“Thank you very much, Miss Andrews,” Donald expressed his gratitude politely.
Lara rolled her eyes. “What are you talking about? Can you even take the medicine you prescribed? You act like some miracle doctor.”
“How dare you!” Donald reprimanded coldly. “Miss Andrews is a highly skilled and renowned doctor. Just because you haven’t heard of her doesn’t mean she isn’t capable.”
“Daddy, I’m just concerned about your health,” Lara said, clinging to Donald’s arm and speaking in a coquettish tone. “Shouldn’t you consult a specialist or professor?”
“I think Miss Andrews is just fine,” Donald said, not dismissing traditional medicine. “Please, Miss Andrews, could you write a prescription for me? I’ll get the medicine.”
“Sure,” Sylvia replied, ignoring Lara. She picked up a pen and paper from the table and wrote a prescription for herbal medicine, handing it to Donald. “Boil it in water and take one dose daily.”
“Thank you,” Donald said as he put away the prescription and looked at Sylvia again. “Is there anything I should avoid?”
Sylvia appreciated Donald’s attention to detail and replied, “Avoid spicy and stimulating foods. Your body is already weak and depleted. You need to recover slowly and steadily.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t eat anything too nourishing. I’ll be careful,” Donald said as he stood up from the sofa. “I will keep my promise. Please rest assured, Miss Andrews and Clare. I hope Mollie recovers soon; otherwise, I will feel guilty.”
“You’re welcome,” Sylvia said as she and Clare escorted the three to the door.
Louis glanced at his brother and Lara. “You two go to the parking lot first. I want to have a word with Sylvia alone.”
Clare sensibly returned to the ward, leaving only Louis and Sylvia in the hallway.
Sylvia raised an eyebrow. “What do you need to say privately?”
“Sylvia…” Louis hesitated but decided to speak up. “My brother’s health deteriorated recently because…”
Before he could finish, a phone call interrupted him.
“Okay, I understand. I’ll be right there.”
Louis hung up the phone, looking frustrated. “Lara said my brother fainted as soon as he got downstairs! I need to go quickly.”
Sylvia immediately offered, “I’ll go with you.”
They rushed to the elevator, but it was still on a higher floor. Sylvia glanced at the emergency stairs. “Let’s take the stairs.”
Louis nodded, and they ran down the stairs together. As they descended, Sylvia asked, “What were you about to say earlier?”
“I’ll tell you another day,” Louis replied, his mind preoccupied with Donald’s condition.
When they reached the first-floor lobby, they saw emergency room doctors rushing over to lift Donald onto a stretcher.
Lara was crying uncontrollably, calling out, “Daddy, Daddy, please don’t let anything happen to you! What will I do if something happens to you?”
Louis felt an inexplicable irritation seeing her like this. He followed the emergency room doctors closely. “How is my brother?”
The doctor adjusted his glasses. “We need to run tests to diagnose the cause. I’m not sure yet.”
“He might have fainted due to extreme weakness and sudden stress,” Sylvia explained as she walked beside the doctor. “I just checked his pulse a few minutes ago.”
The emergency room doctor recognized Sylvia and paused. “Dr. Sylvia, is this your patient?”
Sylvia shook her head. “He’s my mentor’s brother. Please take good care of him.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll start treatment immediately,” the doctor assured her as he and several nurses entered the emergency room for resuscitation.
Sylvia patted Louis reassuringly. “He should be fine. He might just be too stressed.”
Louis glanced at Lara, who was still crying with her makeup smeared all over her face, looking dirty and unattractive.
“My brother isn’t dead yet! Why are you crying? If it weren’t for your antics causing so many problems, would he be in this state?”
Louis was usually carefree and didn’t like arguing with younger people, but he finally lost his temper. Compared to Sylvia, Lara seemed like a piece of trash.
How had he and his brother been so blind to bring such a person into their lives?
He was truly furious this time.
“You… you’re still scolding me? My daddy is in the emergency room… and you’re scolding me?” Lara cried as if she had suffered a great injustice.
She couldn’t help but feel bitter inside. It was true that without biological ties, there was no real acceptance.
If she were their biological daughter… no matter how big her mistakes were, wouldn’t any parent choose to forgive and accept her?
The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, but she knew she had no way out.
“So what if I’m scolding you?” Louis snapped. “Get out of here! We don’t need you here.”
This statement deeply hurt Lara. Her eyes turned red. “No… my daddy is in there being treated. How can I leave? I need to stay with him.”
Lara cried pitifully as if she were the most filial daughter in the world.
Sylvia watched her dramatic performance with an expressionless face, finding it ridiculous.
Lara ignored Sylvia’s mocking gaze and thought bitterly that if it weren’t for this wretched woman, she wouldn’t be in this situation.
Louis ignored her and walked aside to light a cigarette, exhaling smoke.
He was in a bad mood and needed a cigarette.
“Uncle, if something really happens to my daddy…” Lara continued to pester him.
Her words infuriated Louis even more. He wanted to slap her but restrained himself because he was just an uncle.
“Shut up! Don’t let me hear any more unlucky words.”
Lara’s mind went blank as she was humiliated by her family elder in front of Sylvia again…
She was so angry that her temples throbbed painfully.
Why did her uncle speak gently to Sylvia but harshly to her?
What spell had Sylvia cast on him?
She glared at Sylvia with hatred. Noticing her gaze, Sylvia said coldly, “Your uncle told you to shut up, not me. Why are you glaring at me?”
Sylvia’s sarcastic remark made Lara even more upset and resentful.
She almost cried again, tears welling up in her eyes.
Seeing this, Sylvia’s lips curved into a slight smile. Lara was like a shrimp jumping around but unable to make any waves.
At that moment, the emergency room door opened.
Several nurses pushed Donald out slowly while the doctor walked over and said, “The patient’s condition has stabilized for now. It’s best to keep him under observation for a day before leaving.”
“Okay, thank you,” Louis said gratefully. “Thank you, doctor.”
“You’re welcome. The patient is very weak. Avoid stressing him or causing emotional agitation; otherwise, he may faint again,” the doctor advised before leaving.
Sylvia followed them to the ward and watched as the nurses settled Donald in before turning to Louis. “Master, I’ll return to my aunt’s ward now. Call me if you need anything. Don’t forget to get the herbal medicine I prescribed.”
“Sylvia, thank you so much for today,” Louis said awkwardly. He noticed that she had called him ‘Master’ several times today, which felt strange rather than pleasing.
Maybe he was overthinking it… Sylvia hadn’t taken out her anger on him because of Lara; that was already good enough…
Sylvia smiled without saying anything and left.
As she walked away, Donald slowly opened his eyes and saw Sylvia’s slender figure disappearing from view. His vision blurred as if he were seeing that beautiful woman again. He instinctively reached out his arm. “Don’t… go…”
“Daddy, you’re awake?” Lara’s voice snapped him back to reality, causing his heart to ache sharply.
He looked at Louis and then at Lara, realizing he was in the hospital.
He struggled to control his emotions, feeling inexplicably suffocated in his chest. “That figure just now…”
“Oh, that was Sylvia,” Louis replied as he helped Donald sit up. “Why?”
“Nothing,” Donald shook his head but couldn’t help asking again, “Why was she here?”
Lara bit her lip hard, preparing to speak when she heard Louis praising Sylvia endlessly.
He talked about how Sylvia rushed over when she heard Donald had fainted and waited until he came out of the emergency room before leaving.
Lara felt heartbroken and pained as she listened. She had been there with her daddy all along!
Why didn’t her uncle mention that?
Why did he only praise Sylvia?
Did Sylvia want to take away not only Franklin but also her adoptive father’s love?
But she knew she had been abandoned and didn’t dare speak recklessly anymore. She suppressed her sadness and pain and softly asked Donald, “Daddy, should I buy some porridge for you? Or… should I go get the herbal medicine?”
Donald glanced at her indifferently. “That’s thoughtful of you. There’s no rush for the medicine.”