Chapter 205 Raymond's Savior
Louis walked back into the Carnegie Manor, spotting Margaret already settled in the grand living room.
Ethan looked pretty serious, clearly invested in this whole situation. For years, the Sackler family never spilled the beans on who saved Raymond, and they never asked for anything in return either.
The Carnegie family, on the other hand, had been looking out for the Sacklers in various ways over the years. Especially lately, ever since Louis came back and got close to Xena, there were always whispers about the Carnegie and Sackler families teaming up, which really helped the Sacklers out. But now, the Sacklers were in a bind and hoped the Carnegies would step in to help.
They didn't really need to cash in on this favor before. But with the Carnegie partnership looking shaky and the Sacklers deep in the red, the Carnegies weren't exactly obligated to help out. Unless, of course, the Sacklers played that favor card.Once they used a favor, it was gone. The Sacklers knew this well, so they held onto it for years. But now, with Paige's relentless revenge, they couldn't hold out any longer.
Margaret said, "I don't know either. After Paige got out of prison, she became the CEO of Universe Group as Xanthe. Xena had agreed to be a match for Luna, but Paige still came after us with a grudge."
Margaret was so caught up in her story that she didn't notice Raymond walking over. Raymond faked a couple of coughs, cutting her off.
Margaret jumped when she saw him, then quickly stood up. She pointed at Raymond's legs... "Your legs."
Raymond had driven himself over today and walked right in after getting out of the car. The Sacklers hadn't heard the news that he could walk again. Not just the Sacklers, even the folks at the Carnegie Manor were stunned.
Only Ethan stayed cool, having known for a while. After years of unfair treatment and hurtful words while stuck in a wheelchair, Raymond decided to stand up and show everyone the truth.
Feeling pleased, Ethan told Margaret, "The treatment worked; he probably won't need the wheelchair anymore."
Margaret finally realized Raymond was standing, hinting that big changes might be coming for the Carnegie family. But Raymond didn't bring his new wife today, which threw Margaret off a bit.
Margaret, being in her fifties, had seen it all. So, she held back from gossiping and quickly said to Raymond, "Congrats. Seeing you in that wheelchair all these years has been tough on us."
Raymond, being young, found Margaret's words fitting. But he didn't really like hearing them. Raymond sat down and cut to the chase, "I don't have much time today; my wife is waiting at home. Mrs. Sackler, I also want to meet the person who saved me back then."
With Raymond's words, the real conversation began. Margaret said, "She'll be here, but she's got some other stuff to handle first and might be a bit late. Mr. Raymond Carnegie, do you mind waiting a bit?"
Waiting for the benefactor? No big deal. Raymond, of course, didn't mind. "Not at all. I've been wanting to meet this person for years. I want to know if they're a main member of the Sackler family or from a branch."
Raymond and Ethan had always been curious about this mystery person, but the Sacklers had kept them under wraps, never spilling any details.
If the Sacklers weren't in such deep trouble now, they probably still wouldn't bring this person out. This favor was meant to be used at the perfect moment.
Margaret didn't directly answer Raymond's question but smiled and said, "Mr. Raymond Carnegie, don't worry. You'll find out soon enough."
Ethan was also puzzled about why the Sacklers kept this person such a big secret when they were about to use the favor.
While they were chatting, a servant came in and said, "The guest has arrived."
Ethan responded, "Please, bring them in."
Margaret smiled. "She should be here."
When the servant led the person in, Ethan and Raymond were genuinely shocked to see Xena.
Ethan was the most surprised. "Mrs. Sackler, this..."
Margaret smiled proudly, no longer keeping the secret, and said, "Xena is the one who donated blood to save Mr. Carnegie back then."
Raymond couldn't help but doubt. "Ms. Sackler was only a few years old at that time, right?"
'Drawing blood from a young child to save someone? How could a kid that young donate so much blood?' Raymond immediately doubted the Sackler family's story.
But then, Xena leaned into Margaret's arms, looking all sad. "Back then, my health was really bad for a while because of this. I couldn't even do sports at school and got ostracized by my classmates."
Margaret sighed and said, "When donating blood, she didn't think about needing so much. She was really scared of the pain, but when she heard her blood could save someone, she kept asking the doctor to draw more. She was such a kind girl.''
''The doctor at the time thought Xena was too understanding and felt really sorry for her. We never revealed this because Xena was too young back then. I was afraid everyone would feel guilty if we told them. This guilt is something I can bear alone. I really don't know what to say about drawing Xena's blood," Margaret spoke with a look of deep remorse.
Raymond kept looking at Xena, doing the math on her age at the time and the amount of blood he needed, and felt the Sackler family's story didn't add up.
Ethan didn't push it further because even if they dug deeper, they might not get any answers from the Sacklers. Regardless of who the Sacklers claimed this person to be, the Carnegie family had to repay the favor. But Ethan couldn't understand why the Sacklers would take such a risk to save Raymond.
