Chapter67Let's Do This, No Time to Waste
After finishing her statement, Paige turned to Pearl. "The car keys."
Pearl quickly handed the Viper car keys over to Paige.
Her gaze lingered on Paige, doing a double-take.
Paige was still strikingly beautiful, and you couldn't even tell from the hem of her dress that a razor-sharp dagger was concealed underneath.
Pearl didn't know the full extent of Paige’s training, but it was evident from her movements that she had been taught far more.
Though Pearl had her fair share of self-defense training, it was clear that Paige was on another level.
Having been through training herself, Pearl could tell that Paige had a natural talent for it.
And it had to be a talent that spanned multiple disciplines. Otherwise, Paige wouldn't be the chosen heir of the Yates family.
"Xanthe, do you need me to come with you?" she asked.
Paige, with the keys in her hand, leaving Pearl a view of her leaving, replied, "No need, Julian’s there. Just get the villa ready. I'll be there shortly."
Pearl understood then—Paige was going to take her mother away. The villa was primarily for her mother.
Paige got into the Viper, swiftly assessed the interior, and intuitively knew how to operate it despite it being her first time driving this particular model.
The car sped towards the Sanatorium at eighty miles an hour.
After dialing a number and a long wait, the call was connected.
Paige's voice carried a hint of weariness as she spoke in a low tone, "Byron, I’m running out of time. How's the experiment going? I need to take my mother now. Her medication..."
She knew that if she didn't take her mother now, the Sackler family would undoubtedly use that as leverage against her.
She had hoped to wait until the medicine had been developed, but there was not much time to spare.
"The last test is tonight. If you can find the time, come over," came Byron’s reply.
"I'll be there," Paige confirmed.
After hanging up, she floored the accelerator.
The speedometer's needle soared past one hundred.
Confident in her driving skills, Paige was aware of the Viper's limit—over 200 miles per hour.
With a goal to reach the Sanatorium as quickly as possible, she asked through Bluetooth, "Gate access?"
Cecil West's voice came through her earpiece, "Access granted, the gate is opening..."
As the Sanatorium gates opened in front of her, Paige drove straight in.
By the time the taillights had vanished from view, the Security Guard at the gate was still in a daze.
Xena sat quietly in the hospital room with her gaze icily fixed upon the woman on the bed. A sneer crept across her lips as she muttered to herself, “Really, it might be better if you just kept sleeping like this. For the past five years, I've felt that being unconscious is somehow more beneficial than having you alive.”
“Mom, why did you always dote on Paige? I'm your child, too, aren't I? We were the ones living together as mother and daughter, yet why did you care for me only half as much as you did for Grandma? Do you have any idea how much that hurt me?”
Just as she finished speaking, the door to the room burst open.
Xena turned to see Paige standing at the threshold.
Xena quickly stood up, "Paige, what are you doing here? Who said you could visit today?"
It was agreed upon by both Margaret and Xena that Paige could visit her mother – under one condition, that Paige had to notify them in advance. They weren't worried about Paige showing up unannounced. After all, the Sanatorium belonged to the Sackler family, and Paige couldn't just walk in without prior approval.
Paige smirked, "I come to see Mom whenever I feel like it. Do you think this rundown Sanatorium can stop me? After all this time, did you truly begin to believe it?"
Xena, feeling massively irked by Paige’s audacity, replied with a mocking disbelief, "What are you saying? You just come as you please? Paige, where do you think this is? Don't assume that just because you've married into wealth, you can do whatever you want. Even if you had married into the Carnegie family, you’re nothing but a contemptible illegitimate child. Don’t forget your place!"
After Xena's scornful words, she raised her voice and called out, "Security!"
At her call, a dozen men in black suits emerged, shielding Xena and the hospital bed, poised to confront Paige.
Paige just smiled faintly – these few guards were hardly worth her concern.
Now accompanied by her bodyguards, Xena stepped forward with an air of superiority as if she towered over Paige once again.
Her face carried an aristocratic arrogance, "Paige, merely marrying into wealth means nothing. Don't think you are invincible. Maybe it’s time you will learn what a discarded trophy wife feels like. You might find yourself kicked out before you know it. Would you even know where to turn your tears, then?"
Xena's mockery was just a buzzing annoyance to Paige.
Paige smiled indifferently, "Wealth? Xena, do you even know what that means? I suppose there’s no point explaining; you'd never understand. Let's get down to business. I'm here today to take my mother away from this place. From now on, the Sackler family better not even dream of using her to threaten me, got it?”
Paige laid her intentions out with sheer clarity.
Xena thought to herself, it was a good thing Grandma had such foresight. If she hadn't arrived ahead of Paige with reinforcements, who knows, Paige might have certainly found a way to pull this off.
But sadly, Paige was still too inexperienced compared to Grandma.
Grandma was an advanced player who anticipated ten moves ahead, and having foreseen Paige's every move.
Now, with the upper hand, it was hard to see how Paige could hope to whisk someone away.
“Ha! You think you can just waltz into our family's Sanatorium and leave with someone?” Xena's laughter was laced with scorn. “Paige, everyone here is on my side. Even if you brought the entire Carnegie clan, there'd be no reason for us to hand her over.
“Don't forget, she's not just your mother, she's mine too. As of now, you're nothing but an outsider married off into the Carnegie family. What cause would the Carnegies have to demand the Sackler family matriarch?”
Xena had all the advantages—time, place, and people. Paige’s plans to spirit someone away stood no chance!
The very moment Xena stopped speaking, Julian barged in, dragging a doctor by the collar of his white coat.
Standing behind Paige, Julian announced, “Got him! The serums are here too, two doses left.”
Once he finished speaking, someone brought over a mini fridge to show Paige.
Xena hadn't foreseen Paige's team would act so swiftly, capturing the doctor and securing the remaining doses.
Paige took a deep breath and ordered, “Keep the doctor and serums secure.”
Julian tossed the doctor to his underlings and stepped forward, standing beside Paige.
He glanced at her and asked, “So, do we start with this noisy broad?”
Paige turned her head slightly, catching Julian in the corner of her eye, “Stand down, this is my fight.”
After saying that, Paige turned her attention back to Xena. “I've heard all your foolish comments. But you see, it's no use to me.”
With those words, she squared up and taunted the bodyguards that surrounded the hospital bed with a commanding gesture, “Come on then, all of you. Let's not waste any more time.”
