Chapter 54 Is Lila Dying? Catherine Uncovers the Plot
VIP room at Bright Heal Hospital in Imperia City.
Lila was sprawled out on the bed, eyes shut, while the caregiver mumbled some prayers beside her.
Esme was bawling her eyes out next to Lila's bed, saying, "You gotta help me! Marcus said he's gonna hand me over!"
"What the heck? Marcus isn't crazy, where's he planning to send you?"
Esme, with her rehearsed sob story, cried even harder, "I blew half a year's allowance on those Vitality Pills for Marcus, and he still wants to hand me over to the Howard family's legal team to throw me in jail. If I go, who's gonna take care of you?"
Lila, getting all worked up, asked, "Esme, do I still have enough Vitality Pills?"
'If Esme gets taken by the Howards, at least I won't be out of my meds!' Lila thought.
"Yeah, you haven't taken today's dose yet. Here, take it now!"
With Esme's help, Lila took the Vitality Pills, her frown easing up as she started to drift off, vision blurring.
"You gotta help me, I'm your only granddaughter," Esme said.
Lila nodded sleepily, parroting Esme's words.
Esme, feeling smug, tucked Lila in, eyes gleaming with pride.
'If Felix takes the Vitality Pills, maybe he'll be as easy to control as Lila!'
In Marcus's room, Gavin held up two test papers and asked, "Do you have two Esmes in your family?"
Marcus, confused, put down his chess pieces. "What are you talking about?"
"I got two identical test papers for the exam, both with Esme's name on them. Check this out."
"Let me see," Marcus said.
Both test papers had Esme's name on them, clear as day. One was a fail, the other aced it.
"I compared Esme's handwriting. The failing one is definitely hers, and the other one was probably done by someone she hired. Plus, a bunch of teachers said they haven't seen her since the school year started," Gavin explained.
Marcus frowned and called out, "Esme, get in here."
"Okay, coming!"
As soon as Esme walked in, she saw Gavin and felt a surge of satisfaction.
'Gavin must've told Marcus I'm a genius in medical studies, and now Marcus finally gets how important I am!' Esme thought.
"Esme, explain this," Marcus said.
Esme looked at the two identical test papers, totally confused.
'Why'd the person take the exam without getting paid?'
"Marcus, she's really pitiful, please forgive her! She bullied me at school and didn't let me attend classes, so I had to prove my abilities this way," Esme said.
Marcus squinted and said sternly, "You mean you were threatened? Then why didn't you tell us?"
"I was scared my classmates would say I was abusing my power. People used to bully me because I was from the Windsor family. Everyone's so busy, I didn't want to cause trouble."
She pulled out her phone, showing a bunch of nasty messages.
"These are from my classmates. I'm really scared! But please, don't make things hard for them. They didn't mean it."
Marcus frowned and asked, "What about the exam?"
"The high score one is mine. Even though I haven't been to school, I've been studying at home. I'd never disgrace the Windsor family!"
Marcus frowned and said, "You can go now, I'll handle it."
Esme left the room in tears, feeling relieved.
Gavin was stunned!
'This girl's acting skills are wasted on medical studies!'
"Do you believe her?" Gavin asked.
"No, she's full of it, just like Lila," Marcus said.
"Then what are you gonna do?" Gavin asked.
Marcus thought for a bit, then grabbed his phone and called Charles. He quickly filled him in and said, "Look into what Esme's been up to at school, but don't hassle the kid who took the test for her."
"Got it," Charles replied.
---
The Smith Villa in Serenitia City.
Oliver walked into his study and found his desk looking like a tornado hit it. It was a mess, like a thief had ransacked the place!
He'd been careful and set up surveillance in the study after some important documents went missing last time.
Checking the footage, he saw Clara sneaking into his study multiple times, swiping a bunch of Smith family documents and handing them over to the Johnson family.
'No wonder the Smith family’s been taking so many hits lately. It's all because of the Johnsons sticking their noses in our business! The Smith family’s never had this kind of bad luck under my watch!'
Oliver called up the Johnson family, fuming, "You Johnsons are something else! You took so many of my documents. If you don't cover our company's losses, I'll see you in court!"
The Johnson family, already having a rough time with their business tanking, were pissed off by Oliver's call and snapped back, "Who the hell wants your useless junk? You think you're some business genius? How dare you come to us for money!"
Oliver snorted, "I have proof. If you don't own up, we'll settle this in court!"
The Johnson family wasn't having it. "Proof? You mean the crap your daughter brought over? We didn't even want it! And don't think I don't know. You tried to suck up to Ms. Windsor and got kicked out. Now no one in Imperia City or Serenitia City wants to do business with you!"
They hung up, leaving Oliver seething.
'These people are shameless!'
He wanted to confront Clara, but she was out shopping with Lucas.
Oliver, in a panic, said, "Quick, set up a dinner with the chairmen of Summit Financial, Hill Finance, Nexus Media, and Harmony Enterprises at the Royal Hotel's priciest private room!"
"The most expensive room isn't worth it. How about we book the cheapest package at the same hotel as last time?" his secretary suggested.
"Fine, the cheapest it is. I need to talk to those four bosses ASAP! If they change their minds, the Smith family still has a shot!"
Oliver rushed out.
Meanwhile, Catherine was about to get out of the car and head back to The Windsor Mansion when she got a call from Saturn.
"Miss, Oliver wants to invite the four of us to the cheapest meal. He's so stingy! Dubhe had diarrhea last time, and Mars ended up in the hospital with gastroenteritis. It was a nightmare!"
Catherine replied, "Don't go. Block him, and send a lawyer's letter."
"Got it! The Johnson family seems to be in deep trouble lately, almost like they're going bankrupt. Was that your doing?" Saturn asked.
"No."
"I figured. If it were you, the Smith family would be going under too. I sent a video to your phone. Check it out."
Catherine played the video on her phone, showing Lila's hospital room.
Inside, Esme handed a small pillbox to Lila, watching her take the pills.
"Lila, I'm your only granddaughter, you have to be on my side."
Lila started repeating her words, clearly brainwashed!
Saturn said, "This idiot probably thinks Vitality Pills are some kind of mind control, which is why she tried so hard to get Marcus to take them."
Catherine looked at Lila's condition and frowned, "Lila's dying!"
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