Dr. Halliday was so frightened that he couldn't stop trembling. Clutching his medical kit, he scrambled upstairs.
Lewis followed him upstairs. Dr. Halliday' anxiety grew as they approached Josephine's room. He thought something happened to Josephine.
Josephine was sleeping soundly. She didn't wake up even when Dr. Halliday took her pulse.
After a while, Dr. Halliday wiped the sweat from his forehead. He turned to look at Lewis.
"Speak."
Dr. Halliday answered softly, "She's fine."
Lewis' gaze turned cold, causing Dr. Halliday to tremble once again.
Dr. Halliday was about to come up with an excuse when Lewis suddenly grabbed his collar. "I'll give you one more chance, speak!"
Dr. Halliday was almost on the verge of tears.
Terrified, he replied, "I'll talk, I'll talk."
Lewis finally released him, his anger barely contained. He fixed an unwavering stare on Dr. Halliday, demanding the truth.
Dr. Halliday hesitated for a while, struggling to find the right words. After a while, he reluctantly said, "Actually, I've been researching Mrs. Alverez's condition these days."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Well, I can't feel her pulse ..."
"What do you mean?"
"It means I can't diagnose her current physical condition." Dr. Halliday phrased it as gently as possible. He feared Lewis might lose his temper if he said it resembled a deceased person's pulse.
"I recommend taking Mrs. Alvarez to the hospital for a comprehensive examination, including blood tests and scans."
Lewis wasn't naive enough to be ignorant of what a pulse was.
He eyed Dr. Halliday with a cold, penetrating stare and retorted, "Nonsense. Is that all your grandfather taught you? No pulse? Does that mean she's a corpse?"
Dr. Halliday awkwardly chuckled. "Mr. Alvarez, look at how solemn I am now. I really am not lying. Her pulse comes and goes. I've been researching this for days. I've never encountered such a situation in all my years of practicing medicine."
Lewis fixed his gaze on Dr. Halliday as if trying to see through him.
After a while, he warned, "Don't let me catch you lying."
Dr. Halliday hastily shook his head. "No, I won't lie. I asked Mrs. Alvarez before, and she said she's fine, so I assume she should be."
"Her excessive sleepiness is probably due to her weakened state. Her health hasn't been good, and last time, you all even ..." He recalled the time when Josephine and Lewis went to the beach.
Yet, he trailed off, not daring to continue the sentence.
"Get lost."
"Alright."
Dr. Halliday hurriedly left the room.
Lewis turned to glance at the person on the bed. Josephine was still unconscious.
Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up and walked out of the bedroom.
"Chairman Alvarez, I've managed to contact Mr. and Mrs. Yale. However, they are currently not in the country. Mrs. Yale knew you were trying to reach her, so she wanted me to tell you that she will handle her affairs and return to the country as soon as possible."
"Alright."
"Oh, and one more thing. The news about Yona's suicide has caused quite a commotion online. Many people are questioning the company's involvement. Should we try to contain the situation?"
"No need. She jumped off the building herself. It has nothing to do with us. Contact the police for an investigation, and have them release a statement."
"Understood."
After a moment, Conrad added, "Oh, by the way, Chairman Alvarez, there's one more thing."
"Go ahead."
Conrad said, "Madam Nancy has been going to the hospital quite often recently. I'm not sure if there's something wrong with her health."
Lewis sneered. "If there were really something wrong with her health, it wouldn't be your job to inform me. Make sure she's taken care of."
Conrad realized that Lewis was right. If Nancy were unwell, she would have most likely gone to stay at the Styx Mansion. She wouldn't be visiting hospitals herself.
"Of course."
The next day, Josephine was awakened by her alarm clock. She picked up her phone and saw that it was already 10 o'clock.
Given the number of days she had taken off work, she lay back down. She opened her WhatsApp and saw that there had been no further updates after Seth's message.
He asked her to keep things confidential.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: What Separates Me and You