before allowing entry.
Sabrina fumed and stomped her foot angrily before calling Lucille. “Mommy, that Sylvia is so annoying!”
Sylvia walked straight towards Franklin’s small building within the Presidential Palace grounds. When she reached the entrance, two guards stopped her.
“Who are you? Who are you looking for?”
This was the Presidential Palace; not just anyone could come here. Sylvia knew this well. Sabrina had probably already informed Lucille by now; soon enough, all the guards would likely come to catch her.
She felt a bit irritated. “I’m looking for Franklin.”
At that moment, Franklin was being reprimanded by the President with his phone on silent mode.
The President looked displeased and had been lecturing him for nearly half an hour.
Finally, tired and thirsty from talking so much, the President dismissed him. “You may leave now. Be more careful in the future; don’t let others catch your mistakes again. Remember your current status-you represent the entire Presidential Palace with your actions.”
Franklin retorted sarcastically, “I don’t think I’m that important yet-to represent the entire palace?”
With that, he turned and left without caring about the President’s reaction.
The President nearly choked on his water in anger.
“This damn brat thinks he’s invincible! Come back here!”
Franklin walked quickly while turning on his phone, immediately receiving several missed call notifications-all from Sylvia.
She rarely called so urgently; something must be wrong!
Franklin’s heart raced as he quickly called her back.
Meanwhile, Sylvia faced Lucille and about thirty black-clad men who approached leisurely.
Lucille clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Miss Andrews graces us with her presence but uses deceit to get a pass-how laughable.”
Sylvia lifted her eyes slightly to look at Lucille’s curvaceous figure wrapped in a business suit. Behind Lucille stood an irate Sabrina. Despite being over forty years old, Lucille maintained herself so well that she looked like Sabrina’s sister rather than mother.