Anne and Kevin's close friends all went to the hospital to show their support after they got the news
about Eddy's relapse. They waited anxiously outside the operating room. The only person absent was
Emily, who was about to give birth to her baby.
Patients walking in and out of the hospital looked at this group of stunning modelesque people in awe.
A few of them even recognized Kevin and Anne. People murmured around them, causing a buzz.
Of course, Kevin and Anne were not in the mood for this and just ignored everything.
Sam raised his fingers to his temples, and rubbed his temples in gentle circles. He had just performed
three consecutive, tedious surgeries. Before he had even a moment's rest, he heard news of Eddy's
state.
They were not worried about the actual transplant procedure. What concerned them was Eddy's
reaction to the heart after surgery.
Some people who underwent the surgery immediately rejected the heart after surgery, while others
took some time before showing any sort of reaction. They could not anticipate how Eddy would
respond to the procedure. All was left in God's hands now. Many felt very helpless as there was
nothing they could do at all. It made them understandably a little crazy.
Time passed slowly. It was so quiet. It felt as if one could even hear the sound of a single heartbeat.
Standing in a corner with red, puffy eyes, Ella bit her lip and dared not make a single sound.
Out of nowhere, a figure appeared before her. She raised her head expectantly, disappointed to see it
was Sam. Her dismay was apparent on her face.
'Eddy, this was all my fault. Will you even talk to me after this? And Mommy Anne... you treated me like
your own, you were always so kind. Will you talk to me after all of this?
But I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to see my father. I need to see him.' Ella's thoughts
were hounding her.
"Ella, Eddy is in the operating room now. Do you want to go see him?" Sam asked considerately.
Ella nodded, looking at Sam expectantly.
"Ella, I can promise you that you will see Eddy if you want. But you have to tell me the truth. Who did
you see after you left the Fu Family's house?" Sam tried to keep his voice calm and even as he asked
her this.
Hearing this question, Anne raised her eyebrows in curiosity. But her look immediately became grim
once again.
Now that her darling son was lying in hospital and was going through a serious operation, his life was in
danger, and nothing else mattered. As for this problem, she couldn't care less.
Ella pursed her lips and looked at Sam. She was clearly having some sort of internal struggle.
"Ella, you are almost five years old now. You should know who are people that you can trust, who treats
you well and takes care of you, and who doesn't. You should never believe anyone who has not earned
your trust." Placing his hand gently on her face, Sam continued, "Why do you trust that person, instead
of us? Besides, you haven't even told Eddy who that person was either, right? Maybe that is what
made Eddy so angry."
"Did Eddy get so worked up because of this?" When she heard Eddy's name, her little face lit up.
Sam nodded slightly.
Biting her lips, she now seemed to have decided to make her choice. She responded, "It is the man in
the photo."
"Photo?" Sam asked, quizzically.
Kevin sighed and explained, "We showed Ella the photo of Kim."
So the man Ella referred to was Kim!
It was real evidence of him!
"So, what did this man say to you?" Sam continued.
"He said that my Dad was still alive. He said that Dad was hiding because he hates Uncle Kevin. He
said that Uncle Kevin had bullied Dad a lot and Dad had suffered a lot because of this. So that man told
me that as long as I kept saying that Uncle Kevin is the one who killed my father, my father would be
happy and would come back to see me." Lowering her head, Ella accounted her story, feeling more
confused than ever.
Kevin reached for his forehead with his hand, wiping across it in distress. He knew that Ella was an
intelligent child, despite her age. Had this happened at any other time, she would have known that the
man had been uttering lies. But since her father had disappeared, she was emotional and desperate,
and her sense of reasoning had been compromised. As long as it had anything to do with her father,
she would latch onto any bit of information.
'Damn it! Kim is obviously still in close proximity to the Fu Family. Otherwise, how could he have known
where Ella was when she was out of the house?' he thought.
Kim was a vicious cobra, ready to strike at Kevin at any opportunity. In an instant, a cold chill crept up
Kevin's back. He felt as if someone was watching him from just beyond the shadows.
"Ella, you silly, sweet girl. Kim is the man responsible for you father's disappearance. How can you still
believe him?" Sam reached out and gently took Ella into his arms. His voice was full of compassion.
With her mouth open wide, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "I want my father! I need him to come
back! I miss him so much!"
Naturally, when she felt this way, she would easily believe any man who was giving her hope that she
would be able to see her father again.
"Ella, we will find your father as soon as humanly possible. Trust us!" Sam affirmed, his voice full of
determination. They would bring Colin back, whether dead or alive.
Ella nodded her head heavily and turned to look timidly at Anne's back.
So far, Anne had not said even one word to Ella, which made the girl nervous.
At this moment, the light signaling the operation was still in procession, suddenly turned off. Anne's
eyes sparkled with anticipation and she rushed to stand up and make her way over.
The door was opened slowly, revealing the hospital bed, and Eddy's little body lying on it. The ventilator
almost covered his entire face, yet one could still make out just how pale he was.
'Eddy!'
Anne's heart felt as if a dagger had just pierced deep into it. There were all kinds of tubes protruding
here and there from Eddy's body. He must have been in so much pain.
'Eddy, I am so sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault!
If I had never left you when you were just a baby, I would have been there at your side to take good
care of you. You would never have fallen this ill!
It's all Mom's fault, my baby!'
"Doctor, how is Eddy doing?" Noting that Anne looked like she was going to burst into tears if she tried
to speak, Kevin immediately took the lead and asked this important question.
"Mr. Kevin, there is no cause for concern. Eddy is in a good condition and the operation was
successful. But he will have to stay in hospital so that we can observe his reaction to the new heart,"
the doctor advised considerately.
Kevin's heart had jumped into his throat but he slowly managed to calm down after hearing this. He
breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and unconsciously responded to the doctor, "Thank you."
The doctor gave him an acknowledging nod and the nurse proceeded to wheel Eddy's bed to the ICU.
Ella, who had been sitting on the side, ran up to Eddy. She saw that his eyes were tightly shut and that
he had so many instruments hooked up to his body. She could not help herself and burst into tears.
"Eddy, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have listened to that evil man. Can you open your
eyes? You can hit me or shout at me as much as you like, as long as you just open your eyes." Ella
gripped the side of his bed tightly.
The nurse was in a dilemma in respect of what to do, and looked at Kevin and Anne for direction.
"Ella, let go of him!" Anne said frigidly.
Ella's entire body tensed and knotted up and she could not hold back her tears. Anne had never
spoken to her in this tone before. Anne had now abandoned her and hated her. Would she ever let her
call her "Mom" again?
She slowly retracted her hand and let the nurse wheel Eddy away. Ella stood there in complete
dejection. She was completely alone in this world.
Kevin looked at Anne, questioningly, and noticed that she had a scowl on her face.
The first time the two had met, Anne was taken with this little angelic girl. She was even more thrilled
with her since she was Eddy's friend, and Eddy did not make friends easily.
Although Eddy had siblings, Simon and Sally were two years his junior.
Ella was smart, pretty and charming. She was just two months younger than Eddy, making her the
perfect playmate for him.
Perhaps Anne did have her own selfish motives in treating Ella so nicely but the fact remained that she
did in fact treat her as if she were her own daughter.
Standing frozen on the spot, Ella looked at Anne, heartbroken and at a loss as to what to do.
Rose stood up and sighed heavily. She walked up to Ella, and whispered something in her ear. Ella
looked at Rose for confirmation, and Rose nodded encouragingly at her.
Pressing her lips nervously together, Ella walked cautiously up to Anne. She tugged at Anne's sleeve,
and cried, "Mom, I'm sorry. I know it's my fault. I didn't mean for it to happen. Please can you forgive
me? I will never trust that evil man every again. I won't ever trust anything he says!"
Anne raised her head. Tears were streaming down her face, completely unrestrained.
She realized that Colin was all that Ella had. Now that she didn't know whether her father was dead or
alive, of course she wouldn't be rational. How could she expect the little girl to keep her wits in that
situation, considering what she was going through? As the saying went, "Care leads to chaos." She
was just a little child, after all!
She squatted down on her haunches and held Ella in her arms. Her tears fell on the girl's neck. Ella
hugged Anne and burst into tears.
Eddy's heart had already been in a bad condition. He would have to go for this operation sooner or
later. It just happened that now he had it sooner!
So even if Ella had done something wrong, it was forgivable.
"Ella, we are going to find your father. So from now on, don't do things like this, okay?" There was a
hint of begging in Anne's tone.
She could never hate a child like Ella. She just wanted to make sure Ella didn't get into or cause any
trouble!
"Okay!" Ella nodded vigorously and promised, "Without asking you first, I will never leave your house,
and I won't believe anything anyone else says. I will only believe you and Uncle Kevin!"
Anne nodded heavily and closed her eyes slowly.
Kevin sighed. This was the best result he could have hoped for.
Frowning, Selma stood up from her seat and left. Now, she was going to go and take care of her
grandson herself!
Eddy was in the intensive care unit. He was very weak. For the sake of his recovery, the doctors were
not allowing his family in there. They could only stay outside and look at him through the window.
Although Selma was very hard-headed, for the sake of her grandson, she decided to listen to the
doctors.
Everyone was anxious and stared at Eddy who was lying asleep on the bed. They all prayed that Eddy
would wake up. He was their only hope!
'How long will you sleep, Eddy? Can't you feel the loving presence of your family? Please wake up!'
Standing next to the glass, Anne stared at Eddy. She closed her eyes to calm herself internally. You
could see the exhaustion on her face. She slowly squatted down on the floor, and covered her face.
She suddenly felt warmth surrounding her. Someone had held her in their strong arms. She knew it
was Kevin!
"Anne, trust Eddy. He is a strong child. He will never let anyone down. He will wake up. You have to put
your faith in him!" Kevin said firmly, "I know my son, and he will never let me down!"
At the same time, Rose and the others had also walked up to Anne to comfort her. In a calm and
relaxed tone, which was clearly put on, Rose said, "Eddy is so bright. He will never let us down!"
Anne slowly managed to raise her head and force a small smile. It was so unnatural; it looked uglier
than crying! She could not feel any sense of ease until she saw Eddy awaken.
She believed he would wake up soon!
Selma sat straight up in her chair, staring at Eddy with rapt attention.
Ella leaned against the glass, her small palm against it, tears running down her face. She thought,
'Eddy, you said that people should always be punished for the wrong they do. Now, I have done
something bad, why don't you wake up and punish me? No matter how you decide to punish me, I will
not say anything! I will just accept it!'
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