Chapter 238 Elijah Has Leukemia
At 6 PM, Frederick rolled up with his wife and kid.
Lola was wiped from playing, so Frederick just scooped her up, while Charlotte trailed along like a good sport.
In the lobby on the first floor, the folks at Vertex Innovations Group were all nosy.
Frederick looked so chill.
When they hit the parking lot, Frederick plopped Lola into the car seat, then straightened up and shielded the car roof so Charlotte could hop in.
As Charlotte slid into the car, he gave her shoulder a tap.
"What's up?" Charlotte asked, a bit confused.
Frederick looked at her, his voice soft as butter. "Gotta pull an all-nighter tomorrow. You and Lola should come hang with me."
Charlotte got what he was hinting at.
She thought for a sec. "I'll take Lola to see my mom in the morning. How about the afternoon?"
Frederick didn't say a word.
She thought he was ticked off, but then he wrapped his arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her lips right there at the Vertex Innovations Group entrance, with people milling around.
Charlotte licked her lips. "Don't just kiss me outta nowhere."
Frederick's eyes were intense.
After a bit, he grinned. "Get in the car. I need a smoke."
He never lit up in front of Lola, but he needed it now.
Charlotte didn't argue and got in the car first.
Frederick bent down to light a cigarette, but only smoked half before snuffing it out. Then, he hopped in the car.
The black Maybach cruised away.
In the parking lot, a hot chick sat in a white BMW. It was Katherine.
She glared at the back of Frederick's car.
Charlotte was back!
That little kid was still kicking, and they looked all happy and stuff.
Katherine's pretty face twisted, her knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel.
She was fuming.
For three years, she hadn't seen Frederick even once.
And he was always thinking about Charlotte.
"How am I not better than her?" Katherine muttered coldly.
A guy sat next to her, one she was bankrolling. He leaned in to kiss her, trying to butter her up. "No one's better than you."
Katherine shoved him away, annoyed.
But the guy had some moves.
He shamelessly and skillfully stirred Katherine's intense longing. They rushed to a five-star hotel, booked a suite, and went at it for two hours, sweating buckets.
After the heat, Katherine pulled out a wad of cash and tossed it on the bed.
She got dressed and drove back to the villa Elijah had bought in Seattle.
At night, Audrey was still up.
Seeing Katherine come back, she was about to heat up some food for her but got mad when she saw the hickeys on her neck. "How long are you gonna keep messing around? If you just found someone decent to marry, wouldn't that be better?"
When Katherine got divorced, she scored 20 million bucks.
In three years, she had almost blown it all.
Audrey was super pissed and had been chewing her out for ages.
Katherine casually plopped down on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and blew out a smoke ring. "Mom, you never stop nagging. If I run out of cash, can't I just hit up Dad? Even though he can't do much anymore, he made a ton back in the day."
Elijah showed up on the stairs, shaking with anger.
The biggest screw-up of his life was adopting Katherine. She'd been a pain for years. Messing around with guys and living it up.
No matter how much dough Elijah had, it wouldn't be enough for her to burn through.
Elijah said coldly, "That money isn't all yours! You have a sister!"
"Sister?" Katherine laughed like she heard the funniest joke. "Dad, are you losing it? Did Charlotte ever call you her dad? She's got the Devereux family and the Hawkins family. Would she care about your money?"
She hit Elijah where it hurt.
He had wronged Victoria back then and later Charlotte. Charlotte didn't want to see him.
He had once gone to Vienna.
But he only dared to watch Charlotte from afar, scared she'd be disgusted.
Elijah was so mad he coughed up blood, the red stuff dripping from the corner of his mouth, freaking Audrey out. She screamed and rushed over, "Elijah, what's happening?"
Elijah's body slowly crumpled to the floor.
In his foggy state, he whispered one word, "Victoria."
Audrey's face went ghostly white.
Late that night, Elijah's medical report came in.
He was in the late stage of leukemia.
A bunch of women from the Mitchell family, plus some relatives, were there since Elijah still had billions in assets.
The doc spoke calmly, "Mr. Mitchell's condition can't wait. He needs a bone marrow transplant ASAP. All family members should get tested for a match. If we find one in the family, great. If not, we'll have to wait on the bone marrow registry. But with Mr. Mitchell's condition, he might not have that kind of time."
Savannah, who adored her son, insisted everyone get tested.
Katherine, who wasn't blood-related, fiddled with her fingers. "If we can't find a match, isn't there still Charlotte? She's Dad's real daughter. She's got the best shot at being a match."
Savannah didn't want her son to die.
She talked it over with Elijah, planning to call Charlotte.
Elijah wasn't having it. Lying in bed, he quietly said, "Mom, stop it! I won't ask Charlotte to be a match for me."
He couldn't bring himself to ask.
Savannah stomped her foot. "Elijah, are you nuts? You're her real dad. Without you, she wouldn't be here! You gave her life and raised her; shouldn't she pay you back?"
Elijah's face was blank.
Pay back for giving life and raising her? Did he really?
He had wronged Victoria and even more so Charlotte. He didn't expect Charlotte to be a match for him, but he wanted to see her, and he also wanted to see that little kid.
He was a grandpa now.
Frederick brought Charlotte back to the villa. As the car stopped, he turned and softly said, "You should move your stuff over one of these days, so you don't have to keep going back and forth."
Charlotte nodded, planning to bring some clothes over.
Frederick's long fingers gently caressed the steering wheel. "When are we gonna get our marriage certificate?"
Marriage certificate?
Charlotte looked at Lola and lowered her voice. "Do we really need a marriage certificate?"
Frederick grinned. "If you don't wanna get one with me, who else?"
Charlotte didn't bite. She gently opened the car door to carry Lola out.
Frederick softly said, "Leave it to me."
Charlotte didn't argue; Lola was heavy, and it was tiring to carry her.
As soon as Frederick picked her up, Lola woke up, her eyes half-open but too tired to move, so she just lay there limply.
Charlotte tugged at her little finger.
Her heart softened, but that tenderness shattered when she saw the piano in the hall.
She looked at Frederick.
Frederick said seriously, "Lola wants to learn piano. This piano would be wasted in the apartment, so why not move it here so you can teach her in the evenings?"
Charlotte was both embarrassed and mad. 'Is that the point?'
Frederick put Lola down, patted her little head, and let her play on her own.
Once Lola walked away, he shamelessly asked, "Are you thinking about the time we made love on it? Lola doesn't know."
Charlotte glared at him. She felt she couldn't let him get away with this.
Charlotte immediately ordered a new piano, and as for this one, it would stay right where it was.
After doing all this, she felt a bit better.
But then Lola climbed onto the piano bench, sat up straight, and started playing.
Charlotte fell silent.
Frederick chuckled softly and leaned into her ear. "I took her to the apartment a few days ago; she already played it. Why are you shy?"
Charlotte knew he did it on purpose.
She didn't continue the topic and sat next to Lola, teaching her gently.
Lola was super talented and picked it up quickly.
Charlotte ruffled her little head and temporarily forgave Frederick.
At night, after putting Lola to bed, she couldn't help but think of something.
Chloe!
Charlotte tiptoed out to the living room and made a call. "Andrew, I need your help."
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