Leonardo went ahead as he finished talking. Following him closely, Summer looked at his back but her mind was elsewhere.
When Leonardo stopped in his tracks abruptly, she came to a halt but did not know what happened.
Leonardo said, “Watch your step.”
She was bewildered, wondering if he had grown a pair of eyes on the back of his head.
He went ahead again, but a mere half a step later, he stopped and turned around. While Summer was still wondering what was going on, he went up to her and held her hand so that she could walk with him.
Summer looked at their locked hands, feeling perplexed for a while before she looked at him. His jaw was tight with a sharp jawline; he had lost some weight.
“You’ve been staying overnight in the hospital for the past few days?” she could not help but ask.
They had arrived in front of the elevator. Leonardo pressed a button and faintly replied, “Yeah.”
“Have you eaten anything at all?” she asked.
Leonardo looked as if he was annoyed. He shot her a glance at her and said nothing.
When the elevator reached its destination, the doors opened with a ding, and Leonardo brought her inside. The entire floor where Grandpa Emerson’s VIP ward was had been cleared out for him. The moment they emerged from the elevator, Summer saw bodyguards who filled the corridor, but there were no signs of the other Emersons.
Leonardo brought her along and went up to Grandpa Emerson’s ward.
“Grandpa’s inside. Get in.”
Summer pushed the door open and went in. It was her first time seeing Grandpa Emerson since he last fell down the stairs.
Grandpa Emerson was lying on the bed, which was lined with a snow-white bedsheet. He had a respirator on him and tubes that led into his body. He was hooked up to an intravenous drip.
Summer went closer, and only then did she see his pale face. His eyes were sinking into their sockets, and his face was full of wrinkles.
Grandpa Emerson was not the type to be called avuncular. He always looked stately, but when Summer saw his condition, she had a lump in her throat.
“Grandpa?” She sat down on the edge of the bed, softly calling out to him. He showed no response. If not for the condensation from his breathing inside the respirator, Summer would have thought that he was dead.
“Enough, come back out now.” Leonardo’s voice was heard as he opened the door.
Summer looked up, wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes as she got up and walked out of the ward.
Closing the door behind her, she asked Leonardo, “What did the doctor say?”
Leonardo did not answer her question immediately but quietly studied her. He saw her eyes red and furrowed his brows. “We’re not sure when he’s going to wake up. Even if he does, he might not be the same again.”
Summer was shocked. “What do you mean by ‘might not be the same again’?”
He just looked at her, face expressionless and providing no further explanation. “Not the same again” meant Grandpa Emerson might not walk again, or he could become completely paralyzed, turning into an old man who would not even be able to care for himself.
Summer’s face turned pale. She looked at Leonardo but did not know what to say to comfort him.
“What are you doing here?” A female voice suddenly rang out.
Summer looked in the direction of the voice and saw Violet approaching her. Violet was looking at Summer, obviously talking to her.
Summer pressed her lips together and greeted, “Auntie.”
Violet did not friendly—in fact, she resented Summer. But still, she nodded and said, “Summer, how have you been these few days?”
“Thank you for your concern. I’m good.”
Summer found Violet disgusting. Violet hated her but still pretended as though everything was fine and dandy.
“You’re here to see Grandpa?” Violet asked.
“Yeah.” Summer had nothing to hide.
“You shouldn’t come here at this time, you know what I mean.” It sounded as if Violet said that out of goodwill.
“Why not? What’s wrong with a granddaughter-in-law visiting her grandpa?” Summer looked restrained, even cold. “The person who pushed Grandpa down the stairs should be the one with a guilty conscience.”
Violet did not expect that Summer could be so composed. She was startled by her reply before she responded, “You have a point.”
Leonardo suddenly spoke. “Auntie, why don’t you go and see Grandpa?”
He sounded unhappy, even impatient. Not saying a word, Violet entered the ward. Summer gazed at the door for a few seconds, and it was not until Leonardo called her that she snapped out of her thoughts.
“Summer.”
“Huh?”
“Still not willing to go home? Or are you planning to stay for lunch?”
“No, I just feel…”
Summer paused, thinking of the day before Grandpa Emerson fell down the stairs. Everyone was in the living hall while Violet and Michael were going into a room furtively. She suddenly held Leonardo’s hand and brought him toward the elevator. There, they bumped into Adams, and behind him were Douglas and Alisa. They had to be there to visit Grandpa Emerson.
Douglas called out to Summer the moment he saw her. “Summer!”
“Douglas.” Summer nodded at him.
“Adams, you go ahead first,” Douglas said to Adams.
Adams did not say a word, but Alisa spoke in a weird tone. “How dare you come to the hospital? Don’t you feel guilty?”
Douglas turned to shoot a glare at Alisa. “What are you talking about? Don’t you think you’re being annoying? There’s still no proof to show that it was Summer who pushed Grandpa. Even the police haven’t found anything yet. Summer has done nothing. Why would she feel guilty?”
“Douglas, you—”
Alisa felt disrespected. Just as she was about to retort, Adams cut her off. “Alisa, let’s go inside.”
“Brother!” Alisa was obviously indignant.
However, Adams stood firm, and Alisa could not say otherwise. But before she left, she spoke again. “Leonardo, protect this woman as much as you want. Your second elder sister is already on a flight back to the country. When that time comes, I’ll see how you’re going to answer her.”
Second elder sister? Summer looked at Leonardo in puzzlement.
Douglas, who had a keen eye, went closer to Summer and explained, “She’s Leonardo’s twin sister.”
Leonardo’s twin sister? Summer did not know much about the Emerson family, and she had heard no one talk about it. So, there was no wonder that she did not know Leonardo had a twin sister.
This was not the place to talk about the subject, so after Adams and Alisa left, the three of them entered the elevator. Once inside, Douglas asked Summer with concern, “Summer, how have you been these few days? They say you pushed Grandpa. I don’t believe it one bit.”