CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 147: JULIAN SINCLAIR IS BACK!

Just then, a flurry of hurried and chaotic footsteps came from the end of the corridor, and the ward door was slammed open.

Timothy Xavier rushed in, his suit jacket casually draped over his arm, his tie askew, and his usually meticulously groomed hair now messily sticking to his forehead.

"Zoe, how is Mother-in-law doing now?"

He rushed to my side, panting as he spoke, his voice laden with unprecedented panic.

I seemed not to hear him, maintaining my crouched position, gently pressing my mother’s icy hand against my cheek. Just like when I was a child and fell ill, my mother would soothe my forehead with her warm hand, dispelling my fears.

But now, this hand was as cold as ice, and it could no longer warm me.

Timothy Xavier’s gaze fell on the nearly flat line of the heart monitor, then at my tear-reddened eyes and my mother’s lifeless face.

He seemed to be nailed to the spot, his panic instantly frozen into shock.

"Timothy Xavier, why don’t you just go and die!"

Jenna Sutton suddenly charged forward, pulling at him fiercely.

Her voice, filled with sobs, cried each word with blood-chilling emotion, "It’s all because of you! You caused all of this! Are you here to reap your ’reward’ now? Yes! You won! You succeeded in breaking Zoe’s heart, making her live in unbearable pain! Are you satisfied? You won!"

Timothy Xavier abruptly pushed Jenna Sutton away, reaching out to pull me: "Zoe, don’t be like this! Let’s go find a doctor. I’ve already contacted a medical team overseas, please let the doctor try to save her, okay?"

"Enough!"

I suddenly raised my head, the anger and despair suppressed in my heart erupted instantaneously. I couldn’t bear it any longer, and with a swift motion, I slapped him hard.

The ward instantly fell into a deadly silence.

My palm stung fiercely, but my heart felt like it had been pierced by countless needles, so painful that I could hardly breathe.

Tears mixed with despair, cascaded down my cheeks uncontrollably.

In my trembling voice was a hate so broken it was palpable: "Timothy Xavier, if my mother were gone, you’d never be able to use her to threaten me again, would you? You pushed her to the brink of death time after time, and when I was on the verge of collapse, you would pull her back, thinking that I would be grateful to you for that?"

I returned to my mother’s bed, holding her hand again, "Though she’s in a vegetative state, she can still feel sad, still feel pain! I won’t let her continue suffering, used as your bargaining chip in such agonizing prolongation!"

"No, Zoe, it’s not like that! Let me explain..."

Timothy Xavier’s face turned deathly pale, he stepped forward, trying to grab my hand, his eyes filled with an urgent plea.

"Get away from me!"

Mrs. Ellison suddenly barged in, pulling him away forcefully, pointing at his nose and cursing angrily, "You scoundrel, what do you have left to explain? You ruined Zoe’s life; you caused Eleanor’s death! We’d rather Zoe had never known you, never been with you! Leave now! You’re not welcome here, never again!"

I didn’t glance at Timothy Xavier again, just numbly pressed my mother’s hand to my face, feeling the fading warmth.

Mr. Ellison stood silently by my side, like a steady mountain, blocking Timothy Xavier’s attempt to approach.

His eyes were reddened, yet he maintained the last shred of dignity and composure, speaking in a deep voice: "Timothy, you should go. Let Zoe’s mother pass away quietly, and don’t make a further fool of yourself."

As soon as Mr. Ellison finished speaking, the monitor in the ward suddenly emitted a sharp, prolonged beep.

The heartbeat line, which had been weakly wavering, turned into a straight line.

"Mom——!"

I could no longer hold back, bursting into tears.

Her hand was as cold as ice, and no matter how hard I tried to hold it, it would not warm up.

Timothy Xavier stood in place, staring at that flat line, at my collapsed form, watching as the color drained from his face.

He appeared as if he had been drained of all strength, staggering back a few steps, not stepping forward again, nor saying a word, just giving me a long, deep look.

Then he slowly turned around and walked out of the ward, step by step.

In the ward, only the sound of my sobbing and the monotonous beep of the machine remained.

The redemption I had held onto for so many years had finally come to the most tragic end.

Doctors and nurses entered quietly, their tone cautious as they reminded: "Family members, please prepare. It’s time to change the patient into burial clothes, it’ll be more difficult once the body stiffens."

Mrs. Ellison, her eyes red, walked over quietly, embracing me gently; her choked voice was as light as a feather, "Zoe, I know you’re heartbroken, barely able to hold on. But Eleanor endured for so many years, and now she can finally be free. Let her leave peacefully, okay?"

Her hand gently covered the hands clasped between my mother and me, gradually separating us.

The moment our fingertips parted, I distinctly felt the last warmth in my mother’s palm disappear completely.

At that moment, footsteps echoed again from the corridor, more hurried than Timothy Xavier’s earlier.

As the ward door opened, I saw Julian Sinclair’s figure.

He was wearing a weatherbeaten coat, evidently having rushed straight from the airport, his face still marked with remnants of exhaustion, yet his gaze was sharply assessing everything in the ward.

Shaun Sinclair followed behind him, carrying a silver medical case, his steps steady.

Madam Sinclair, leaning on a cane, supported by servants, could barely keep up with them, yet she continued urging, "Shaun, hurry, hurry up! See if Eleanor... if she can still be saved?"

Shaun Sinclair said nothing, went straight to the bedside, quickly checking my mother’s pupils and carotid artery, then glanced at the monitor’s now straight line.

Afterwards, he turned around, speaking in a deep voice to the others in the room: "Everyone out, only my two assistants need to stay and help."

I stood there, my entire body numb like a stone.

My mother’s heart had stopped for so long, how could there still be hope?

I didn’t even have the strength to utter words of thanks, feeling as if my soul had been sucked away.

Seeing my state, Julian Sinclair gently grasped my arm, leading me out of the ward like a marionette.

The Ellison Family and Jenna Sutton followed suit, filing out.

The ward door closed quietly, and the entire corridor fell into a deathly silence.

Madam Sinclair and Mrs. Ellison stood shoulder to shoulder by the door, clasping their hands together tightly, lips moving continuously, whispering "Goddess of Bright bless."

Everyone’s eyes were fixed intently on the tightly closed ward door.

I leaned against the cold wall, uncertain if a miracle would occur.

...

In the shadow at the furthest corner of the corridor, Timothy Xavier stood like an abandoned statue, quietly watching everything unfold.

Julian Sinclair stood beside Zoe Ellison, his arm gently protecting her shoulder, the proximity between them sharp and glaring.

His fingers instinctively clenched, yearning to rush over and push that man away from Zoe Ellison.

But reason told him that at the moment, he didn’t even have the right to say a single word to Zoe.

This whole ordeal was clearly because Peter Sawyer and his son had gone mad, exposing the equipment issue out of revenge, not of his own doing!

He had even tried with all his might to come over, hoping to prevent all this.

Yet Zoe’s gaze cast towards him contained only a bone-chilling hatred, as if all the tragedy had been caused by his own hands.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the tightly closed ward door, his heart torn into two.

He didn’t know what outcome he really hoped for inside?

If his mother-in-law was indeed saved by Shaun Sinclair, then Zoe would surely be grateful to Julian Sinclair, and she would only drift further away from him; but if his mother-in-law just left like that, Zoe might never forgive him for the rest of her life.

At this moment, a piercing laugh suddenly rang out from the end of the corridor, breaking all the tension and silence.

Everyone turned their heads in shock to see Sophia Kendall, dressed in a red dress, clapping her hands as she walked over.

"Ah, it’s karma! Hahaha! Zoe Ellison, your bitchy mother finally died! This is the consequence of you going against The Xavier Family!"

Julian Sinclair returned too hastily this time, without bringing any bodyguards, not even his assistant Leo Grant had time to catch up.

He looked at Sophia Kendall’s mad look, filled with disdain.

But he didn’t want to personally engage with such a person and dirty himself.

Beside him, Zoe’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, not with anger, but with a numbness, as if her soul was being drawn out.

She moved her lips but couldn’t utter a single word.

Timothy Xavier suddenly snapped back to reality, quickly rushed over, and grabbed Sophia Kendall’s arm.

His voice was full of suppressed anger: "Mom! What nonsense are you talking about! Come back with me immediately!"

"I’m not going back!"

Sophia Kendall forcefully shook off his hand, justifying herself even more, "Did I say anything wrong? It was Zoe Ellison’s viciousness that got you into this mess! Now her mother is dead, that’s the retribution she deserves!"

She turned her head towards Zoe, with a vicious smile on her face: "I’ve said it before, at worst, our Timothy would just be scolded. But you? You’ve paid with your mother’s life! When the day comes and you go underground to see her, let’s see how you explain it to her!"

"You wicked woman!"

Madam Sinclair couldn’t bear it any longer and suddenly lifted the cane in her hand, smashing it towards Sophia Kendall, "Get out of here! Get out immediately!"

At this moment, Byron Kendall hurriedly appeared at the entrance of the corridor.

He had just seen the news online and learned that his grandson had caused such harm to Zoe, affecting even Zoe’s mother.

So, he rushed over immediately, only to catch Sophia Kendall causing a scene in front of the ward.

Sophia Kendall was hit repeatedly by Madam Sinclair’s cane, unable to defend herself.

Seeing her father arrive, she lunged towards him like grabbing onto a lifeline, tearfully crying: "Dad! You’re finally here! They’ve ganged up on Timothy and even hit me! Is there any justice left in this world?"

Just as she finished speaking, a sharp "slap" sounded as Byron Kendall delivered a hard slap to her face.

Sophia Kendall was utterly stunned, covering her burning cheek, looking at her father in disbelief.

Byron Kendall was trembling with anger, pointing at her nose and fuming: "I heard all those disgraceful words you said just now! I, Byron Kendall, have lived a life as a teacher with a clear conscience, yet I’ve raised such a cruel daughter! You’ve utterly disgraced The Kendall Family!"

With that, he raised his own cane, swinging it hard at Sophia Kendall: "Today, I’m doing the will of heaven, teaching you, this unfilial daughter, a good lesson!"

Madam Sinclair also joined the battle, taking turns with Master Kendall to strike Sophia Kendall with their canes.

Sophia Kendall was beaten back repeatedly, dodging, and screamed at Timothy Xavier: "Timothy Xavier, are you just going to stand there while your mother gets beaten and not say a word?"

But Timothy Xavier seemed to not hear anything, still standing there, his eyes fixed on the tightly closed door of the ward.

The corridor was left with only Sophia Kendall’s cries and the thuds of the cane hitting on her.

Finally unable to bear it, she scrambled and crawled her way out, and the farce in the corridor came to a temporary halt.

After who knows how long, the door of the ward opened.

Shaun Sinclair walked out.

There was no excess expression on his face, only a peculiar heaviness present in physicians.

Almost instinctively, we all gathered around, my steps faltering, knowing the odds were slim, yet unable to suppress a hint of hope.

"Professor Sinclair, my mother..." My voice was dry, like sandpaper scraping, the sentence caught in my throat before I could finish it.

Shaun Sinclair’s gaze passed over us, finally landing on Julian Sinclair, and he spoke calmly: "Julian, come in for a moment."

Julian Sinclair furrowed his brows slightly, a trace of puzzlement showing.

He turned to look at me, his eyes carrying reassurance, before following Shaun Sinclair into the ward, the door closing gently once more.

I stood in place, my heart hung in mid-air, neither rising nor falling.

Why did Shaun Sinclair ask Julian to go in alone? I really couldn’t understand.

"Child, don’t panic."

Madam Sinclair came over, gently patting my back, her voice steady, "Your mother is blessed, she’ll be fine. Shaun didn’t bring bad news, but called Julian in, which means there’s still hope, let’s wait a bit longer."

I nodded mechanically, my heart like being fried in a pot of boiling oil.

In the quiet corridor, there was only the shallow sound of people’s breathing and the ticking of the wall clock, each tick hammering on my heart.

A few minutes felt like a century.

When the ward door was pushed open again, my breath came to a halt.

Julian was the first to come out, standing at the doorway, silhouetted against the light.

His gaze was as deep as a pool, filled with an indelible sorrow.

My heart sank fiercely, plummeting to the bottom.

"Condolences."

These two words completely shattered all my remaining hope.

The surrounding people fell silent instantaneously, Mrs. Ellison covering her mouth, suppressing sobs leaked through her fingers.

Mr. Ellison gently patted her back, his eyes also reddened severely.

Jenna Sutton walked to my side, tightly holding my hand, her palm also cold.

I knew this was the predetermined conclusion, but when it truly came, the pain inside nearly tore me apart.

I said nothing, nor did I cry, only numbly turned around, step by step, walking toward the ward.

Pushing the door open, the hospital bed where my mother lay was not far away.

Her slender body was completely covered by a pristine white sheet, her peaceful face no longer visible.

Shaun Sinclair stood by, seeing me come in, sighed: "I’m sorry, Miss Ellison, I was a step too late."

I did not reply, only slowly walked to the bedside, reaching out to lightly touch the white sheet.

Tears fell silently, creating a small, wet stain on the sheet.

Yet it seemed I could no longer feel sorrow.

Or rather, the sorrow had deepened to the extreme, turning into a numb void.

Some farewells, it seems, are truly so sudden, yet cut so deep into the heart.