Chapter 489 Let Me See
Twenty minutes later at Red Cross Hospital.
James rushed into the hospital and headed straight for the operating room. Outside the doors, he found Christopher pacing anxiously, tear streaks still visible on his face.
The man had changed dramatically. In just a short time, Christopher had lost considerable weight and aged visibly—stress had even turned portions of his hair gray. Life had clearly beaten him down.
"Christopher, how serious is it?" James asked as he approached.
"James?" Christopher looked startled, clearly not expecting to see him. Memories of past mockery flashed across his face, and he shook his head bitterly. "She's still in surgery. No updates yet."
He suddenly slapped himself hard. "It's all my fault! I'm useless! I've made Abigail suffer so much because of me."
"Don't do that," James said softly. "Abigail will be fine. You should sit down and rest—you'll need your strength to take care of her later."
Christopher slapped himself again, his face filled with remorse. "James, I'm truly sorry for everything. I was so vain, always putting you down to make myself look better. I was such an asshole."
Their circumstances had completely reversed. Now struggling at rock bottom, Christopher finally understood James's past pain.
"That's all in the past," James said sincerely, gripping his hand. "Just focus on being a better person moving forward."
He could tell that after all these years, Christopher had turned into a different person.
Christopher gave a bitter smile. "The Smith Family made a huge mistake throwing you out."
"Tell me what happened here," James redirected. "Mary mentioned the Harbor Group owes you money?"
Christopher held nothing back. "Abigail and I followed Mary's family to Silverpeak City. I thought we could start fresh, so I set up a transport company for construction materials."
"Business was good at first, but we stepped on someone's toes. Our trucks were constantly stopped, drivers beaten up. Eventually, someone died in an accident."
"The company collapsed. We lost tens of millions, leaving us with only a couple hundred thousand." He sighed heavily. "You know Addison—she can't stand 'failures,' even family. Her mockery became unbearable. Abigail caught a lot of the fallout too."
"And Mary, well, you know how strictly she separates family from business. I couldn't ask her for help. And... I don't think I'm worth her help anyway."
"I remembered a client in Sovereign City who still owed me $5 million, so we came to collect. I figured even $3 million would give me a chance to rebuild."
Christopher's face darkened. "Instead, we got nothing. They even drained our remaining savings on entertainment expenses. Last night, the guy finally told me straight up he had no intention of paying. He said if I really wanted the money, Abigail could spend five days with him—$100,000 per day."
"I lost control and punched him. This morning, right after leaving the police station, a car came straight at me. Abigail pushed me out of the way but couldn't dodge herself."
His fists clenched. "If anything happens to her, I swear I'll take that bastard down with me."
"What's the client's name?" James asked, eyes narrowing.
"Zane Lowe, Deputy CEO of the Harbor Group."
James committed the name to memory.
An hour later, as they waited for news, a commotion erupted in the hallway.
"Abigail! Abigail!" The shrill voice reached them before its owner appeared.
James tensed instinctively: Addison.
Sure enough, Addison and Charles burst in with several bodyguards. She looked even more stylish and sophisticated than before—clearly, life in Stardust City had treated her well.
Christopher stood up. "Mom, Abigail is still in surgery..."
Without hesitation, Addison slapped him four times across the face.
"Worthless! Letting Abigail take the hit for you—why didn't you die instead?" she screamed. "You're completely useless, and now you've almost killed her!"
"Christopher, listen to me. The moment Abigail wakes up, you're divorcing her and getting out of the Smith Family."
Christopher's face was swollen from the slaps. He bit his lip, clearly angry, but ultimately lowered his head and stepped aside.
"Pathetic! Four slaps and you can't even speak up." Seeing his silence, Addison stormed forward and slapped him twice more. "If anything happens to Abigail, you're done."
Charles tried to intervene. "That's enough. We're in public."
"Shut up! You're just as useless," Addison snapped. "If it weren't for you, all three of my daughters could have married into wealthy families. How did they end up with these failures instead?"
"Even a 'failure' is better than a shrew like you," James stepped between them. "Charles's biggest mistake was marrying someone like you."
Charles looked surprised to see James, then nodded with a small smile in greeting.
"James?" Addison's shock quickly turned to fury. "You little bastard! Getting kicked out of the Smith Family has really lowered your standards—now you dare insult your elders?"
She lifted her chin defiantly. "Let me tell you something: you still aren't good enough for my Mary. So what if you've made some money? It's nothing compared to the Smith Family. Mary just bought Cloud Top Mountain for $10 billion. Has a country bumpkin like you ever seen that kind of money?"
"Stay away from Mary. We're high society now, not for nouveau riche like you." Her eyes narrowed. "And by the way, you'd better return the Emerald Country property rights you swindled from us for $200 million. Otherwise, I'm calling the police."
She'd received news that the once-worthless land had been designated as a special zone, multiplying its value to at least $5 billion—a thought that pained her deeply.
"Addison, have you no shame?" James shot back.
"Return it now, or I'll make a scene!" she threatened.
Just then, the operating room doors swung open. Everyone turned.
A middle-aged doctor emerged with a grave expression. "The patient will survive, but we couldn't save her legs."
Christopher collapsed to the floor.
Addison went pale.
James looked into the operating room at Abigail's bloodied legs and walked straight in. "Let me take a look."
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