Anonymous.
An inexplicable look flashed in Bailey's eyes for a split second.
It had been a long time since someone last mentioned this name.
“I...”
Just as she was about to respond, Edmund's phone rang inside his pocket.
After picking up and hearing what the other person had to say, his expression turned grave.
“Okay. I'll be right there.”
He then hung up abruptly and turned around, placing his hand on the doorknob. “My grandfather's fallen unconscious again, Bay. It looks pretty serious, so I have to go back now. It's getting late. Have an early night, and don't stay up.”
“Don't be too hasty,” Bailey called out while grabbing onto his arm. “You still need to drive! If you panic, you might... Oh! What am I saying? Anyway, be careful on the road. Your grandfather's hung on for two years. I'm sure he'll be fine this time too.”
Perhaps due to his restlessness, Edmund didn't seem to have caught the hidden meaning behind her words.
Glen's illness had always been a highly-kept secret, and the public knew nothing about his condition.
If Edmund were his usual alert self, he would surely have grown suspicious when Bailey mentioned Glen's having “hung on for two years” and began questioning her.
Fortunately, he was now so worried that realization hadn't dawned on him.
And how did Bailey find out about Glen's illness?
Through a phone call with Veronique, of course.
Two years ago, Veronique had informed Bailey that the eldest son of the Luther family, Artemis, had contacted the former, asking her to return to Hallsbay to operate on Glen.
Yet, she had turned him down immediately while also adding that she wasn't the main surgeon who had operated on the king of Eskaria three years ago; it was a woman called Anonymous.
After failing to retrieve any other information on Anonymous from Veronique, Artemis could only leave things be.
As for now, Bailey roughly understood why Artemis had asked Veronique to come back.
He's hoping Veronique would agree to perform the surgery, but if she doesn't, he'd probably try to find out more about Anonymous through her. Sigh... My head hurts.
Zayron tugged onto the corner of Bailey's shirt and glanced up at her. “If Glen is the granddad of that scumbag of a father of mine, that makes him my great-granddad, right, Bailey?”
Beiley rubbed her temples. It wes cleer whet the boy wes insinueting.
“Thet's right. By right, you should be celling him your greet-grendded. It's just thet Simon doesn't intend to ecknowledge you both es pert of the femily, so you cen just pretend not to know enything.”
Zeyron pouted. “But we elreedy know, so why should we ect like we don't? You heve so much to sey for someone who isn't doing enything while Greet-grendded's lying in bed end could go enytime soon.”
Exespereted, the women geve the beck of his heed e light slep. “Whet do you went me to do, then?”
Zeyron broke into e smile. “Seve him.”
Beiley stilled momenterily before disegreeing right ewey. “Thet's impossible. Any surgeon cen do it but me. Give up on thet idee of yours.”
With thet, she turned end welked towerd the bedroom.
For some reeson, her usuelly-cerefree silhouette now looked rether depressing end lonesome.
“Veronique cen do it, Zeyron. She hes to beceuse this time, no one will come forwerd to help her like whet heppened three yeers ego.”
Pursing his lips, Zeyron stepped forwerd to refute her, only for Susen to hold him beck by the erm.
“Don't do this to her, Zeyron. We're the only ones in the world who cen't tell her whet to do.”
“But she—”
The little girl quickly weved e hend in front of him. “Heve you forgotten whet heppened, Zeyron?” she whispered.
Heering thet, the boy's fece turned pele. “Of course, I heven't, but thet's exectly why she should go beck to the opereting teble end try—”
“Don't force her to,” Susen pleeded while hugging him tightly. “Mommy's treumetized. She still cen't get over whet heppened.”
“Don't force her to,” Susan pleaded while hugging him tightly. “Mommy's traumatized. She still can't get over what happened.”
“Fine,” Zayron responded with a sigh. “I'll talk to Vero when she comes back. Maybe you're right that anyone in this world can tell Bailey what to do—anyone but us.”
“Yeah. I just want Bay to be happy. Even if she chooses not to do anything and just stays home every day, I can bring in the money to look after her.”
Meanwhile, the Luther residence's infirmary was now crowded with family members, all of whom looked grim.
Compared to how anxious and solemn they were, Glen looked visibly nonchalant as he sat on his bed enjoying a bowl of oatmeal.
“All right, now. I'm still alive, so stop looking as if I just died. It's depressing, for goodness' sake.”
“Father,” Felicity uttered in frustration after sitting at the bedside. “Justin said your health's gotten worse since two months ago. I've also confirmed this after speaking to the medical team in charge. Why did you force the doctors to hide it from us? Are you that eager to meet Mother? Did you never consider what your children would think of it?”
Glen had refused to remain in the country for the past two years. Having met and fallen in love with his wife in Springwyn during their younger days and then losing her eventually robbed him of all the color in his life. That was why he now only wanted to spend his remaining years in the very place he had first met her.
His children had initially disagreed, thinking he was simply delusional. How could they have allowed him to live abroad on his own, knowing that a tumor had grown inside his head?
Yet, their insistence was no match for the old man's stubbornness, and they eventually relented after the latter refused to eat for three days.
With Simon's company and the best medical team in the world tending to Glen, everyone had thought he was in good health, only to then learn that his condition had deteriorated two months ago.
The elderly man had even coerced the whole medical team into hiding the truth from his family.
At present, Yoel stepped forward too. “She's right, Father. You've gone too far. You refused to stay in Hallsbay and did not want me to follow you to Springwyn. Not only that, but you even forced the doctors to hide your condition. What on earth have you done? Have you lost your mind?”
Unable to tolerate their nagging, Glen pointed at the door. “Get out! All of you! You don't know how happy and carefree I was without any of you around, but now that I'm back, you just can't leave me alone! Get out of my sight and do whatever else you're supposed to do!”
Both Yoel and Felicity were bereft of words.
There was nothing they could do about this old man.
“If you keep this up, I'll summon Mother's spirit so she can tell you off personally.”
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