Chapter 243: Nightmare
"Ask her now!"
Alaric Blackwood’s tone left no room for argument.
Considering the post-operative issues of rejection and relapse, he believed the doctor’s recommendation of a full match was the optimal choice. Joseph Shaw’s half-match was just a last resort.
"Bianca isn’t picking up my calls. She went to Silhaven to handle her uncle’s affairs. She didn’t tell me where exactly she’s staying, so I don’t know where she’s hiding Joel."
Joseph Shaw’s response made Alaric feel as though the air was trapped in his chest, unable to move up or down, leaving him breathless.
"I’ll have my people find them."
With that, Alaric Blackwood took out his phone and walked towards the stairwell, dialing a number as he went.
Joseph Shaw returned to the hospital room alone.
He walked to the hospital bed and looked at Sophie Shaw’s reddened eyes. "Sophie," he said helplessly, "Dad wants to save you. I really, really want to save you."
"I want to rest."
Sophie Shaw shrank back under the covers, pulling the blanket over her head.
"Sophie, please don’t ignore me. It was all my fault before. I know I was wrong."
Joseph Shaw pulled the blanket off her head, only to find her hands covering her face as she sobbed quietly. She was struggling to suppress her cries, her shoulders trembling from the effort.
His nose tingled, and his eyes reddened as well.
"Sophie, I will definitely save you."
"Bianca is someone who values her own interests above all else. Maybe if we negotiate with her, we can get her to change her mind."
"If we pull the Nine Stone Series from Heart of the Ocean, stop all subsequent promotions, and withdraw the lawsuit, we should be able to negotiate with Bianca."
He tried to discuss his strategy with Sophie, but she didn’t say a word and only cried harder.
"This is the only way."
He told Sophie Shaw to seriously consider his proposal because he knew Bianca Kane. Without something in it for her, Bianca would never agree to let Joel Kane donate his bone marrow to Sophie.
It was a matter of life and death. He didn’t want to repeat his past mistakes, and he couldn’t bear to lose Sophie Shaw too after already losing Mina Ford.
Alaric Blackwood finished his call and returned to the room, just in time to overhear what Joseph Shaw was saying.
"If Bianca Kane doesn’t accept your terms, what’s your plan?"
Joseph Shaw thought for a moment, then said firmly, "Divorce her and fight for custody of Joel."
"Are you sure?"
"I’m sure."
"Good! If it comes to a divorce, I’ll help you fight for custody of Joel."
Even with Joseph Shaw’s promise, Alaric Blackwood was still worried.
He was afraid Bianca Kane would deliberately drag out the divorce proceedings. They could afford to wait, but Sophie Shaw’s illness could not.
That night, he even had a dream where he was dressed in black, standing in front of a coffin in a funeral home’s viewing hall, holding a white chrysanthemum. And in the coffin before him lay Sophie Shaw, dressed in a black dress...
He woke up with a jolt from the nightmare, panting heavily, his forehead beaded with sweat.
For once, Sophie Shaw had woken up earlier than him. Seeing his panicked expression, she took the sleeve of her hospital gown and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"You had a nightmare."
Around three in the morning, she had heard him talking in his sleep, calling her name intermittently.
"What did you dream about?"
Alaric Blackwood shook his head. "Nothing."
"Then why were you calling my name in your sleep?"
Alaric Blackwood’s heart sank. "I was?"
"What happened to me in your dream?"
"...I forgot."
He got out of bed, strode into the bathroom, and splashed his face with cold water.
The nightmare had left him drenched in a cold sweat. Combined with the fact that he hadn’t been home in days, keeping vigil at the hospital without even a change of clothes, he decided to head back to Maplewood Estate after having breakfast with Sophie Shaw. He took a proper shower, shaved, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and hurried back to the hospital feeling refreshed.
He had just entered the inpatient wing when Preston Chase called.
"Mr. Blackwood, we’ve confirmed which hotel Bianca Kane is staying at."
Preston Chase had been to Silhaven on business before and had covertly investigated Mason Kane, so he knew where Mason lived. After getting the call from Alaric Blackwood yesterday, he immediately took his men to Silhaven. The first place they checked was Mason Kane’s home, but Bianca Kane wasn’t there.
He then discreetly investigated all the luxury hotels in Silhaven that someone of Bianca Kane’s social standing would frequent, and after a full night’s work, he finally found her.
"Keep an eye on them. I’m on my way."
After instructing Preston Chase, Alaric Blackwood hung up and immediately contacted Joseph Shaw, telling him to come with him to Silhaven.
After booking the flights, he still took the elevator upstairs and went into Sophie Shaw’s room.
"I have to leave Kingsport for a day."
Sophie Shaw looked at him in surprise. "Where are you going?"
"Silhaven. We’ve found your brother. I’m going over there."
’If negotiating terms with Bianca doesn’t work, I can always beg...’
’And if begging is useless, then the only option left is for Joseph Shaw and Bianca Kane to get a divorce. I’ll help Joseph fight the divorce case and get custody of Joel Kane.’
"I want to go with you."
Alaric Blackwood’s tone was firm. "No."
The travel to and from the airport, plus the flight itself—a round trip between the two cities would take at least five or six hours. It would be too much for Sophie Shaw.
He was afraid her current physical condition couldn’t handle it.
"You just wait for me to come back, okay?"
"I want to go."
"You can’t."
Alaric Blackwood didn’t give her another chance to speak. He contacted Mrs. Ford and Mandy Halloway on WhatsApp, asking them to come and keep Sophie Shaw company.
Once they arrived, Alaric Blackwood immediately rushed to the airport.
Joseph Shaw had arrived before him and was already waiting at the security checkpoint.
The two of them boarded the plane without a hitch. Two hours later, they landed in Silhaven, where Preston Chase picked them up by car and drove them directly to the hotel where Bianca Kane and Joel Kane were staying.
The mother and son were staying in the presidential suite. When she heard a knock, Bianca Kane assumed it was the room service she had ordered. She opened the door, only to find Joseph Shaw and Alaric Blackwood standing outside.
Her first instinct was to slam the door shut, but Preston Chase blocked it with his hand and forced it open.
The force sent her stumbling back several steps before she fell right on her butt.
The room was covered in a soft carpet, so the fall didn’t hurt, but the intimidating presence of Alaric Blackwood and Joseph Shaw startled her. She let out a deliberate wail.
Startled by the cry, Joel Kane peeked his head out of his room. He saw his mother sitting disheveled on the floor and three men who had barged into the suite.
Besides his dad and his brother-in-law, there was a man he didn’t recognize.
The three men looked menacing. After entering, they shut the door. The man he didn’t recognize casually pulled Bianca Kane up from the floor, dragged her to the living room sofa, and threw her onto it.
Bianca Kane rubbed her aching wrist where she’d been grabbed. She glared angrily at the three men before her, feeling like they were about to eat her alive.
"How did you find me?"
’She had specifically tried to keep Joseph Shaw from finding her, which was why she’d taken Joel to a hotel. They had been eating and sleeping there for days without once stepping outside. How could they still find her?’
"Never mind how we found you. I’m here to negotiate," Alaric Blackwood said, getting straight to the point.
Bianca Kane sneered, "Negotiate what?"
Before Alaric Blackwood could speak, Joel Kane ran over and threw himself into Bianca Kane’s arms.
"Mom, are you okay?"
Bianca Kane’s eyes reddened. She pointed at the three men before them. "Joel, take a good look at them. All of them ganging up on your mother, and now they want to take you back and drain your bone marrow."
Joel Kane’s face went pale with fright. He shrank into Bianca Kane’s embrace, eyeing Alaric Blackwood and the other two men warily.