Chapter 604: Mr. Patrick is Dying
At the daycare door, Justin and Joe were eyeballing this tall dude who kinda looked like Henry.
Justin cocked his head. "You say you're my uncle?"
Ian squatted down to Justin's level and grinned. "Yep, I'm here on behalf of Mr. Patrick."
He pulled out a gift.
Justin glanced at the gift and shook his head. "Mom says people who haven't done anything real don't deserve rewards or special treatment."
Ian chuckled. "I'm not a stranger; I'm Henry's brother."
"His brother?" Justin asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah." Ian nodded.
"Even so, I can't go with you 'cause my dad would be mad." Justin shook his head. He wasn't about to go off with just anyone.
"Alright, I get it. I wasn't planning to take you alone. Your great-grandpa misses you. He's not doing well and is at Capital Hospital getting ready for surgery. He wants to see you before the operation."
Mr. Patrick's heart was failing, and at his age, even a heart transplant wouldn't help. He was ready to give up and didn't want to fight anymore.
He wanted to see Justin.
Justin checked the time on his little watch. "I'll go with Dad when he comes."
Ian was taken aback by Justin's caution and nodded with a smile.
"You look sick too," Justin noticed Ian's pale face and asked.
Ian nodded. "Yeah, it's probably the Patrick family's bad genes. Mr. Patrick has congenital heart disease, and so do I."
Henry's dad also died of a heart attack. Henry was the only one in the Patrick family born completely healthy.
That's why Mr. Patrick favored Henry, thinking he was the lucky one who could change the family's genes.
That's why Mr. Patrick was so eager for Henry to get married and have kids.
As for Ian, he was an illegitimate child with congenital heart disease and wasn't expected to live long.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Justin asked softly, looking sympathetic.
Ian smiled and shook his head. "It's not too painful; I just have to be careful all the time. One day, I might fall asleep and never wake up again."
Justin didn't say anything, just took off his cross and handed it to Ian. "Here, take this. The Lord will bless you."
Ian was stunned for a moment, staring at the cross in his palm, looking a bit dazed.
"I think I get why Mr. Patrick is so delusional, preferring to believe you're a Patrick family kid, Henry's son."
"What are you talking about?" Justin was puzzled.
Ian shook his head. "Nothing, I mean your mom raised you well."
Justin and Joe exchanged a glance. This sickly uncle was really strange.
About twenty minutes later, Ethan showed up.
Seeing Ian squatting in front of Justin and Joe, he let out a sigh of relief. "What are you doing in San Francisco?"
Ian turned around and flashed Ethan a bright smile. "Long time no see."
"Your smile is awful," Ethan said with disdain, motioning for Justin and Joe to get in the car.
Ian slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, and after a moment, spoke, "I envy you, having such well-behaved sons. One is already blessing, and you have two of them."
"That's not something I can give you." Ethan joked. "Don't tell me you're here in San Francisco to compete with me for my sons."
"I also want to compete for your wife to see if I can make you feel a bit threatened." Ian joked back with a smile.
Ethan and Ian first crossed paths at a business school in Muskow. Ian was the quiet, brainy type, always ready to do whatever it took to hit his goals. He kept work and personal stuff separate, which Ethan thought was pretty cool.
"Then you're bound to lose," Ethan said, all confident.
"Nothing's set in stone. Don't be so sure. If I really wanted to go head-to-head with you, I might not lose," Ian shrugged. "But I will definitely compete for the Everhart Group's evaluation and investment in the new energy project. I won't go easy just 'cause Jasmine's your wife."
"My wife's name is Yasmine Cunningham," Ethan corrected.
"Sorry." Ian nodded. "My grandpa's in the hospital and doesn't have much time left. Henry's already gone to Muskow, and Grandpa wants to see Justin."
"What if I don't give him that chance?" Ethan had no plans to let his son see Mr. Patrick.
This was his kid.
"Mr. Douglas isn't a narrow-minded guy. For the sake of our old friendship."
"Didn't you say work and feelings should be separate? Since you're calling me Mr. Douglas, don't talk about friendship. Whether Justin goes or not is his call. I can't interfere." Ethan cut Ian off.
Since Ian wouldn't back down on the new energy project, he and Jasmine were now enemies.
And as enemies, they should act like it.
"You're still the same," Ian said, not budging an inch.
"Just like you." Ethan leaned against the car door. "I got stuff to do today, so no dinner invite."
"Funny, I got a dinner appointment too," Ian said with a smile.
He had a date with Jasmine.
Ethan went quiet, eyeing Ian. These two smart guys were testing each other with every word.
Ethan was trying to figure out why Ian was in San Francisco, and Ian was trying to gauge Ethan's feelings about Jasmine.
"Justin, Mr. Patrick is sick and doesn't have much time left. Can you come with me to see him?" Ian asked, looking at Justin in the car.
Justin looked up at Ethan.
He was so well-behaved, not wanting to make his dad sad.
"Justin, you decide," Ethan said, ruffling Justin's hair.
Justin was quiet for a long time, then looked up at Ian. "I want to see great-grandpa."
Ian smiled and waved. "Alright, I'll pick you up after school tomorrow afternoon."
Ethan snorted, reluctantly getting into the car.
Watching Ethan's car drive away, Ian looked down at the cross in his hand and hung it around his neck.
In an abandoned warehouse in San Francisco, Bradley, with his hands tied and body covered in wounds, was thrown onto a pile of discarded boxes.
Wincing in pain, he looked at his attackers through blurry eyes.
Claire, who hated Bradley and his mom deeply, wasn't gonna let him die easily; she wanted him tortured to vent her anger.
"Howard got the video and said he'd send the money. Did the boss go to get it?" one of the kidnappers asked.
"The boss called. That bastard Howard tricked us. He brought the cops!" another kidnapper answered, his face darkening instantly.
"Damn it, let's get out of here. How dare he trick us," the kidnapper shouted, kicking Bradley.
"Come on, let's make a video for Howard to see."
A few of them stepped forward, untied Bradley, and placed his hand on a wooden block.
"What are you gonna do?" Bradley asked in pain.
"We're gonna pull out your nails one by one and show your dad. This is what happens when you mess with us. If it happens again, I'll chop off your whole hand and send it to him."
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