The Prison-Made Queen novel Chapter 798

Thinking about the brutal reality check Josiah had just delivered, Hackett hesitated for a fraction of a second before jabbing the call button.

If he hadn't been backed into an absolute corner, he would never have lowered himself to call the daughter he despised.

The line rang out with a few long, hollow tones before the automated system kicked in: *"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."*

Refusing to accept defeat, he redialed.

Same result.

It was glaringly obvious: Leilani still had his number permanently blocked.

Even though he had anticipated this, the reality of her utter detachment enraged him all over again. *How could she be so unfilial?*

Watching from the bedside, Zadie immediately understood what had happened. Terrified that Hackett was going to trigger another heart attack, she gently tried to intervene. "Hackett, please. Your priority right now has to be your health. Let's worry about this later, okay?"

She knew exactly how Leilani felt about them. Even if she hadn't blocked their numbers, she would never have answered. Hackett was just looking for reasons to torture himself.

Hackett ignored his wife. He thrust the phone toward Zeus, who was standing near the foot of the bed. "You call her."

Zeus took the phone, pressing his lips together tightly. He didn't want to do this, but out of fear for his father's fragile heart, he dialed her number from his own device.

The same ringing. The same automated rejection.

Struggling to push himself up, Hackett pleaded, "Doctor, you're just in time! I have a massive favor to ask. I have a daughter I can't reach, and she doesn't know I'm in the hospital. Can I please borrow your phone to call her? Just one quick call! I'm begging you, this is a matter of life and death for my family!"

The doctor paused, a polite, practiced smile masking his suspicion. He smoothly declined. "I'm sorry, Mr. Sloan. My phone is strictly for hospital emergencies and internal communications. It's against policy to lend it to patients. Right now, you need to focus entirely on resting. If your daughter cares for you, I'm sure she will find out and come on her own. Beyond your medical care, there's nothing I can do to help you."

His tone was soft, but the rejection was absolute.

From a mile away, anyone could tell the Sloan family dynamic was deeply toxic. With doctor-patient tensions always running high, the last thing the physician was going to do was hand a personal device over to an erratic patient.

Besides, Hackett's story made zero sense. If a daughter had blocked her own father—and apparently her siblings, too—it meant there was serious bad blood. Handing over his phone was asking to get dragged into a messy domestic dispute.