Want My Womb? I'll Make You Childless novel Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Natalie’s heart clenched, and a cold sweat instantly slicked her back. Frantically grabbing a mask, she pressed it to her face and rushed to the door, throwing it open.

But the hallway was deserted, the sterile scent of disinfectant hanging in the air, with no sign of anyone.

“Was I seeing things?”

She gasped for breath, pressing a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart.

She was certain she’d seen a figure flit past the doorway in the room, but how could they have vanished in a matter of seconds?

Her gaze flicked up to the security camera above, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the red recording light was still off.

She scanned the surroundings warily one last time to make sure nobody was around, then hurried away.

Inside the hospital room, James Carter lay still in the bed, a light gray blanket pulled over him, his chest rising and falling faintly with each shallow breath.

Once Natalie was gone, the caregiver removed her earbuds and went to the bedside, glancing at the IV bag.

The next second, her gaze drifted across Mr. Carter’s face, and her complexion drained of all color.

The oxygen mask on Mr. Carter’s face had collapsed, the oxygen tube connected to it was severed in two, and his chest barely rose and fell. Only a faint “wheeze” occasionally escaped his throat.

At the sight, the nurse’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the floor, her mind a complete blank.

Mr. Carter had been fine when Natalie was here, so how could he have ended up like this in such a short time?

She’d been tricked!

That woman had said she just wanted to see Mr. Carter and talk to him because he had helped her before.

She had seemed so sincere and did know Mr. Carter, so she had reluctantly agreed. She never imagined she would be so ruthless!

If Mr. Carter found out that she had let someone in to see his grandfather and that it had harmed him, she would be in deep trouble!

The thought sent a tidal wave of panic through her. Not caring about anything else, she just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

At the same time, downstairs.

Clara Bennett sat by Lila Walker’s bedside, rubbing the good luck charm in her palm.

She understood that Ethan Carter wanted to salvage their relationship, but she couldn’t, and wouldn’t dare gamble on him again.

“Auntie.”

Lila Walker opened her eyes and saw Clara Bennett looking conflicted, her gaze fixed on the good luck charm in her hand.

“Did you get this for me, Auntie?”

Whenever she got sick, her mom would always get her a good luck charm, praying for her speedy recovery. So, seeing the charm in Clara’s hand, she naturally didn’t think otherwise.

Clara paused, seeing the little girl’s expectant eyes, and couldn’t bring herself to say “no.” She smiled and handed the charm to her.

“I hope it keeps you safe and healthy, and that you won’t be scared.”

She picked up the lanyard on the charm, looped it around Lila’s neck, and tied it.

“Keep it tucked under your clothes, and it’ll always be with you.”

That was it, then. There was no future for her and Ethan Carter.

Instead of fretting over what excuse to use to return the charm, tipping her hand, and jeopardizing her divorce lawsuit, she might as well give it to Lila. Consider it a gift from Ethan, her uncle.

Lila Walker reached out and touched the warm charm against her chest, then looked up at Clara.

“Thank you.”

“Auntie, what were you thinking about just now? You looked troubled.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Clara would never tell her what she was actually worried about. Instead, she reached out and gently brushed a stray strand of hair from Lila’s forehead.”Auntie’s worried about Great-Grandpa. I wonder how he’s doing.”

“Then Auntie should go check on Great-Grandpa.”

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Lila gently nudged Clara. “Don’t worry about me. I already feel much better, and the housekeeper is here to keep me company.”

“Besides, I’m worried about Great-Grandpa too.”

She glanced down at the hospital gown she was wearing. “Too bad I’m still sick. Great-Grandpa would be worried if he saw me like this. Otherwise, I’d go see him too.”

“Auntie, come back down later and tell me how Great-Grandpa is, okay?”

“Okay.*

Clara stroked Lila’s head, feeling a pang of sympathy for how understanding the girl was.

She glanced at the housekeeper, signaling for her to take good care of Lila, and then left the room.

As she stepped out of the elevator, she happened to see the nurse hurrying out of the old man’s room. Her eyes darted nervously toward the slightly ajar door, and her brow furrowed slightly.

Why was she in such a panic? Had something happened to the old man?

“Why are you so flustered? Did something happen to the old man?”

Clara Bennett’s eyes darted over the nurse, but the frantic look on her face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of embarrassment.

“No, the old man is still asleep.”

The nurse felt uneasy under Clara’s scrutiny, biting the tip of her tongue to force herself to calm down.

“Ma’am, I, uh, I started my period and wanted to run to the store to get some supplies…”

Clara glanced suspiciously at the slightly ajar door of the sickroom, faintly spotting James Carter still lying in bed, and noting the nurse’s seemingly genuine expression, she nodded.

“I’ll watch over him. Hurry back.”

“Okay, okay.”

The nurse nodded repeatedly and hurried away.

Clara frowned, watching the nurse’s hasty retreat, a sense of unease settling in.

She quickened her pace toward the sickroom, spotting the bodyguard rushing around the corner of the staircase.

“Ma’am.”

The bodyguard came to a panting halt, beads of sweat dotting his forehead, clearly having run a distance.

“Where were you? What took you so long?”

Clara checked the time; she hadn’t seen the bodyguard when she arrived, and it had been nearly an hour.

“The fire alarm in the old man’s room went off for some reason. I turned it off a few times, but it kept going off,” the bodyguard explained, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“I was worried something was wrong, so I put an oxygen mask on the old man and collected some air samples to have them tested.”

“On the way back, I got a call from the control center saying that all the detectors on this floor were going off, so I checked the hallway and the rooms next door for the source of the smoke. That’s what took so long.”

“I told Mr. Carter before I left. He said he’d send some extra guys over.”

Clara nodded. The bodyguard had been arranged by Ethan, so if he knew about it, she didn’t have anything to say.

Besides, fire safety couldn’t be taken lightly, and the bodyguard had done the right thing.

She didn’t ask any more questions and pushed open the half-closed door to the hospital room.

“Grandpa?”

She called out softly. Just as she was about to step inside, the door to the next room opened, and Lucas poked his head out.

When he saw Clara, a flicker of confusion crossed his small face, which quickly turned cold.

“Aren’t you so busy with work that you don’t even come home? How do you have time to be at the hospital?”

Clara didn’t answer his question, only asking, “How did you get to the hospital?”

“Grandma brought me, but she went to the doctor’s office. She told me to come here first.”

Lucas glanced up at Clara, a hint of awkwardness in his expression.”I… Dad told me you were sick. Are you feeling better?” Ethan had also wanted him to see Clara, which was why he’d lifted his grounding.

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Clara raised an eyebrow, her face filled with surprise.

Was Lucas… showing concern for her?

She looked down at the boy’s upturned face, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. That face, so much like Ethan’s, now held a rare hint of unease. Thinking of the possibility that he, like James and Ethan, might have the gene lurking in his body, ready to strike at any moment, Clara’s tone softened involuntarily.

“Yes, much better.”

Clara smiled and turned to walk into the room.

a F & P o Z F F O E

But the next second, her sleeve was tugged. Lucas’s voice was hushed and hesitant.

“Mom, are you and Dad getting a divorce?”

“Who told you that?”

Clara turned back to him.

Lucas pursed his lips, his eyes darting toward the end of the hallway.”I overheard Grandma talking to Great-Grandpa on the phone.” The fingers gripping Clara’s sleeve were white-knuckled, his expression even more distressed.”Please don’t divorce Dad, okay?”

“I was wrong before. I don’t want anyone else to be my mom.”

Over time, he had come to realize that there was no possibility of Ethan marrying Olivia.

Seeing the hope in Lucas’s eyes, Clara knelt down, looked him in the eye, and said earnestly, “Luke, this is between your father and me. It’s something you can control.”

not

“Even if we do get divorced, your life won’t be affected. You’ll still live at the Old Estate as before, and I’ll come back to see you whenever I have

time.”

“How could it not affect me?”

Seeing the serious expression on Clara’s face, a sense of panic rose in Lucas’s heart.

He used to think that Clara wasn’t liked by Ethan and wasn’t qualified to be his mother.

Now, he realized how wrong he was.

If they really got divorced, according to his grandmother, he would soon have a new mother. And if his father had a child with the new mother, wouldn’t that mean someone else would be competing with him for the family fortune?

His father was already indifferent to him. If he favored the new mother’s child even more, he might even lose his right to inherit the Carter family!

No, he absolutely couldn’t allow that to happen.

PAIZ 32 ± 5 3 7 3 2 3 2

He bit his lower lip, wanting to persuade her further, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure approaching from not far

away.

Ethan watched Clara from afar, kneeling on the ground and talking to Lucas. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, then he smirked.

It seemed like ages since he’d seen them getting along so well.

“Dad.”

Lucas immediately let go, stepped back half a pace, and obediently called out to Ethan.

“Yeah?”

Ethan seemed to be in good spirits.”What were you and your mom chatting about?”

“Nothing much.”

Lucas shook his head.”I heard some glass broke, so I was asking if Mom was okay.”

He remembered his grandma’s instructions: Mom wanting a divorce was something Dad absolutely couldn’t find out.

Deep down, he also felt that if Dad knew about it, there would be no turning back.

Hearing this, a hint of a smile appeared in Ethan’s e

s eyes. He glanced between the two of them and gently ruffled Lucas’s hair.”With Dad around, I won’t let anything happen to Mom.”

Lucas’s eyes lit up. Judging by his dad’s expression, there was no way he’d get a divorce with Mom. So, all he had to do was persuade Mom a little more in the future and be a good boy, and Mom would definitely change her mind.

Clara Bennett stood up, her eyes glancing over Ethan Carter’s shoulder.”Weren’t you supposed to be at the office? Why are you

A shadow crossed Ethan Carter’s eyes at the mention of it.

back?”

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Chapter 81

He’d just received a call from his bodyguard and felt uneasy about the situation. Something felt off, so he’d put his trip to the office on hold and rushed back to the hospital.

shed back to

But he couldn’t tell Clara Bennett about it, not wanting to worry her.

“Finished up what I needed to do. I was worried about you being here alone and not being able to manage, so I came back to check on you.’ He bent down and picked up Lucas Carter.”Let’s go inside.”

Lucas Carter wrapped his arms around Ethan Carter’s neck, resting his little head on his shoulder, his eyes darting furtively toward Clara

Bennett.

As long as they weren’t divorced, Mom would still be Mom, and Dad wouldn’t marry anyone else. That meant no one could threaten his position in the Carter family.

Clara Bennett followed behind the father and son. The sunlight from the window illuminated Ethan Carter’s upright figure. The sight of him holding Lucas Carter momentarily overlapped with the memory of that rainy night when he held Lila Walker. At first glance, it almost seemed warm and comforting.

But only Clara Bennett knew that this warmth was as fragile as a bubble, ready to burst with the slightest touch.

“Great-Grandpa.”

The three of them entered the hospital room, Lucas speaking first, but the person in the bed didn’t respond at all.

Ethan put Lucas down and looked at the bed, his steps faltering before he rushed forward.

“Grandpa!”

Clara had never seen Ethan so distraught, and her heart skipped a beat as she leaned forward to look.

In the bed, James Carter’s chest, which had been rising and falling weakly, was now almost still. The oxygen mask was deflated on his face, the connecting oxygen tube broken in two, and the wires of the call button were exposed.

The old man’s eyes were half-open, his cloudy pupils already dilating, and he could only manage a faint wheezing sound in his throat, his breath as thin as a thread.

“Grandpa!”

Ethan’s face turned ashen instantly, his fingers trembling as he reached for James Carter’s nose.

“Call a doctor, quick!”

Clara reacted first, turning and shouting towards the nurse’s station, her voice cracking:”Someone, quick, the old man’s in trouble!” Chaotic footsteps echoed in the corridor as medical staff rushed in with a crash cart, instantly crowding the small room. “Quick, start CPR!”

Ethan took a step back, giving the medical staff room to work, and only then did he realize his hands were shaking uncontrollably. He glanced at Clara, his eyes devoid of their usual strategic brilliance, replaced only by the raw anxiety of someone about to lose a loved one. Tears welled up in Clara’s eyes. She covered her mouth, stifling any sound.

to

offer him support.

Of the three, Lucas was the calmest. He walked to Ethan and reached out his small hand, taking his father’s as if Looking at his great-grandfather on the bed, barely clinging to life, he felt no sadness, but instead, was rapidly calculating. He wondered how the inheritance would be divided if his great-grandfather really didn’t make it.

His father was the Carter family’s only apparent heir, so everything should rightfully go to him, which meant it would eventually be his. He just hoped his great-grandfather wouldn’t leave any of the inheritance to that bastard child and that deadbeat girl.

“The patient is crashing! Get him to the ICU, now!”

The medical staff swiftly transferred James to a crash cart and rushed him toward the ICU.

Clara bit her lip and followed the medical team out of the room, running toward the ICU.

Reaching the doors, Clara watched them close before her, and memories of the past flooded her mind, bringing tears to her eyes.

Ethan Carter stood outside the ICU, his face ashen. The smell of disinfectant filled his nostrils, acrid and sharp, and he grimaced, his hands clenching unconsciously into fists.

The faint beeping of machines inside drifted through the heavy door, each pulse a hammer blow against his nerves.

He stared down at his reflection in the polished floor, his eyes dark and fathomless. His Adam’s apple bobbed almost imperceptibly, and the pressure around him was so intense it felt like no one could dare approach.

Everything had happened so suddenly. Only now was it hitting him that he was about to lose his grandfather.

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The man who, after his father’s death, had held the entire Carter family together, who had mentored him, who had been his first teacher, was now apparently at the very end of his life.

“Epinephrine, ready!”

“Heart rate’s dropping too low! Start chest compressions, now!”

The urgent commands echoed, the white-clad figures darting around the bed. The heart monitor shrieked, each beep a painful stab.

The doctor in charge emerged, his face grave, to deliver the news. “The old man is…well, his time is near. Family… family should prepare for the WOFSI,”

Instantly, wails and cries echoed through the corridor as the reality of a life ending became unbearable.

Clara’s eyes welled up slightly, her fist clenched and then released, but surprisingly, she felt a strange sense of calm.

Perhaps it was because she had long accepted that this day would come for James Carter.

Or perhaps a part of her had secretly been anticipating it.

With James gone, her marriage to Ethan would finally be over. Right or wrong, it would all be settled.

She lowered her head and texted Attorney Brown.

“Thank you for your hard work, Attorney Brown. Please prepare for the divorce proceedings.”

Just as Clara sent the message, she heard hurried footsteps in the hallway. She looked up and saw Assistant Evans rushing towards them, his face etched with panic.

“Mr. Carter!”

“What happened to Mr. Carter was definitely an accident!”

“I just finished investigating at the central control room. It wasn’t equipment failure; the surveillance system was tampered with. Someone deliberately altered the program, causing the accident.”

“Also, Mr. Carter’s oxygen tube was cut with a sharp object, the cut was very clean, and the call button by the bed, the wires were ripped out.”

“Mr. Carter, this was definitely deliberate!”

The word “deliberate” struck Ethan like a sledgehammer to the heart.

The temperature in the room plummeted as a dark, ominous look filled Ethan’s eyes.

“Who has been in Grandpa’s room recently?”

He asked, his words clipped and sharp..

Assistant Evans’ eyes flickered nervously towards Clara, his Adam’s apple bobbing, hesitation evident in his gaze.

“Before I went to the restroom, o-only…”

He knew how much Ethan cared for Clara and understood the impact his words would have on the Carter family.

“Speak!”

Ethan, his eyes bloodshot with rage, hadn’t noticed the assistant’s hesitation and raised his voice.

“B-Before I left, only Mrs. Carter was here…”

All eyes immediately turned to Clara, including Ethan’s.

Clara looked up, shocked and disbelieving, her gaze fixed on Assistant Evans.”Are you implying…”

Her gaze swept across the room, finally settling on Ethan’s face.

“That I harmed the old man?”