Chapter 634
Mabel sobbed so hard she could barely catch her breath. But what pained her more than the fact that Yolanda was now fighting for her life was the realization that Russell had deceitfully given away her mother’s shares to Melody.
‘No wonder Dad has been so generous, letting me buy my birthday gift with his own card. It was all a smokescreen for his betrayal. I have been disciplined all my life, putting myself all into studying and learning the skills expected of a socialite, just to win Dad’s approval. I thought I had done enough, but it turns out that Dad has no genuine affection for me at all, she pondered.
“Mom, you have to make it through this!” Mabel knew only if Yolanda survived could she continue to be her strategic advisor.
A nurse emerged from the operating room and gently reminded Mabel, “Young lady, your distress is disturbing the medical team. Please be quiet.”
“Sorry, how is my mother? Is she out of danger?” Mabel urgently grabbed the nurse’s sleeve.
“She’s still in critical condition. Is there no one else from your family here? Where are other family members?” The nurse asked as she glanced toward the nearby prison officer. It was her first time dealing with a critical patient coming from a prison.
Hearing the nurse mention about the family members, Mabel’s face darkened. After Russell left prison, he went out to socialize, and it took her dozens of calls to reach him. To make matters worse, he wasn’t concerned at all and instead questioned why she was at the prison.
‘Such a cold-hearted Dad. Once I marry into the Swanson family, I would have nothing more to do with him! From then on, he could fend for himself and live his lonely life, Mabel pondered before speaking through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with bitterness. “He’s on his way here.”
“That’s fine. It doesn’t matter the other family member hasn’t arrived yet,” the nurse said, handing Mabel a critical condition notice. “Since you’re an adult and a family member, please sign here. Also, remember to settle the payment. Emergency treatment is costly, so make sure to inform your family.”
“A critical condition notice?” Mabel’s hands trembled. “My mom just fainted from coughing up blood. How can you issue such a notice?”
“It’s more than just fainting; she’s showing symptoms of a cerebral hemorrhage. The doctors are planning a brain surgery…”
“A cerebral hemorrhage!” The situation was worse than Mabel had imagined.
The nurse continued, “But you brought her in quickly, so there’s still a chance for recovery. If you had been any later, there wouldn’t have been anything to save.”
Mabel grasped the nurse’s hand tightly. “Please make sure the doctors save my mom!”
“We will do our best.”
At that moment, a cold voice spoke from behind Mabel. “How is the surgery progressing?”
‘That voice… Mabel wondered as she spun around, and when she saw Melody’s face, rage surged through her. “Melody, you’ve ruined my mom’s life! Go to hell!” She suddenly charged at Melody, and thought bitterly, ‘Damn you bitch for daring to take what rightfully belongs to me. You deserve to die! I’m going to tear this ugly face apart!’
But to Melody, this was like slow motion. She calmly prepared to dodge when another hand intercepted Mabel’s raised hand and pushed Mabel against the wall.
With a dull thud, Mabel’s head hit the wall hard. “Ah!” she cried out in pain.
The prison officer, seeing what happened, instinctively moved to help but stopped in his tracks when he saw who had intervened. He pretended not to notice. ‘Are you kidding me? It’s Ken Swanson!’ he exclaimed inwardly, ‘I’m lucky just to see him in person, let alone confront him. Plus, Ken is known for having crippled his own brother. Who would dare stand up to him?’
Seeing that it was Melody, the nurse decided not to assist Mabel and instead walked straight to Melody with respect. Ignoring Mabel, who was still recovering from the shock, she addressed Melody politely, replying, “The surgery is about to start. Dr. Stanton is the lead surgeon, but if you’d like to assist, that would be great.”
Melody didn’t offer to assist; she simply said, “I’ll go in and see.”
“Of course, the sterile gowns are over there…” The nurse led Melody away. Mabel, recovering from her pain, glared furiously at Melody.
However, seeing Ken’s cold, imposing presence behind Melody, Mabel’s anger turned to frustration. ‘Damn it. It’s Ken again! How did Melody manage to get him involved so many times?’ she wondered.
But when Mabel heard the nurse was going to take Melody into the operating room, she ignored her pounding headache and Ken’s imposing presence. Mabel quickly spread her arms to block Melody’s path. “You can’t go in! You jinx, you want to kill my mom, don’t you? You’re not getting in! Don’t even think about it!”
“Kill her?” Melody sneered. “Do you even know what a cerebral hemorrhage is? Have you asked about the success rate? With Yolanda’s condition, I don’t need to do anything to harm her.”
“You-” Mabel’s face went pale but then soon flushed with anger. “You bitch! Don’t curse my mom! Wilona was short-lived, but my mom isn’t!”
In the next moment, Melody’s eyes flashed with fury, and she slapped Mabel hard. Mabel’s face turned, and she cried out in pain. Before she could react, another slap followed. Then a third, a fourth…
“Ah… Stop slapping!” Mabel screamed, clutching her face.
Melody grabbed Mabel’s hand, forcing her to look at her. “Mabel, I warned you before. I don’t care what you say about me, but you have no right to insult my mother! My mother was indeed short-lived, but that was caused by your mother! She bribed the obstetrician and had my mom killed during childbirth! Someone like your mother deserves to go to hell!”
Mabel instinctively took a step back, trembling. “Shut up! You’re talking nonsense!”
Yolanda had never seriously mentioned Wilona’s death, but Mabel had pieced it together from Yolanda’s drunken ramblings before. As a daughter, she couldn’t admit Yolanda’s doing.
“Hmph.” Melody saw through Mabel’s guilt and sneered. “You know very well whether I’m speaking the truth. So keep your mouth shut from now on! If you ever insult my mother again, I’ll smash your face in!”
Mabel wanted to retort but was silenced by Ken’s cold, threatening gaze. Frightened, she shut her mouth.
The nurse, hearing Melody’s words, looked at her with pity and hesitated before asking, “So… do you still want to go in?”
“No, I won’t go.” Melody had originally wanted to save Yolanda. She wanted Yolanda to continue suffering in prison, not die so easily. But now, she had changed her mind.