Chapter 237: A Cornered Beast
’He didn’t seem to mind that form of address for her anymore.’
Seeing the constipated look on Alaric Blackwood’s face, Sophie Shaw had to stifle a laugh.
"Sophie, I’ll come see you again tomorrow~"
Nina Halloway was hauled out by Ethan Austin. She was already out of sight, but her voice carried back into Sophie Shaw’s ears.
"Okay!"
She called out into the air, not knowing if Nina Halloway could hear her.
The hospital room fell quiet again.
Sophie Shaw leaned against the headboard, watching the still-sulking Alaric Blackwood. She reached out and tugged his arm. "Why the long face?"
"I’m not calling that kid ’brother-in-law’."
’He’d die before he called him that!’
Sophie Shaw suppressed a smile. "If Nina and Ethan really do get married..."
’...he’ll have to call him brother-in-law whether he likes it or not.’
Before she could say the rest, there was a knock on the hospital room door.
They both looked toward the sound and saw Mrs. Ford peering in through the glass window on the door.
"Sophie!"
The old woman waved with a smile, then pushed the door open and made a beeline for Sophie Shaw.
She was carrying a fruit basket filled with fruits rich in Vitamin C. "I asked a professional nutritionist," she said. "Leukemia patients need to eat a lot of food with Vitamin C. It helps maintain the integrity of their capillaries, lessens bleeding from low platelet counts, and boosts the immune system. It has all sorts of benefits. Anyway, the point is, it’s good for you."
She had a cheerful smile on her face and didn’t seem as distraught as before. However, the old woman’s eyes were badly swollen; she had clearly been crying for a long time after getting home.
Sophie Shaw’s heart warmed. "Thank you, Grandma."
"My darling Sophie, you have to get better soon!" The old woman walked to the bedside, unceremoniously shoved Alaric Blackwood aside with her hip, and sat down in the chair.
She gripped Sophie Shaw’s hand tightly, her heart aching as she looked at Sophie’s pale face.
"Sophie, are you feeling uncomfortable today? Why is your face so pale?"
"I’m not uncomfortable. I feel fine."
"When’s the surgery?"
"I already had it."
"You did? You had it today?"
"Yes. My condition was stable, so the doctors went ahead with the surgery."
With something like this, the sooner the better. With acute leukemia, every day of delay brings the risk of the condition worsening.
The next step was to wait for the results of her family’s compatibility tests.
If there was a successful match, Sophie Shaw could soon receive a hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
The old woman looked her over from head to toe. She seemed thinner.
"Have you eaten?"
"I have. The housekeeper from home made food and brought it over."
"Tell the housekeeper she can’t slack on the nutritional side of things."
Sophie Shaw nodded with a smile. "Don’t worry, Grandma. The hospital has professional clinical nutritionists. They’ll definitely be on top of my diet."
Alaric Blackwood, who had been shoved aside, couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He decided to let the grandmother and granddaughter continue their chat, got up, and left the room. He went to the stairwell and lit a cigarette.
As he was smoking, his phone rang. It was an unknown number.
He hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Blackwood, you son of a bitch! You dare to stab me in the back!"
A man’s guttural roar came through the receiver.
Alaric Blackwood recognized the voice. It was Bianca Kane’s uncle, Mason Kane.
He slowly exhaled a plume of smoke, a faint smile playing on his lips as he feigned ignorance. "And you are?"
"Don’t play dumb with me! You’re the one who paid off the media, aren’t you?"
"I have no idea what you’re talking about."
"You want to play dirty, you little punk? Then don’t blame me for what comes next..."
Alaric Blackwood decisively hung up, leaving Mason Kane fuming with nowhere to vent his anger.
After finishing his cigarette, he returned to the hospital room. He sat on the sofa and browsed the news from the past few days. The story about Mason Kane taking bribes had already gone viral, sparking intense debate. The disciplinary commission had received a formal complaint, filed under a real name, and had launched a more thorough and in-depth investigation into Mason. In a few days, the verdict and punishment against Mason Kane would be announced publicly online.
No wonder Mason Kane was acting like a cornered animal, calling him directly like that.
At that moment, Mason Kane was in his home in Silhaven. After Alaric Blackwood hung up on him, he was so furious that he kicked over the coffee table in front of him.
The tea table and its priceless tea set went flying, shattering with a deafening CRASH across the floor.
Still not satisfied, he smashed his phone on the ground. He glared furiously at his assistant, who was trussed up on the opposite sofa, his face bruised and swollen. Gritting his teeth, Mason rushed over, swung his arm, and delivered a vicious slap across the assistant’s face.
"I treated you well! How dare you fucking betray me!"
He pointed at the assistant, incandescent with rage.
The assistant had been abducted by Mason Kane’s men the previous night. After a severe beating, he was brought here.
He remained composed, looking calmly at Mason Kane. "It was originally just bribery. Now you’ve added kidnapping and assault to the list."
"You ruined me. You made my life a living hell. Did you really think you’d walk out of here alive?"
"Kidnapping and assault aren’t enough for you? You want to upgrade to murder?" The assistant remained calm. During the few days he had been in contact with Preston Chase, Preston had warned him to be careful.
As soon as Preston Chase left, he had contacted a friend on the police force. The friend was tracking his real-time location; if he went off the grid, they would take action.
"The police should be here any minute now."
He grinned at Mason Kane, deliberately goading him. "Go on, keep hitting me. Kill me. You got the guts?"
Mason Kane was livid, but he hadn’t completely lost his mind.
The assistant’s words had, to some extent, frightened him. The bribery exposé and the subsequent investigation by the authorities already had him at his wit’s end; he couldn’t afford to do anything else foolish.
He suppressed his anger and untied the assistant. Just as he was about to get rid of the ropes, the other man lunged, tackling him to the ground. He pinned Mason down and started raining punches on his face, venting years of pent-up resentment for all the abuse he had suffered.
After taking a few punches, Mason Kane stopped being a passive victim and started fighting back, grappling with his former assistant.
As the two were locked in a fierce brawl in the tea room, several uniformed police officers rang the doorbell.
A short while later, the butler let the police into the house and led them to the tea room door.
Hearing the sounds of fierce shouting and fighting from within the tea room, the police pushed the door open and stormed in. They forcibly separated the two men, who were rolling on the ground in a tangled heap.
The moment the assistant saw the police, he pointed a finger at Mason Kane. "He had his men kidnap me, and they beat me up."
The rope on the floor that had been used to tie him up, along with the bruises on his body and face, were the best evidence.
Mason Kane was quickly escorted to a police car and driven away.
「Meanwhile, at the Blackwood family’s old residence.」
Led by the butler, Nina Halloway was brought to see Mandy Halloway, who was under house arrest in her room.
The woman was bound with ropes, lying haggardly on the large bed.
While Quentin Blackwood was away, the butler had secretly informed Nina Halloway that her mother, Mandy, was being held under house arrest.
The moment she saw Nina Halloway, Mandy Halloway lost control of her emotions, and tears streamed down her face.
"Nina, quickly, untie me."
She struggled to sit up, pleading desperately.
The butler didn’t dare defy Quentin Blackwood; he could only follow his orders, bringing Mandy Halloway her meals on schedule. But Nina Halloway wasn’t afraid of Quentin. She immediately untied the ropes binding her mother.
"Mom, why did Dad tie you up?"
’She couldn’t believe it. The reason she hadn’t been able to reach Mandy Halloway was that Quentin Blackwood had her locked up under house arrest.’