Chapter 84: Chapter 84: As Long as It Works
After hearing the story, Lucy Ingram found it outrageous as well. "The freaks these days are getting bolder and bolder. To dare to do something like that... Aren’t they afraid someone will fly into a rage and try to kill them?"
"Tell me about it. It really stuck with me after I read it. I was just thinking, both our families have daughters. The men out there these days are incredibly shrewd. What if they meet someone like that? Wouldn’t their lives be ruined?"
Lucy Ingram didn’t like the sound of that at all. "Hey, hey, hey! Gossip is one thing, but don’t you dare jinx my Joyce!"
Lillian Donovan was speechless. ’I’m just making a hypothetical and you’re already freaking out. If you knew this is exactly what’s going to happen to your Joyce, you’d probably go after Julian Croft and his father with a cannon right now and mow them both down.’
As the thought crossed her mind, Lillian Donovan decided it was a viable plan. ’I have to investigate Julian Croft anyway. That little bastard has probably just made contact with Joyce. There’s still time.’
’Ignorance was one thing, but now that I know, there’s no way I’m letting that son of a bitch get anywhere near their sweet girl!’
Arabella Donovan’s tense nerves finally relaxed after hearing Lillian Donovan’s explanation.
’So it was just a news story. That makes sense. Art imitates life, after all. Some things in reality are even more outrageous than fiction. Novels need to have logic, but reality sure doesn’t.’
Lillian Donovan and Mrs. Donovan finally let out a sigh of relief. Lillian even raised her eyebrows smugly, proud of her own quick thinking.
Just as they were talking, there was a sudden knock on the hospital room door, and two men walked in from outside.
"What’s all this? Why the serious atmosphere?"
The first to enter was none other than the man Lillian Donovan and Lucy Ingram had just mentioned: Lucy’s husband, Liam Lowe.
The man looked to be in his early forties. Dressed in a spotless white suit, he had a dapper and elegant air about him, looking like someone quite affable.
But only those familiar with him knew that beneath that pristine exterior, his heart was black as ink. Dare to mistake him for a benevolent Maitreya, and he would devour you until not even a scrap remained.
Lucy Ingram very naturally stepped forward to link arms with her husband, smiling faintly. "We were just discussing some weird news. Where did you go just now? What took you so long?"
"I ran into an acquaintance after using the restroom, so we chatted for a little while."
"An acquaintance?" Lucy Ingram craned her neck to look past her husband in confusion, only then noticing the young man standing behind him.
"Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Caspian Rhodes, the CEO of Zenith Group. I’ve mentioned him to you before."
Lucy Ingram was a little surprised. Liam Lowe had indeed mentioned this Mr. Rhodes to her, but she had always assumed he was a CEO of around the same age as her husband. She never expected him to be so young.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rhodes. I’ve often heard Liam speak of you. It’s true that seeing is believing. I never imagined Mr. Rhodes would be so... young and accomplished."
"You flatter me, madam. It’s all thanks to Mr. Lowe’s high praise." Caspian Rhodes offered a few humble words before turning his attention to Arabella Donovan.
His appearance here wasn’t entirely a coincidence. A hospital under the Rhodes Family’s name was currently engaged in a technical collaboration with this hospital, which required someone to come over for preliminary negotiations.
Normally, a trivial matter like this wouldn’t require him, a major shareholder, to show up in person. But Caspian Rhodes had long since found out that the Donovan Family held shares in this hospital, so he figured he’d use this as an excuse to make a trip and see if he could run into Arabella Donovan, or any of the Donovans, at the hospital.
And sure enough, the moment he stepped through the hospital’s main entrance, he ran into Liam Lowe, who was accompanying his wife on a visit.
Upon learning that the person his wife was visiting was also a Donovan, Caspian Rhodes decisively chose to accompany him. From several meters away from Lillian Donovan’s room, he could already hear Arabella Donovan’s voice, filled with a mix of resentful and righteously indignant ranting.
In order to listen in for a while longer, Caspian Rhodes had even endured Liam Lowe’s strange looks while rambling on and on about the recent global economic situation. As a result, he now had a basic grasp of the relationship between Arabella Donovan, the hospitalized Ms. Donovan, and the Lowe Family, as well as the plot point they had all collectively triggered.
Recalling the excited tone in Arabella’s voice as she enthusiastically schemed about how to make that father-son duo of scumbag social climbers have a complete meltdown, Caspian Rhodes could practically picture a little avatar in her mind bouncing around, absolutely beaming. A hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
"Miss Donovan. What a coincidence. We meet again."
Arabella Donovan was also surprised to see Caspian Rhodes. "Mr. Rhodes, what are you doing here?"
"A hospital under my name has a partnership with this one. I’m here on business and thought I’d drop by to take a look."
Arabella Donovan furrowed her brow, lost in thought.
’That sounds really familiar. The last time I went to the hospital to see Young, didn’t Mr. Rhodes say something similar? Oh, wait, that’s not right. The last hospital was actually his. This time, he’s just here as a partner for a knowledge exchange. But that makes sense, now that I think about it. Big hospitals like these usually have some connections with each other, making it easier to call for backup when they run into difficult cases.’
’I think Mom mentioned before that the Third Hospital and the First Hospital have a partnership, and a lot of the doctors at the First Hospital know Dad well. I guess Mr. Rhodes’s situation is probably something similar.’
Caspian Rhodes found it both exasperating and amusing to see Arabella become suspicious of him, only to then immediately come up with a perfectly good reason for his presence all on her own.
’So, when it comes to excuses, quality is more important than quantity. As long as it works, that’s all that matters.’
Arabella Donovan might be a bit slow on the uptake when it came to these little tricks, but that didn’t mean the adults were as easy to fool.
This was especially true for Lillian Donovan. She was already feeling a bit of PTSD about strange men with unknown backgrounds because of Julian Croft and his father. Hearing Arabella’s muttering sent alarm bells ringing wildly in her head, and her gaze toward Caspian Rhodes sharpened with scrutiny and suspicion.
"Serena, you know this... Mr. Rhodes?"
Not suspecting a thing, Arabella Donovan enthusiastically made the introductions. "Mr. Rhodes is Mr. Lynch’s cousin—the Mr. Lynch who invited Fourth Sister and me to the banquet. We met Mr. Rhodes a few times back in Jarden, and he helped us out a lot."
The moment Mrs. Donovan heard her mention the Mr. Lynch who had invited them to a banquet, she instantly connected the Lynch Family to the man standing before them. She subconsciously narrowed her eyes.
’So this is the Mr. Rhodes my second son mentioned. He’s certainly dignified and strikingly handsome. Based on looks alone, he’s quite impressive.’
’No wonder my second son acts like he’s facing a formidable enemy whenever he mentions him, terrified this man will snatch our little one away.’
At this thought, a sliver of suspicion grew in Mrs. Donovan’s heart. Was his appearance here today so coincidentally a mere coincidence, or was it...
"You’re too kind, Miss Donovan. What I did before was nothing more than a small gesture. On the contrary, it was you, Miss Donovan, who did me and my cousin a huge favor."
Caspian Rhodes paused here. Thinking of his cousin who was still in Jarden, tearing his hair out cleaning up a mess, he mercifully decided to explain on his behalf.
"When he found out I was coming here yesterday, he specifically urged me to thank you properly on his behalf, Miss Donovan. He’s tied up with a number of things at the moment and simply can’t get away. Once he has everything settled, he will come to Stroven City in person to thank you and... your sister, Miss Donovan."
