Chapter 200 Who Is The Beneficiary
Jerry swiftly caught Claire's body as she collapsed, his voice tight with urgency as he turned to Kyle. "Kyle, is there an ambulance?"
"Yeah," Kyle replied, his voice equally tense. "It's already at the gate."
Originally, the ambulance had been arranged for 'Bella Harris' in case of emergencies. Ironically, it was Claire who needed it now.
Claire was hastily transported to the ambulance, and I found myself riding to the hospital in Jerry's car, the tension in the air palpable.
Upon our arrival, Claire had already been whisked away into the emergency room. My emotions were a tempest; I hovered on the edge of tears, panic, and sheer dread.
The brisk echo of hurried footsteps announced the arrival of Kimberly, Skylar, and Larry. Kimberly stormed over, her face twisted with animosity as she shoved me aside. "Hope Royston," she spat, "what more do you want? You're nothing but bad luck!"
I steadied myself and met her glare with icy resolve. "It's my grandmother who's in trouble. What I do is none of your business."
Questions that had haunted me before were swept aside; all I could think about was my grandmother's perilous condition.
Kimberly laughed scornfully. "Grandmother? The nerve. You think some dubious foreign test is going to get you into the family?"
I frowned. "What are you trying to say?"
"Jerry's clearly biased towards you. Who knows whose hair sample he sent abroad?" Kimberly retorted, her suspicion dripping from every word.
Skylar nodded in agreement. "Kimberly has a point. Ms. Royston, as an outsider, you should be clear about your standing."
The venom in her words stung deep, as though I wasn't her daughter but an enemy.
Instinctively, I turned to Larry. "Mr. Harris, do you feel the same way?"
Larry's expression was grave, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, Skylar clutched his arm. "Dear, think carefully. When Bella was lost, it was chaotic. We just identified one fraud, and you want to bring in another?"
A shadow flickered in Larry's eyes, and he regarded me with distant coldness. "Ms. Royston, please understand, we must proceed with caution."
Just as I was about to respond, Jerry slipped his arm around my shoulders, his voice calm yet firm. "Let's check on Claire first."
This statement seemed to quell further argument, though Kimberly's displeasure was evident. "You mean she stays here? If it weren't for her, Claire might not have had an accident!"
Jerry dismissed her words with a casual shrug. "What's meant to happen will happen eventually." He then fixed Kimberly with a pointed look. "If you're so sure she's not Bella, why rush to kick her out?"
Kimberly faltered, her confidence wavering before she snapped, "Who's rushing?"
"Enough!" Skylar interjected, clearly fearing a futile altercation with Jerry. "Kimberly, stop arguing. When your grandmother comes out from the emergency room, the one who should leave will leave!"
I clenched my fists, feeling Jerry's reassuring hand tighten on my shoulder, signaling me to stay calm.
With Claire's life hanging in the balance, my anxiety heightened. Jerry had mentioned Claire's deteriorating health, and now her fate seemed more precarious than ever.
As each torturous minute crawled by, waiting for the emergency room doors to open felt infinitely more agonizing than awaiting test results. After what seemed like an eternity, the doors finally swung open.
This being the Harris family's hospital, the doctor headed straight to Larry. "Mr. Harris," he began, his tone grave, "Mrs. Harris didn't suffer a relapse of an old illness; she was poisoned."
"Poisoned?" The color drained from Larry's face.
Jerry and I exchanged grim looks.
Claire hadn't left the Harris estate in the past few days — she had merely awaited the results there. And now, she had been poisoned right under everyone's noses.
"What kind of poison?" Jerry demanded. "And how is she now?"
The doctor's face remained serious. "We're still identifying the exact toxin. We can confirm it’s a potent substance that quickly impacts the nervous system, liver, and kidneys. The lab's senior expert noted that with an antidote administered within half an hour, there wouldn't have been major issues. Unfortunately, it's too late for that. Though she was brought in promptly and is not in immediate life-threatening danger, she's in a coma. It’s uncertain when, or if, she will wake up."
My hands clenched into tight fists; the method was unspeakably cruel. I turned my gaze to Kimberly, intent on confronting her, but she beat me to it, glaring with accusation. "Hope Royston," she snarled, "did you poison her? Grandmother was so good to you, how could you be so heartless?"
My hand moved almost of its own accord, slapping Kimberly across the face. "You know better than I do who benefits from Claire being poisoned!"
Kimberly, likely the one most aware of my true identity, had orchestrated today’s events. If Jerry hadn't been prepared, and if the Hammer family hospital’s report had deceived Claire, Kimberly would have secretly administered an antidote. But things hadn't gone according to her plan, and so the poison took its toll.
"You dare hit me? You think you're a Harris?" Kimberly screamed, clutching her cheek. She lunged at me, but I grabbed her arm and threw her off.
I sneered, "Who’s deluded here, really? Is it me thinking I'm a Harris, or you?"
Skylar, stricken by the sight of Kimberly's red, swollen cheek, screamed at me, "Hope Royston! Are you out of your mind? If it weren't for Jerry, you'd be dead a hundred times over!"
At that moment, I doubted the paternity test results more than ever. Could someone like Skylar truly be my biological mother? The whole situation felt absurd.
Jerry pulled me behind him, his stance relaxed but with an undercurrent of threat. He let out a dark chuckle. "The Harris family is really rotten to the core."
"Let's go," he murmured to me, "check on Claire."
I nodded, no longer interested in continuing the argument.
Thanks to Jerry's presence, no one stopped me from going into the ward. As the doctor had said, Claire lay unconscious, her condition precarious.
After some time, Jerry suggested we grab something to eat. Reluctantly, I agreed and followed him out. In the elevator, my anxiety resurfaced. "Are we just leaving like this? What if something happens to Claire again?"
Jerry seemed to understand my concern. "It won’t. Although Mr. Harris runs the family business on the surface, Claire has always been the real power. She is passionate about charity and often said she would donate most of the family's fortune. She made a will, and no one knows its contents. So, until the will is disclosed, no one would dare let Claire suffer any further harm.”
In other words, any mistake could cost them a significant portion of the Harris fortune.
I bit my lip, summoning the courage to look Jerry in the eye. "I really am Bella Harris, right?"
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