Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Tie Him Up for Me
The two were locked in a stalemate when the doctor on his rounds suddenly pushed the door open and walked in.
He was very surprised to see Shane Grant out of bed.
"What are you doing out of bed? Didn’t I tell you to stay in bed and rest, and not to run around? Has the pain stopped? Do you have a death wish? Get back in bed right now!"
"Your surgery is soon. I’m just here to give you a final check. Are you ready? You haven’t secretly eaten anything, have you?"
When Zeke Walton saw the doctor had arrived, he quickly ratted Shane out.
"He wants to discharge himself, Doctor! I can’t stop him. You need to give him a piece of your mind!"
"Discharge himself?"
The doctor was an old acquaintance of Shane Grant’s. He had been stewing since yesterday over Shane’s blatant disregard for his health, and now he was even angrier.
"You’re really something else, aren’t you, President Grant? What deal is so big that you’re willing to risk life and limb to close it?"
"Let me warn you, your condition is extremely serious! It’s not just gastritis, you have stomach ulcers, and..."
Shane Grant coldly cut him off.
"I know. I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens. If I die out there, it’s not the hospital’s problem. Relax, you won’t have to pay a dime."
"You..." The doctor was left speechless. "Am I talking about money?"
"Bring me the discharge papers to sign. And stop wasting my time!"
"Shane Grant, don’t be ridiculous! The surgery is already scheduled!"
Shane Grant ignored the doctor completely and turned to brush past Zeke Walton.
Zeke Walton caught him off guard, shoving him back. He turned and yelled at the doctor.
"Tie him down! Sedate him! Whatever it takes, don’t let him leave the hospital. He’ll actually die if he does!"
After a chaotic struggle, Shane Grant was finally subdued and wheeled into the operating room.
Zeke Walton hadn’t been home since leaving the day before and was still in his loungewear. Now that he planned to fight Shane Grant’s battles in the corporate world, he needed a proper suit, so he hurried home.
His father and mother were sitting together on the living room sofa, deep in conversation. When he walked in, he rushed upstairs without so much as a greeting.
He’d just reached the landing when his father’s voice stopped him.
"Stop right there. What’s the rush? Why didn’t you come home again last night? Where were you off messing around?"
Zeke Walton had no choice but to stop. "I wasn’t messing around. I was discussing something with a friend."
Mr. Walton’s voice was heavy.
"What business? What ’serious business’ could you possibly have that takes all night? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! You weren’t feeling well a while back, so I let it slide. But you’re fine now, so stop wasting your days away! Just look at Damien! He’s not that much older than you, but look how he’s grown the Vaughn Group. Then look at yourself!"
As he was their only son, his mother stepped in to smooth things over, not wanting the relationship between father and son to grow too strained.
"Alright, alright, the boy didn’t say he wouldn’t go to the company, why are you being so harsh? Zeke, now that you’re back, go upstairs, change your clothes, and go to the office with your father today. It’s time you started learning to handle the family business."
Zeke Walton had matured a lot recently and had no objection to going to the company, but not right now.
"Fine. But I have something I need to take care of. Can it wait a few days?"
Hearing this, Mr. Walton’s anger boiled over.
"’Wait a few days?’ How long are you going to put it off? Until I’m dead? Until the cosmetics boom has passed? Until the Walton Family is in decline? Is that when you’ll finally decide to wake up?"
"You’re the one who spoiled him! He’s this old and still doesn’t have his act together! Cut the crap, go change your clothes right now, and come to the company with me. If you’re one second late, I’ll break your legs!"
This was precisely why Zeke Walton had never wanted to join his father at the company—he couldn’t stand his tyrannical attitude.
With Shane Grant’s situation weighing on him, he was even less inclined to obey now.
"You said it yourself—I’m a grown man. Is it right for you to keep treating me like a three-year-old? I already told you I have something to deal with. I’ll go in a few days..."
"You brat! I’m your father! I’m not so old I can’t still teach you a lesson. You’ve got a death wish, talking to me in that tone? This is what I get for being too easy on you! Look how spoiled you are! I’m telling you right now, you’re going today, whether you want to or not. It’s not negotiable! And from now on, I don’t want to hear another word about your deadbeat friends and their pointless affairs! Now, get going!"
"Dad, can’t you be reasonable?"
"What I say is reason enough! One more word, and I’ll break your legs right now!"
"Mom, look at him!"
His mother started to speak up for Zeke Walton, but his father shot her a glare that stopped her in her tracks. Frightened, she quickly changed her tune.
"Your father is right. We were too lenient with you before. Alright, alright, stop making a fuss. What could be so important that it can’t wait until after work? Just listen to your father..."
"Absolutely not! I have to get this done today. Dad, if you force my hand, I’ll run away and never return!"
"Run away? Fine! Butler, bring me the rope!"
Seeing his son’s defiance, Mr. Walton grew even more incensed. He snatched the rope from the butler and went to tie Zeke up himself.
Zeke Walton wasn’t about to give in. In the blink of an eye, father and son were wrestling with each other.
Zeke’s mother, afraid someone would get hurt if this continued, had no choice but to call the butler for help.
"Quick, pin the young master down! Tie him up! This child is getting completely out of hand."
The two grown men, with help from his mother, managed to pin Zeke Walton to the floor.
Blinded by rage, Mr. Walton trussed him up like a turkey.
"Lock him in his room! I’ll watch him myself! This ungrateful son, he’s trying to be the death of me! Take his phone. From now on, no one is to have any contact with him without my permission!"
Struggling futilely, Zeke Walton yelled, "Dad! You’re a tyrant! Let me go!"
"Still talking back? Get me the duct tape! Tape his mouth shut!"
Zeke Walton had said he would call her back immediately after showing the proposal to Shane Grant, but Cecelia Archer waited at home, her anxiety mounting, and heard nothing for what felt like an eternity.
After lunch, once she had put the children down for their nap, she was too anxious to sit still any longer and had no choice but to call Shane Grant’s assistant.
"Is President Grant awake yet? How is he?"
"He just got out of surgery this morning," the assistant replied. "The anesthesia hasn’t worn off yet, so he’s still not awake."
"Is Zeke Walton at the hospital? Could you ask him to call me back?"
"Zeke Walton went home this morning. Did you need to speak with him about something?"
Cecelia Archer found that odd. After hanging up with the assistant, she tried calling Zeke Walton, but his phone was off.
Cecelia Archer had a growing sense that something was wrong.
’After all, Zeke Walton’s relationship with Damien Vaughn was... special. Had he gotten cold feet?’
’In any case, she couldn’t blame him, considering his position.’ Cecelia Archer decided she’d have to handle it herself.
She pulled out the list of Veridia’s most prominent real estate companies she’d compiled the night before. After changing her clothes and giving the nanny a few instructions, she got in her car and left.
Before long, she arrived at the offices of the first real estate company on her list.
"I’m the special assistant to the president of Grant Properties. Could you please let President Mason know that I’m here to see him?"
The assistant shot her an odd glance before calling the president’s office. The reply came quickly.
"President Mason is busy and can’t see you. Please come back after you’ve made an appointment."
"Is it possible to schedule an appointment now?"
"I’m sorry, you’ll have to arrange that with the president himself."
Cecelia Archer had no choice but to try calling President Mason.
But he had his phone set to block calls from unknown numbers, so she couldn’t get through.
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