Biting her bottom lip, Elaine shed tears when listening to him. She retorted in a low voice, “But... But
these kinds of things are not for reasoning. Didn’t you cry when Grandpa Bancroft left?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Elaine looked at him in disbelief with her tearful eyes. Probably, she had never expected that he was so
cold-hearted.
Darnell looked down to check his watch. “The jet will land in half an hour. If you want to cry, you can do
it now. But you must know tears are the most useless things in this world. Crying can’t resolve any
problems.”
Elaine choked. She didn’t cry out. Turning around, she trotted into the bedroom, locked from the inside,
lay prone on the bed, and cried sadly.
Half an hour later, the jet landed in the private airport on time.
On the way to the hospital, Elaine leaned against the car window with reddish eyes, sobbing from time
to time.
A lot of reporters were gathering at the door of the hospital. They heard about Hilbert’s sickness from
nowhere, so they waited at the door for the latest news.
Outside and inside the hospital, members of the James family with different intentions came and go.
The black car was parked at the side door of the hospital, where several vehicles had been parked.
None of them wanted to be interrupted by the reporters.
Elaine got down the car and rushed to the hospital. After she rushed a few steps, she heard a man’s
voice behind.
“Stop.”
Elaine looked back and said between sobs, “What...”
Seeing Darnell walk towards her, she subconsciously stepped back.
Darnell said, “Stand still. Don’t move.”
Elaine immediately stood there motionlessly.
Darnell took off his suit jacket and put it on her shoulders. Then he walked forward.
Elaine was taken aback, looking down at herself. It wasn’t until then did she realize that she was still
wearing pajamas.
She wrapped herself with the jacket, followed Darnell, and strode in.
A lot of people were gathered outside the ward.
When Darnell appeared, the tense atmosphere became even tenser.
Seeing Elaine behind him, they had different expressions.
Right then, Franklin walked out of the ward.
Elaine walked to him, ready to be hit. “Dad...”
However, Franklin didn’t blow up on her. He said, “Go ahead to meet your great-grandfather for the last
time.”
Elaine’s tears that were just held back now started to drop again. She hurriedly walked into the ward.
In the war, Hilbert was lying on the bed as if he were sleeping.
Elaine squatted down and couldn’t help sobbing. “Great-grandpa...”
Hilbert opened his eyes a bit. His lips parted. “Elaine.”
Elaine couldn’t catch her breath while weeping. “Great-grandpa, it’s my bad. I shouldn’t have sneaked
to City N secretly. I’ll be obedient in the future. Please don’t go...”
Hilbert looked delighted. In difficulty, he raised his hand and patted her head. He wheezed difficultly,
“Good... you are back...”
The next second, she heard the long beep from the electrocardiograph nearby.
“Great-grandpa!”
...
The sunshine was radiant at noon. It fell through the French Window, heating up the room.
Stella was awake because of the heat of the sunshine.
She sat up on the bed, turning her neck. She felt sore all over her body, as well as a migraine from
drinking wine.
The pain is killing her.
She pulled out her cell phone and checked the time. It was five minutes to twelve.
Clarence was seen nowhere.
Stella lifted the quilt. When she was about to get up, the bedroom door was open. Clarence came in.
She rubbed her eyes. “It’s so late now. Why didn’t you wake me...”
Clarence interrupted her, “Get ready. We’ll go to Riverside City this afternoon.”
Stella was taken aback, looking over at him. “Didn’t you say we would go there this weekend?”
Clarence walked to her. “The plan is changed. Hilbert James passed away. We can’t wait until the
weekend.”
“When did it happen?”
“This morning.”
“Elaine...”
“Last night, Darnell picked her up. When Hilbert passed away, she was with him.”
Stella heaved a sigh slightly. Fortunately, Elaine had rushed back in time. Otherwise, it would be the
biggest regret in her life.
While getting off the bed, she said, “Let’s hurry up...”
Stepping on the floor, Stella’s legs were weakened. She almost lost her balance.
Clarence reached out to help her up.
Stella turned to glare at him, the culprit!
Clarence looked away and made an excuse. “This is a sudden incident beyond control. You can’t
blame me for that.”
Stella said crossly, “Have some mercy on poor me, okay?”
Entering the bathroom, Stella took a hot shower and tidied herself up. Finally, she felt the soreness and
tiredness fade away from her body.
She didn’t know how long she would stay in Riverside City this time. Back to the apartment, she
packed up and put a few clothes into the suitcase.
After that, it was still early, so Stella went to the studio.
Clarence also needed to deal with something in Steward Group. He would come to pick her up after he
had done it.
The studio.
Seeing Stella, Sherry put down her work and followed her to the office. “Stella, good you’ve come. Can
you get in touch with Elaine? I went to see her this morning, but no one was there. I called her, but she
didn’t answer. Has anything happened?”
Stella nodded. “Yes. Her grandfather passed away. She went back to Riverside City last night.”
Sherry didn’t expect to hear such an answer. She was taken aback and then sighed in silence.
Stella added, “Clarence and I will also fly to Riverside City later this afternoon. I don’t know when we
will come back.”
Sherry said, “Please go ahead. Leave everything here to me. No worries.”
Stella pressed her draft book into her bag. After a few seconds of silence, she continued, “Sherry, I
have something to tell you.”
“Yes?”
Stella looked at her. “It’s about Daniel. Clarence has sent someone to look into his matter. It’s not like
what you’ve seen. Although I don’t know what the relationship between him and that woman is, I’m
sure she has controlled Daniel.”
Upon hearing it, Sherry waved her hand and said with a weak smile, “I know you want to comfort me.
He’s so tall and strong. That woman is almost the same height as us. How could it be possible...”
“They found syringes inside the house, in which the ingredients of knock-out drugs were found.
Besides...” Stella paused a few seconds before she continued, “Daniel has been injured and not
recovered yet. It’s easy for a woman to control him under such a circumstance.”
Sherry still couldn’t believe it. “But, when I saw him last time, he looked pretty well. I couldn’t tell he was
injured at all.”
Stella pulled out her phone and tabbed to open the photo of the blackmail, showing it to Sherry.
She added, “Since Daniel escaped from Lyndon Steward’s place, it has only been less than half a
month. His wounds couldn’t be recovered so soon.”
Stella looked at her. “It’s about Daniel. Clarence has sent someone to look into his matter. It’s not like
what you've seen. Although | don't know what the relationship between him and that woman is, I’m
sure she has controlled Daniel.”
Upon hearing it, Sherry waved her hand and said with a weak smile, “| Know you want to comfort me.
He’s so tall and strong. That woman is almost the same height as us. How could it be possible...”
“They found syringes inside the house, in which the ingredients of knock-out drugs were found.
Besides...” Stella paused a few seconds before she continued, “Daniel has been injured and not
recovered yet. It's easy for a woman to control him under such a circumstance.”
Sherry still couldn't believe it. “But, when | saw him last time, he looked pretty well. | couldn’t tell he was
injured at all.”
Stella pulled out her phone and tabbed to open the photo of the blackmail, showing it to Sherry.
She added, “Since Daniel escaped from Lyndon Steward’s place, it has only been less than half a
month. His wounds couldn't be recovered so soon.”
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