Chapter 90 Wrongly Accused
Ophelia was also afraid of being falsely accused. She couldn't afford such an expense should it come to that.
Old lady Abbott nodded, “It wasn’t you, young lady.”
"Shall we record a video together?" suggested Ophelia.
Just to have everything clear later on.
Old lady Abbott was surprisingly cooperative. She leaned her head towards Ophelia, and upon noticing the original camera setup, she smiled and said, "Sweetheart, could you turn on the beauty filter? Make me look a bit nicer."
Ophelia was speechless.
She'd never encountered such a vain old lady before.
Noting Old lady Abbott's clothing and accessories, which were obviously not cheap, Ophelia surmised that the woman came from a well-to-do background and therefore was less likely to scam her.
After turning on the beauty filter and recording the video, Old lady Abbott asked, "Let’s take a few more pictures. My dear, you’re very pretty. Click on this effect—the bunny effect."
Ophelia was taken aback. Was this really an elderly woman?
She seemed to know a lot about modern phone features -- beauty filters and effects.
Quite the tech-savvy grandma.
Having recorded the evidence, Ophelia then took old lady Abbott to a nearby hospital to get an X-ray and check if there was any serious injury to her leg.
While waiting in line, Ophelia asked, "Do you remember your family’s phone number? Could you call someone from your home to come stay with you? I have to get to work."
When she heard the keyword 'phone,' old lady Abbott took out a mobile phone that hung around her neck, showing off proudly, "I've got a phone. My grandson bought it for me."
Ophelia noticed there seemed to be something on the back of the phone case. "May I take a look at your phone, ma'am?"
"Sure," said old lady Abbott readily. She'd taken a liking to Ophelia from the first glance, finding her beautiful—a pretty person always draws the eye.
Ophelia picked up the cell phone, only to notice a slip of paper tucked behind the case with a handwritten message: The old lady has dementia and can't find her way. If she's lost, call the numbers in the contacts.
The phone had several numbers saved—my grandson, my son, my daughter-in-law…
In such situations, the eldest son was usually the most reliable. Ophelia dialed the number saved as "my son" and said, "Hello, this is the hospital. Your mother has had a fall…"
After notifying the next of kin, Ophelia turned to see the old lady staring at her intently.
"Granny, why are you looking at me like that?"
Knowing the old woman had dementia, Ophelia's voice was filled with extra patience and much softer in tone.
"Granddaughter-in-law," old lady Abbott, with a kind smile, took Ophelia's hand. "Granddaughter-in-law, I came out to find you. My eldest grandson never brings you home. He lied to me about preparing a dowry, and by dawn, there was no one around. They think I'm the one with dementia, but I'm clear-headed."
Ophelia couldn't help but laugh. "Granny, I’m not your granddaughter-in-law."
She had no clue about what was happening in the old lady’s household, and she certainly had never met her eldest grandson, so she couldn't just play along.
Old lady Abbott insisted, "You are my granddaughter-in-law. You bear a strong resemblance to your grandfather. You were betrothed to my eldest grandson. Tell me, did my grandson upset you? I’ll straighten him out. Granny's still got it. I can still swing a cane."
To prove her vigor, Old lady Abbott swung her cane, prompting Ophelia to quickly dissuade her, "Granny, be careful. We're in a hospital, and your leg is still injured. You mentioned I look like my grandfather. Did you know him?"
After the words slipped out, Ophelia realized the absurdity of her question. The old woman was clearly confused. How could she expect to find her own grandfather when she didn't even know her biological parents?
"Yes, I knew him," Old lady Abbott's mood shifted, turning somber as if caught up in memories. "Your grandfather was so handsome in his youth. We nearly got married. He said he would only marry me, and I felt the same. It was cruel fate that we missed our chance. Granddaughter-in-law, my grandson is a good man, handsome and obedient. Make sure to hold on to him."
Ophelia felt a pang of sadness in the old lady's voice, though she didn’t know her life story. There was a sense of inexplicable regret.
With no major issues, Ophelia took care of the old lady, taking photos for documentation.
Rushing out of the examination room, a middle-aged man hurried over, "Mom, mom, where did you fall? Who bumped into you, where are they?"
Seeing Jude, Old lady Abbott peered closely, "Are you my son?"
"Mom, yes, it's me, your son. Do you not recognize me again?" Jude had grown accustomed to this, "Mom, how badly are you hurt? Who bumped into you?"
"It was her." Old lady Abbott pointed at Ophelia.
Ophelia was stunned. What kind of game was this, blaming her right off the bat?
Jude's tone grew harsh as he turned to Ophelia, "Did you knock into my mom?"
Chapter 91 Bringing the Granddaughter-in-Law Home
Ophelia hurriedly clarified, "It wasn't me who bumped her, I brought the old lady to the hospital. I have a video to prove it."
Ophelia took out her phone, showed the video to Jude, and provided an explanation.
Understanding the whole story, Jude apologized, "I'm sorry, miss, I almost misunderstood you. Thank you for bringing my mom to the hospital. She's got some... issues."
Jude subtly pointed to his head, indicating her mental confusion.
Seeing that Jude was being reasonable, Ophelia said, "It's okay, I'm glad we cleared up the misunderstanding. Here are the X-rays the doctor took. Grandma is okay. She just twisted something."
"Thank you, thank you so much," Jude said, expressing his gratitude multiple times before pulling out his phone. "Miss, what's your bank account? I want to transfer some money to you."
Ophelia had paid the medical and examination fees upfront, which totaled over two thousand dollars, and she intended to get reimbursed.
"Just send it through PayPal. It's two thousand in total. Here's the bill for you to check," she said.
Jude didn't check the amount. Trusting that Ophelia was honest and rather impressed by her, he sent three thousand dollars directly.
"That's too much, uncle," said Ophelia.
"You've been at work, right? Taking my mom to the hospital must have made you miss some work. The extra is for lost wages and transportation costs." Jude assisted old lady Abbott, then turned to Ophelia, "I'll be taking off then. Thank you again, young lady."
The compensation seemed reasonable, and Ophelia didn't refuse it. She accepted the money with a clear conscience.
Old lady Abbott couldn't get enough of Ophelia, waving her over, "My dear, make sure to visit Granny often. If my grandson has upset you, remember to come to Granny..."
"Mom, what granddaughter-in-law? Your grandson doesn't even have a girlfriend yet," Jude said, supporting Old lady Abbott as they began to walk outside. "If you're so eager for a granddaughter-in-law, you should be nudging your grandson about it."
"That is my granddaughter-in-law. I'm certain of it," Old lady Abbott asserted confidently. "I remember we had an arrangement with the Parks Family, and isn't that the Parks girl? She's my granddaughter-in-law."
Jude laughed, "Mom, she's not the Parks girl. How did you manage to get out here all by yourself? It's dangerous..."
"I'm telling you, she's a Parks girl. She resembles her grandfather. I cannot be mistaken," old lady Abbott insisted stubbornly.
Jude thought to himself, old lady Abbott was having one of her episodes again, but he didn't argue, instead he went along with her, "Yes, she's the Parks girl."
Immediately brightening, old lady Abbott boasted, "See, I told you so. You thought you could fool me, thinking I've gone senile. The Parks girl is quite fetching. Have my grandson go after her swiftly, so I can hold a great-grandchild sooner."
"Alright, alright," Jude just humored her, "I'll tell Finnegan to be nicer to the Parks girl, to bring her home to you sooner."
Seeing old lady Abbott's happiness, always going on about the Parks girl, Jude remembered his wife Celia's words from the night before.
Maybe it was indeed possible to bring the families together.
After escorting old lady Abbott back to the family home, Jude called his son, "Son, your grandma wandered off alone today and nearly got into trouble, but luckily a young lady took her to the hospital..."
Finnegan, who had just returned to his office after a meeting, was immediately worried upon hearing the news, "How is grandma? Where was the caretaker? How could she let grandma go out alone?"
"Grandma's fine. She just went out looking for Niamh, kept talking about her, wants you to bring Niamh home," Jude explained. "Son, ever since George passed away, your grandma's mind has been getting fuzzier. This is the only thing she regrets now, don't let it be a lifelong regret for her. Bring home a granddaughter-in-law for your grandma soon."
Finnegan instantly grasped what Jude was implying, his expression darkening somewhat. "Grandma wants a granddaughter-in-law, and I'll bring her one," he stated firmly.
Finnegan had mentioned bringing home a granddaughter-in-law but had not explicitly stated it had to be Niamh.
However, when Jude heard these words, they took on a different meaning.
Believing that Finnegan had come around to the idea of joining families with the Parks, Jude responded cheerfully, "That's great. I won't keep you from your work. Your dad here is looking forward to the good news."
After the call, Jude immediately dialed his wife Celia. "I just spoke with our boy. Seems he's taken a liking to Niamh and isn't opposed to the union. Even said he'd bring her home."
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