Rift in the perfect picture

© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

On the second day at the hospital, Mom’s phone was inundated with calls from the company’s shareholders. They threatened to come to the hospital if the company’s Issues weren’t addressed.

At first, I answered the calls, but they were only filled with complaints and curses, so I eventually stopped answering. The constant buzzing of the phone left my palm numb.

Frowning, the doctor shook his head. “The patient’s condition has worsened. Currently, there’s no better treatment available in the country. We can only recommend conservative treatment.”

Without hesitation, I arranged a private flight to seek treatment abroad. Before boarding the plane, I sent Nicholas a message.

“I want everything to return to the way it was, and I will return to where I started.”

I hoped Nicholas would understand. He had the means to make it happen anyway. I wondered if he would be satisfied with this so–called leverage.

After sending the message, I waited quietly for his reply. As expected, even as the plane ascended into the sky, his response never came.

If he replied, perhaps I could ask for his help. If everything could return to the way it was, I was willing to make concessions for Mom.

Whether it was apologizing at Hawk Manor or dropping Claudia’s case, I would do anything for Mom to wake up healthy. But as expected, my phone remained silent. I had no choice but to turn it off.

At that moment, I was filled with both desperation and hope. It was hard to believe that in just a split second, Mom could be taken from me forever.

The airbag had fractured her ribs, but that wasn’t the worst part. The injury to her head was potentially fatal.

After a week of meetings and discussions, the overseas medical team decided that a craniotomy was necessary. The procedure would involve removing a large portion of Mom’s skull.

I stared at Mom on the hospital bed. She had tubes inserted everywhere. In just a week, she had become gaunt and unrecognizable.

I held her hand and signed the consent forms for the surgery alone. My fear at that moment was beyond anyone’s comprehension.

The nurses soon separated us as they wheeled her into the cold, sterile operating room. I was then left alone in a room with only cold walls and no one else around.

The surgery lasted a day and night. The doctors reported that it went smoothly, and I waited eagerly for her to wake up, but luck was not on my side.

The monitoring equipment frequently beeped, and Mom was repeatedly wheeled back into the operating room. During those lonely moments, I recalled her words about solving everything with money.

I withdrew all the dividends from my account and all of Mom’s savings.

“Less the costs for my mom’s treatment, this is a donation to the hospital.”

The doctors assured me they would do their best, but Mom didn’t survive the seventh day after the surgery. I had been out of touch for half a month, and Beth had called me relentlessly.

In the past half month, Beth had sent me multiple messages. I knew Neal had been reinstated and Jay Caldwell & Co. had reopened. Yet, when it came time for me to fulfill my promise and return to square one, he couldn’t find me.

When I wanted to answer his calls, he stopped calling. By then, Mom’s surgery was underway, and I no longer relied on him. He couldn’t provide physical support or emotional comfort.

When I finally heard from Nicholas again, I found that he had become the controlling shareholder of Jones Corporation.

Nicholas seemed eager to know my situation. When I called him again, he answered quickly..

He spoke in a cold, accusing tone. “Ariana, are you playing me?”

“No.” My voice was surprisingly calm.

His voice was icy and contemptuous. As if discussing trivial matters with an outsider, he delivered his cruel words.

“If I hadn’t acted against Jones Corporation, who knows how long you would have kept hiding?”