S21 16. Mysterious Pills
“Nora, what’s on the dessert menu tonight?” Louis asked as the servants cleared the table from empty plates.
“Fruit pudding, Young Master.”
Once again, Louis and Emily’s eyes lit up.
“I like fruit pudding.”
“Yeah, me too. It was delicious.”
Barbara snorted at the comment. She thought the twins’ tastes were
too low. However, when she was about to speak, her stomach suddenly twisted.
“Ouch!”
Everyone raised their eyebrows. Their gazes fell on Barbara.
“What is it, Dear?” Melanie asked.
Barbara held her stomach. Her eyes flickered under the furrowed
brows. “Something wrong with my stomach.”
Melanie’s back straightened. “You must be sick?”
Suddenly, Barbara got up from the chair. “Mom, just continue eating. I have to go to the restroom:”
While Barbara ran, Melanie was stunned. A bad feeling started to creep into her heart. She was no longer aware that Louis and Emily were biting their lips, struggling to hold back their laughs.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” Frank raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so panicked? Barbara just has a stomachache. Maybe she’s not used to spicy food.”
+25 BONUS
Melanie pursed her mouth. Grabbing the spoon, she controlled herself. “Yes. Let’s continue eating.”
While his mother cut the pudding, Frank smiled crookedly. He looked at the twins with a meaningful look.
“You know, Kids? A few days ago, Daddy met someone with cancer.”
“Cancer? Is it serious?” Emily furrowed her eyebrows in pity.
“No, he’s in the early stages. He can still be cured with treatment. From that conversation, Daddy was inspired to develop more effective chemotherapy drugs.”
Melanie gasped. Her eyeballs trembled and her mouth stopped
chewing.
“How effective is it, Daddy? Is the current medicine still less effective?
Louis tilted his head.
Frank raised an eyebrow. “Chemotherapy aims to kill cancer cells. But, often, normal cells are also killed. The side effects are serious.
“Poor normal cells,” Emily puffed out her cheeks. “If healthy people drink it, wouldn’t it be dangerous?”
Melanie suddenly cleared her throat. “We’re at the dinner table. It’s not good to talk about someone’s illness.”
“It’s okay, Mom. We’re not talking about other people. This is
additional knowledge for children.”
Frank leaned forward. His gesture was more enthusiastic. “Yes, the side effects can vary. Headache, nausea, vomiting….”
“Like Auntie’s stomachache?” Louis cut, making Melanie widen her
eyes.
Frank smiled slightly. “That’s right. Diarrhea is one of them. That’s
+25 BONUS
usually an early effect.”
Melanie swallowed hard. She realized the meaning of her son’s
glance.
“What did you do to Barbara?” Her cold sweat started to pour out.
Suddenly, Frank leaned back in his chair and reached into his trouser pocket. A second later, he took out an empty transparent ball.
“Just like you did to Kara.”
Melanie stood up with burning red eyes. Her shoulders rose and fell with anger. “What medicine did you give your sister?”
Frank shook the ball in his hand. Melanie was getting crazier.
“How dare you give that to your sister? She’s still so young. She doesn’t even have a child yet.”
Frank smiled wryly. “What’s the difference with Kara? How could you sprinkle medicine in her food? Would you have the heart if Louis and Emily didn’t have another sibling?”
Kara gasped. Her eyes were fixed on the plate that had changed menus in front of her. “Is that why the spaghetti tasted sour?”
Emily started to pout. “Daddy, did Mommy eat poison? Is Momm danger?”
“What about our future little brother? Can we still meet him?” Lou joined in the dramatization.
Frank smiled sweetly. “Calm down, Kids. Daddy has exchanged Mommy’s medicine for vitamins.”
“What about Barbara? You gave her the real medicine?” Melanie’s
voice was shrill.
Frank inhaled deeply. “Sorry, Mom. Everyone must reap the results of
+25 BONUS
their actions.”
Melanie sighed in disbelief. Her eyes started to fill with tears. “You’re too much, Frank. Too much!”
With hasty steps, Melanie left the dining room. Louis and Emily
immediately raised their hands in the air. They shouted silent victory. The adults smiled at their acts.
“We did it! Our mission was successful!” Emily whispered with a
cheerful face.
“Yes, but this isn’t over yet. Let’s quickly finish our dinner, Emily! We still have our last mission to go on.”
“Yeah!”
Swiftly, Emily spooned the pudding into her mouth. After drinking and cleaning their lips with a napkin, the twins returned to action.
“Auntie!” Louis knocked on Barbara’s door. “We came to bring
medicine for you.”
After a while, no one answered. The twins looked at each other.
“Are they angry with us? So they won’t open the door?” Louis whispered.
“But Auntie is still sick, Louis. She needs this.” Emily showed a gla of ORS in her hand with the movement of her head. “Try knocking again.”
Just as Louis was about to knock, the door opened. Melanie appeared looking unfriendly. “What else do you guys want?”
The twins peeked in. Barbara was lying on the bed with a pale face. She was dripping with sweat.
“We came to bring medicine and ORS for Auntie,” Emily explained in a sweet little voice.
+25 BONUS
“Yes!” Louis poured the contents of a bottle into his palm. Only five pills came out. “If the symptoms are mild, Auntie only needs to drink three pills. But if the symptoms are severe, drink five.”
“Are you teasing me?” Barbara’s voice suddenly resonated even though it seemed weak. “Go away! I don’t need your help! You’re the ones who made me suffer like this.”
“But Auntie is sick. Auntie won’t get better if she doesn’t take medicine,” Emily persuaded.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Hiding the Twins from Their Billionaire Father