Chapter 377 Inhumanity
It seemed as though nobody else's assurances mattered.
Only her brother’s words carried weight.
Charles looked at her, his dark eyes still as a tranquil lake.
"I don't know," Charles finally answered.
Chicago's lips quivered, and she was on the verge of tears again.
Charles continued, “Chicago, everything that lives must someday die. Nothing can stop that. You can be sad, heartbroken, even angry, but don't take it out on anyone else.”
Darwin, who was probably the ‘anyone else’ in question, blinked in surprise.
Tears streamed down Chicago’s cheeks.
Thalassa made a move to comfort the child, but a glance from Charles stilled her.
Thalassa looked at Charles, inexplicably feeling a twinge of guilt.
It seemed like everyone was reassuring Chicago, telling her that Jessie would pull through, that everything would be okay.
But it was little Charles who told Chicago that sickness and death were part of life, beyond anyone's control. It was okay to be sad, he said, but not okay to lash out at others.
The two children stood in silent stalemate for a moment.
Then Charles stepped closer and gently hugged his sister, patting her on the back. "I’ll be right outside waiting with you," he soothed.
Chicago nodded vigorously through her tears.
Soon, Chicago returned to her hospital room.
Thalassa stayed by her side.
Fiona stepped forward and carefully examined Charles for any allergic reactions on his limbs and neck.
Once she was sure he was fine, she let out a relieved sigh.
"I'm sorry for being mean to you earlier, Mom," Charles murmured softly.
Fiona was pulled back from her thoughts.
She smiled and shook her head. "It's okay. I know you were just worried about your sister. I'm just glad you're safe."
As she spoke, she gently caressed Charles's cheek and added, "Son, you're the best big brother in the world. You’re even better than Mommy and Daddy hoped you would be."
"It's because you taught me well."
Fiona smiled at that, then tenderly advised, "If you feel itchy or hot later, make sure to tell me or your uncle right away."
"Don't worry, sis, I'll keep an eye on him," Burl quickly assured Fiona.
Fiona gave him a look.
She thought, 'That's what you said before, and look what happened.'
On their way back to the room, Darwin and Fiona walked side by side in silence until Darwin sighed, breaking the tension.
It caught Fiona's attention.
"In terms of parenting, I'm no match for Charles," said Darwin, looking over at Fiona.
Fiona raised an eyebrow slightly. "Do you know how high Charles's IQ is? He could have joined Mensa last year if he wanted to."
"Well, that would still mean we've got good genes," Darwin said, looking for some credit.
Fiona nearly rolled her eyes at him and decided to drop the topic. "Burl and I are worried that Jessie's poisoning might be because of someone in the neighborhood or the park. We've got to catch this person. It was a dog today, but it could be one of our kids next time."
Darwin shook his head. "Jessie was poisoned at home by Mr. Bob's granddaughter."
Fiona blinked in surprise. "Why would she do that?"
"I don't know," Darwin admitted.
Fiona's brow furrowed, then realization dawned on her. "No wonder Bob wanted to give the dog away. He must have been worried about this for a while, huh?”
“When the old man left, I got him to sign over the ownership of property. Jessie is officially part of our family now,” Darwin said.
"I just hope she makes it." As they reached the door to the ward, they could see Chicago talking softly to Jessie through the glass, her tail wagging weakly in an effort to respond, which touched Fiona deeply.
‘Otherwise, this will be an all too sudden and harsh lesson in death for Chicago,’ she thought.
They hurried through a quick lunch.
In the afternoon, reinforcements arrived from the capital city. Three highly skilled vets, accompanied by two expensive pieces of medical equipment.
"The dog has a strong will to live. If she makes it through the night with the new equipment, she should recover."
When Chicago heard the doctor's prognosis, a sparkle returned to her eyes. She rushed back to Jessie’s side. "Come on, Jessie, you’ve got to pull through tonight. When you're feeling better, I'll spoil Pyou with tons of your favorite canned treats and introduce you to my pal, Doodle!"
Chicago rattled off a list of promises, each one sweeter than the last.
Thalassa, who was listening, was moved by her love, but couldn't help feeling a little worried for her own Doodle who probably wouldn’t stand a chance against a fighter like Jessie.
Soon, Bob called. After hearing about the situation, he was relieved and expressed his profound gratitude to Darwin.
After hanging up, Bob poured some water for his wife to take with her medication.
That was when Aurora came downstairs, her greeting to her grandfather cold and distant. "Grandpa, when did you get back?”
Bob, with tears welling up in his eyes, remained silent and was about to leave, when Aurora spoke again. “The housekeeper mentioned the dog died?”
“Aurora!” Bob turned sharply towards her, his voice rising in anger, “Don’t you know we have surveillance in this house? The cameras caught you feeding Jessie poisoned ham!”
Aurora was taken aback. She hadn’t considered that.
But did it really matter?
Was it a crime to kill your own pet?
"Oh.” Aurora said dismissively as she walked away, “And what are you planning to do about it? Expose me? Send me to jail over a dead dog?”
"I...” Overcome with emotion, Bob’s hands shook.
“Grandpa, let’s get this straight. If you hadn’t irritated me and hadn’t given me grief over a dog, would I have done this? Strictly speaking, it's your fault the dog died, not mine,” Aurora fired back.
“Aurora, are you even human? Do you have any humanity at all?” Bob was astounded by Aurora's indifferent and callous demeanor.
“So you care about my humanity now?" Aurora's sneer cut through the air. "When I was struggling to make it on my own abroad, all you ever cared about was Jay. If I don’t have any humanity, it's because you failed to teach me to have any. Do you feel tortured by me now? You’re just reaping what you've sown, Grandpa."
Bob's legs gave out, forcing him to stagger back and steady himself against a cabinet to avoid falling.
"Oh, come on." Aurora looked at him with a feigned concern. "Don't get so worked up. What if you drop dead from all this anger? You’ve spoiled Grandma her whole life. What on earth would she do without you? Don't expect me to be the one to take care of her."
"Get out! Just get out!" Bob bellowed in fury.
He had spent a lifetime as a professor educating and shaping minds. It was beyond him how his own granddaughter could turn out like this.
"What's going on, darling?" Grace’s voice carried concern as she rushed from the room.
She looked terrible, but Aurora spared her not a single glance of comfort, only tossing out more harsh words. "Why should I leave? This is my grandparents' house. Jay got to stay, so why can't I? Don't be so biased. I won't be coming home tonight, so don't bother leaving the door unlocked for me."
With those final words, Aurora changed into her shoes at the entryway and marched out, her stride confident and unapologetic.
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