Chapter 542 Melissa's Surgery
Over the last week, Jeremy had stopped coming by the Joy Mansion to see Olivia. They suddenly lost touch with Lawrence. For Winnie, life had been eerily quiet without his disturbances. Immersed in her work at Triton, she found a sense of ease, the vim and vigor of her old life resurged.
She thought she no longer cared, yet she couldn't help but count the days since he left. Maybe her words had been too harsh during their last argument at the villa's doorstep. She didn't want their relationship to end on the note of that quarrel. They could be strangers who once shared a love and now co-parented their children.
"Winnie?" Olivia's voice cut through her reverie, bringing her back to the present moment with a gentle reminder, "You're holding Sidney's hand too tightly."
Winnie gazed down. The little guy in her arms had drifted off to sleep. She carefully loosened her grip, gently laying the child on the bed.
"You're tensed up," Olivia observed, catching the emotion in her eyes. "You're worried about Lawrence, aren't you?"
"No, not at all." Winnie firmly denied, tucking the blankets around the child, her gaze lingering on his handsome face that so resembled Lawrence's. "If there's any worry, it's for Madam Rodriguez. Her transplant must go without a hitch. It's too crucial. She only has this one shot."
"Lawrence knows what's at stake better than either of us," Olivia said, growing more restless with each word. "No, this won't do. I'll get in touch with Mr. Jeremy tomorrow. Hopefully, he hasn't lost contact with Lawrence, too! Jeremy's too busy to take my calls. I wonder if it means Madam Rodriguez is being transferred to Trento City. We've got no beef with Madam Rodriguez; if she needs help, we're here for her."
Winnie shared her concern for Madam Rodriguez, keeping it to herself, not wanting to bother Jeremy with it. "Olivia, I'll be waiting for your update."
-
The next day, the Triton jewelry line Winnie was collaborating on with Rock hosted an exhibition in a Trento City mall. Thanks to an aggressive advertising campaign, the turnout was substantial.
As the CEO of Triton, Winnie had been personally attending to various socialites and businesswomen.
As the sun dipped, Olivia hurried over. "Winnie! I just saw Jeremy. In an hour, he's dispatching a medevac to transfer Madam Rodriguez from Lymington."
Winnie swiftly handed her clients over to Nelson. She put down her papers and joined Olivia in a quieter spot.
"Is the hospital for Madam Rodriguez's surgery fixed?" Winnie inquired.
"It's set for the Rodriguez family's private hospital. That must've been Lawrence's plan all along; he wouldn't trust any other place.
"Did you know? Since last week, Jeremy has been tracking Ishara's whereabouts, afraid she might bail and withdraw her marrow donation. He surrounded the Blanchet family's villa with over thirty bodyguards."
Jeremy had effectively put Ishara under house arrest by noon today, grounding her with no chance to stir up trouble."
Winnie's anxiety eased a bit.
Olivia theorized, "It seems Lawrence and Jeremy have been in cahoots all along. He's laid the groundwork for Jeremy to take control of Ishara. You don't have to worry anymore about whether anything happened to him in Africa.
"He's arranged his mother's surgery and has Ishara on a tight leash—surely he'll show up tomorrow!"
Winnie unscrewed the cap and took a swig of water. "Let Sidney know about this, Olivia. His dad is on his way back, and Grandpa Kathy will be out of danger by tomorrow!"
Olivia's eyes misted over as she nodded in agreement.
But by evening, Sidney was fixated on his smartwatch. He had made a hundred calls to his Dad, none of which were answered. Restless, Sidney roamed back and forth in the house.
Seeing her son like this, Winnie couldn't sleep either; her mood was unsettled. The mother and son were sleepless the whole night.
At seven in the morning, empathizing with Sidney's feelings, Winnie quickly made breakfast for her son. Then, she took him to the hospital where Madam Rodriguez was being treated.
The Rodriguez family's hospital was quite luxurious—now entirely cleared out except for the medical staff going to and fro.
Winnie, after verification at the entrance by Security, was allowed in.
Holding her son, she headed for the floor where Madam Rodriguez's surgery was taking place. Further down the corridor stood a group of people. Among them, one figure was notably tall and stately, like an evergreen blanketed in frost. The man was bone-weary and dust-caked from his travels.
Winnie immediately spotted Lawrence. He was back, standing in front of his mother's surgery room.
The man's black shirt with its elegant diamond cufflinks was now torn, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his sturdy, fair forearms. He sipped his coffee, taking slow drinks, an alluring bob in his throat muted by the austerity around. The terrifying crimson gleam in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Dad!" Sidney cried out, rushing toward the man he hadn't seen in half a month, struggling to hold back tears.
Lawrence turned, placing the coffee cup on the windowsill. He took his hands out of his pockets, stooped, and caught his son, lifting him and kissing his forehead.
Winnie, witnessing this tender moment, felt an unexpected tightness in her chest as Lawrence. Lawrence was about to speak when he turned his gaze toward her.
Winnie stood at a distance, her heart finally settling down, though she resisted the urge to close the gap.
"You're early. I thought you wouldn't show," Lawrence said as he approached with his son in his arms, his deep voice resonating with a rough, magnetic quality.
There was a cut on his handsome face, and he hadn't bothered to change out of his dress shirt and slacks. How he had managed to return was a mystery to Winnie.
She dismissed all her questions with an indifferent wave, lowering her gaze. "Of course, I had to come. I needed to see Madam. Rodriguez's surgery succeed. And Sidney is worried about Kathy."
What she implied was clear: she was here for herself, for Sidney, In any case, it had nothing to do with him.
Lawrence's cold eyes reflected her now less haggard face, questioning whether the days apart had removed the barb from her heart.
He studied her from top to bottom, realizing Jeremy had failed to trick her into a hospital checkup. He was clueless about the status of the baby inside her. Almost a month had passed; it was time for an ultrasound.
"Sidney, take your mom to sit over there," he said, not wanting her on her feet for too long.
Jeremy came running over, his anxiety turning to joy. "When did you get here? You went off the grid yesterday. I was about to send someone to country B to find you. I feared you wouldn't make it back!"
Olivia was stunned. Lawrence was still stuck the day before, yet, somehow, he manage to return so early this morning.
Sidney tightly held onto Lawrence's hand.
Lawrence, direct and focused, answered Jeremy, "No major trouble. The border guards stopped me as I was leaving the country. I had to fight my way onto the plane."
Jeremy was shocked. Country B was not a place to be taken lightly!
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