The maid’s screams had attracted others’ attention, and people started to gather.
Summer was in shock and confusion. Only when everyone came and surrounded Grandpa Emerson, she started to run down the stairs.
“Dad! What happened, Dad?” Violet was heard running over.
Just when Summer came down a few steps down the stairs, she saw Leonardo and Michael coming hurriedly. As if he had sensed her there from afar, Leonardo looked up in her direction. He creased his brows as if he wanted to say something. But he just gave her a fleeting glance—a cold one.
Summer came down and crouched down on the floor. “Grandpa!” she called out.
After falling down the stairs and losing so much blood, Grandpa Emerson did not respond to words. He must have passed out. So no one dared to move him. Especially when he was at this advanced age.
The family doctor arrived, checked Grandpa Emerson, and moved him into a car to bring him to the hospital. Almost everyone followed.
Before leaving, Michael turned to look at the maids who first discovered Grandpa Emerson on the floor. “You all come with me.”
Fortunately, the private hospital owned by the Emerson Corporation could perform operations on Grandpa Emerson immediately after he arrived.
“Preliminary assessment shows he suffers from a cerebral hemorrhage and multiple bone ruptures. He is not looking good, needing immediate surgery.”
The doctor’s words had everyone’s expression changed, the air still. As the operating theater door closed, everyone waited anxiously outside.
Summer glanced at Leonardo and reached to hold his hand. His face was grave. He did not hold her hand even though she reached to hold his. He did not even look at her.
Just then, Michael’s voice came from the quiet corridor.
“Who was the first person to discover Grandpa Emerson?” His voice was grave.
Summer looked in his direction.
“It was me,” said a maid who had come to the hospital with the family. The maid looked scared. Even her voice shivered as if Michael would blame her for the accident. As if she recalled something, she pointed at Summer. “I only hurried over when I heard Mrs. Emerson screaming. When I got there, Grandpa was lying on the floor.”
Michael turned his head. “Summer, please tell me what has happened.”
His words had everyone’s attention on Summer.
Summer started to have a bad feeling about what was going to transpire. Did they think it was she who pushed Grandpa Emerson down the stairs? She told herself to calm down.
“A maid came informing me that Grandpa Emerson was looking for me. When I got to his room, he was not there. When I heard a sound in the stairway, I went to check it out and saw Grandpa… falling,” she said.
“Which maid went to inform you?” Michael asked, his voice low.
“I don’t know. The maid called from outside the door.” Summer shook her head.
Michael frowned as he looked at Summer, wanting to say something. Then Leonardo came up and stood in front of her with a grave face.
“Are you suggesting that it was Summer who pushed Grandpa down the staircase?” he questioned Michael.
“When this has happened to Grandpa, it is only natural to ask questions.”
Leonardo scoffed as he shrugged. “Everyone knows that Grandpa likes Summer. Why would she want to harm Grandpa?”
“She has every reason to do that!”
Alisa’s voice suddenly came. Everyone turned to look and saw Alisa and Adams coming hurriedly in their direction. The two hurried over to the hospital only after knowing that Grandpa Emerson fell down the stairs.
“Alisa, do you know what you are saying?” Michael chided.
“Of course, I know what I’m saying!” While speaking, Alisa looked over at Summer with a sneer. “Summer, you are holding grudges against Grandpa because he sent a woman to Leonardo in the mansion. That was why you tried to kill Grandpa. Am I saying that correctly?”
“No. I didn’t.” Summer’s expression changed subtly, looking in disbelief at Alisa.
“You didn’t do that?” The corner of Alisa’s lips curled up in a smile. “You were the only non-Emerson present in the Emerson family for the past two days. Other than you, I can’t think of anyone else who might harm an elderly man. Tell us frankly. Did you do that? Leonardo, do you believe her?”
Summer’s heart skipped a beat. Her gut feeling told her that Leonardo trusted her. But it was just her intuition. She could not help but look over at Leonardo, who pulled his hand from hers, looking at her.
“Did you hate Grandpa because of that?” Leonardo asked.
The question struck Summer like a bolt from the blue. Was Leonardo suspecting her, too? He did not say that he trusted her. Instead, he was questioning her. A chill, coming from under her feet, ran up her spine and spread throughout her body. Like before, she denied by shaking her head.
“I didn’t.”
Leonardo just glanced at her and then looked away. “Do you have an alibi? Was anyone with you at the time?”
Summer took half a step back, feeling that she was looking at a stranger. “Leonardo, what do you mean? Are you treating me as a suspect who would harm Grandpa? Are you interrogating me?”
“Just answer my question!” Leonardo sounded unemotional.
Before his voice trailed off, Summer answered loudly, “I won’t answer that question! I didn’t harm Grandpa. What right do you have to interrogate me?”
Had it been Michael who asked her this question, she would not have felt so resentful. She had never thought Leonardo’s first reaction was to suspect her.
Michael stepped forward, patting Leonardo on the shoulder. “Leonardo, calm down. Summer is pregnant, and Grandpa is still inside the operating room. While the truth hasn’t surfaced, everyone is a suspect. But she is your wife; you shouldn’t have suspected her like that.”
At first glance, Michael had a point, but after thinking about it, something seemed amiss. At first, he asked who was the first person to discover Grandpa Emerson. Now, he came up to become a mediator, saying that things were not conclusive.
Alisa heard Michael say that and became recalcitrant. “Uncle, this woman must have something to do with it!”
“Alisa, stop it. Grandpa is still in the operating room. Let’s wait until the surgery is over, then we will talk about it. But…” Michael paused, his eyes sweeping over everyone at the scene before landing on Summer’s face. “Without my permission, no one leaves.”