Lost Me, Gained Regret (Jane and Bryant Ferguson) novel Chapter 597

Ramona's gaze pierced through me, filled with an unnerving unfamiliarity, despite her calling my name. It was as if she was staring at a complete stranger.

"Grandma?" I tentatively reached out, my voice laced with concern.

Yet, as I attempted to grasp her hand for comfort, she swatted mine away with a force that left a stinging red mark across my skin. I was utterly dumbfounded; this behavior was alien coming from her. She had always treated me with nothing but affection, her touches gentle, never harsh.

"What's going on?" Gregory entered the hospital room, finding me in a state of shock.

I gestured towards Ramona and then to the reddening welt on my hand. His brown eyes darkened with concern upon seeing the mark, disbelief etching his features. "Ramona did this?"

I nodded, trying to explain how she seemed not to recognize me anymore, how she recoiled from my touch.

Gregory's initial coldness melted into sympathy. He quickly summoned the doctor and even reached out to Dr. Andrews for further consultation. Despite the vividness of the mark on my hand, I knew it would fade soon enough, but Gregory insisted on getting an ice pack to soothe the pain.

The doctor's preliminary diagnosis was a cognitive disorder triggered by extreme stress, with further tests needed to confirm any neurological damage or psychological issues. Dr. Andrews, after his examination, concluded the likely cause was an overdose of sedatives, leading to central nervous system damage and triggering Alzheimer's disease.

"Commonly referred to as senile dementia," he explained.

The news clenched my heart. Victor and Pearl, those two were monsters. They had stooped to unimaginable lows for the sake of inheritance, and now, their actions had cost Ramona her cognitive health, a condition with no cure.