Chapter 1261: He Called Her Ma'am
"Yo, Joel, get your butt over to the scene and see if you can dig up any dirt on David," Cassie ordered.
"Got it."
Not long after Joel took off, Celeste and Cameron came rushing in.
Once Cameron got the lowdown, he couldn't hold back and started ripping into Mabel, "Why are all you Hernandez folks so damn selfish? How can he be Joseph's uncle? His kid's a big deal, but other people's kids ain't?"
Mabel felt super embarrassed and had nothing to say.
Seeing this, Cassie jumped in, "Alright, enough with the bickering. Let's wait for Joseph to come out and then talk."
Luckily, it wasn't long before the emergency room door swung open.
Lucas walked out, having handled the emergency himself, "Chill, I gave Joseph a full-body check and a head CT. He's just got a mild concussion; he'll be fine."
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Cassie asked, "When's he gonna wake up?"
Lucas replied, "He should be up in a few hours."
They moved Joseph to a VIP room.
Cassie tried to get Cameron and Mabel to go home and rest, but they both insisted on sticking around until Joseph woke up.
After hanging out at the hospital for over an hour, Cassie's phone buzzed. It was David.
She couldn't stand the guy, but for Joseph's sake, she picked up.
"David, I'm not letting this slide," Cassie said, ice-cold.
"Cassie, you can't pin this on me. I didn't even see Joseph tonight. When he came in, I was on the rooftop chatting with Ralph. How could I be dealing with Joseph and talking at the same time? Even if you call the cops, I got call records on my phone," David said with a smug grin.
"You didn't do it yourself, but that doesn't mean someone else didn't. Weren't there two of you? And what about the chick secretary? And why did the lights at Isaac's place go out? You should know."
"My secretary can only file papers for me, but take on Joseph? No way. Joseph's a combat beast; no one could get close to him, even in the dark. As for the lights at Isaac's place, ask Isaac. Probably just some wiring issue."
David's tone was dripping with smugness, "Just wanted to let you know, no need to waste time on Joseph. I'm always here waiting for you, babe."
He hung up. Cassie was so mad she wanted to rip his face off.
But more than anything, she felt weirded out.
This whole thing was just plain weird.
She didn't dare leave Joseph's side for a second.
Around eleven at night, Joseph finally stirred.
"Joey, you okay?" Cassie quickly grabbed his hand.
His thick lashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking all confused and innocent.
After blinking a few times, he suddenly jerked back, pulling his hand away.
"What's wrong? You don't recognize me 'cause of the concussion?" Cassie asked, worried.
"Who are you?" Joseph shrank back. His usual deep, husky voice sounded all childlike.
Cassie was stunned.
"Joseph, what's wrong with you?" Mabel and Cameron immediately crowded around.
"No, stay away! I don't know you," Joseph said, pulling the blanket over himself. His tall frame was curled up and shaking.
Cassie's heart broke, and Mabel and Cameron weren't doing any better.
Cameron, getting desperate, yanked the blanket away, "Joseph, I'm your dad."
"Go away, you're scary," Joseph cried like a little kid, "I don't wanna stay here. I wanna go home."
"Joseph, we're your parents," Mabel said, grabbing his hand.
"No, you're not. My mom and dad aren't as old as you," Joseph pouted, yanking his hand back and clutching it to his chest. He wouldn't let them get close.
Old?
Cameron and Mabel were both floored.
Cassie couldn't take it anymore and quickly called Lucas.
Lucas hadn't left the hospital. When he heard what was going on, he rushed over. Seeing Joseph like that, he was just as shocked.
Joseph started crying again when he saw Lucas, "I don't want a doctor. Doctors are scary."
He didn't recognize anyone, but seeing Cassie looking all pretty and gentle, he quickly grabbed her dress, "I don't want a shot."
Seeing Joseph's handsome face now covered in tears, just like Sophia, Cassie felt like dying but had to hold it together.
"Okay, no shots. The doctor just wants to check your head," she said gently, forcing a smile.
"My head's fine. I don't want a shot," Joseph shook his head like crazy, looking terrified.
"Be good. I promise, no shots, just a little game," Lucas said, trying to keep his own weird feelings in check and treating Joseph like a kid.
After a lot of effort, they finally calmed Joseph down. Several neurologists took turns checking him out. Finally, one expert said, "Aside from a mild concussion, there's nothing wrong with his head. This is the first time we've seen something like this. If it's not an internal issue, it must be due to some external shock before the incident."
"External shock."
Cassie and Lucas exchanged a look. Their hearts skipped a beat as they both thought of the same thing.
Mabel, her eyes red from worry, asked, "Doctor, can he be cured?"
"We'll do our best, but we can't promise anything because there's nothing wrong with his brain," the doctor said with a wry smile. "My preliminary assessment is that his intelligence has regressed to that of a two-year-old."
"A two-year-old?" Cassie smiled bitterly. This was worse than Sophia.
"Let's hope his intelligence improves. If it doesn't, that's the real problem," the doctor sighed.
After the doctor left, Cassie looked at Joseph, who was sitting on the bed sucking his thumb, and said sadly, "I finally get why David tricked him into going over tonight. It must be Megan's doing."
"Megan tried to force his confused memories to treat him, but she made Joseph stupid," Lucas said, clenching his fists, "Megan is so vicious. We should've taken her out earlier."
"Treatment? His memories can't be restored. She just wanted to make him stupid. I've always been careful, not wanting him to remember the past, but it still turned out like this," Cassie said, her eyes red with grief.
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