CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: FOUND A KIDNEY DONOR

"Mr. Quinn, I’ll take Marcus upstairs to sleep."

Eleanor Hollis suddenly said, getting up to pick up Marcus.

"Ma...mmy."

Marcus tugged at her sleeve, looking up at her with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

Everyone present realized that Marcus thought Eleanor Hollis was his mom.

Eleanor’s face went stiff. She was cooperating with the doctor to treat this child’s autism, but she never agreed to be his mommy.

Nathaniel Quinn also furrowed his brows. Marcus had seen Grace Lynch many times, so why would he call Eleanor Hollis mommy?

Or perhaps, deep down, he recognized Eleanor as his mother, hence the sudden calling.

He had been feeling guilty, but seeing that Marcus didn’t seem to favor Grace Lynch either lifted his spirits a bit.

"Miss Hollis, sorry for the trouble."

The doctor quietly said, to assist with the treatment, Marcus needed to be happy to help him emerge from the shadow of autism.

Eleanor’s lips twitched, wondering if she was selling herself short?

"Hmm..."

She answered with difficulty, feeling a bit of a headache, especially with Nathaniel Quinn, a formidable presence, sitting in front of her — the pressure was immense.

"Marcus, come on, it’s time for bed."

She held Marcus in her arms and walked upstairs.

Nathaniel and the doctor stayed in the living room, though Nathaniel’s expression was somewhat complicated.

"Mr. Quinn, with Miss Hollis accompanying Marcus, his condition should improve quickly. I’ve been observing these past few days and found that Marcus has an unusual closeness and trust towards Miss Hollis. Perhaps in his heart, he already sees Miss Hollis as his mom."

Nathaniel’s lips curled into a sneer. Grace had really failed; after all these years, Marcus had always rejected her but was so attached to Eleanor Hollis.

Marcus might have autism, but as the saying goes, when God closes one door, He opens another.

He may not be good at communication, but he can quickly read people’s hearts, sensitive like a little snail.

It seemed these years, Grace truly didn’t care for Marcus; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been surpassed by Eleanor Hollis.

"I understand, I’ll try to keep her here longer."

Nathaniel rubbed his forehead and said, deciding to help Eleanor Hollis’s grandmother as a way to repay her for her companionship to Marcus.

The next day, Eleanor received a call from the hospital informing her that a kidney donor had been found and the surgery was scheduled for today.

Eleanor had waited for this moment for so long. She hurried to the hospital to wait outside the corridor.

A group of people came down the corridor, all dressed in white coats, shaking hands one by one with the attending physician who stood in place.

"Miss Hollis, this is a nephrology expert who came in specifically to operate on your grandmother. Rest assured, there won’t be any issues."

Eleanor was taken aback and could only rise politely to shake hands.

"All of this was arranged by Mr. Quinn. He insisted on prioritizing the elderly’s health, so we dare not slack off."

The attending physician, who knew Eleanor, looked at her with relief.

"Thank you."

Eleanor said difficultly, and once the doctors entered the operating room, she sat down on a chair by the side.

Over the years, she had experienced many such scenarios, each time with trepidation, fearing her grandmother might just pass away.

She had almost no family left; her grandmother was her sole concern.

Eleanor sat for a while, feeling cold in her hands and feet, leaning wearily against the wall.

What she didn’t expect was that Grace Lynch had come too.

Still dressed impeccably, head to toe in limited editions, with the latest Chanel bag in hand.

Eleanor tensed for a moment, but soon recovered slowly.

"Eleanor, don’t forget your promise to me. Once your grandmother’s surgery is over, you have to leave Serenford."

Grace hadn’t slept well last night; the thought of Eleanor being so close to Nathaniel Quinn nagged at her like ants, keeping her awake.

"The attending physician mentioned that right after surgery, my grandmother would be extremely weak. It’s best for her to recuperate in the hospital for a while, or else there might be life-threatening risks."

Since she had made a promise, she wouldn’t break it, but she wouldn’t leave Serenford so quickly.

Grace’s face twisted, her grip on the bag turning white.

"Do you have feelings for Nathaniel Quinn? Eleanor, he is my husband!"

She said bitterly, filled with resentment.

Eleanor’s lips curled slightly as she quietly stared at the operating room before her.

"Grace, wasn’t Nathaniel my husband before? Yet you still secretly dated him behind my back. What right do you have to accuse me? Besides, my visits there were purely to treat Marcus."

Grace’s face turned pale, her tone gradually softening.

"Eleanor, those photos were doctored, didn’t Nathaniel tell you? If I really had something going on with Nathaniel, how would the old patriarch tolerate me staying in the Quinton Family; I would have been kicked out long ago."

Grace was still trying to argue; as long as she insisted those photos were fake, who could convict her?

"Really?"

Eleanor suddenly turned to look at her, her eyes full of sarcasm. "What if I saw it with my own eyes, Grace? Over the years, I’ve witnessed every one of your dates with Nathaniel, knew exactly where you checked into hotels and how many times. I’m aware of it all."

Grace staggered back a step, her purse dropping to the floor.

Soon enough, she glared at her furiously, "You were spying on Nathaniel?! Eleanor, no wonder he divorced you; you’re such a scheming woman."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow, thinking maybe all sense of reason had left this person.

Forget it, she had no desire to reason with someone like this.

"So, stop claiming you’re innocent. You committed adultery during our marriage, intervening in my relationship with Nathaniel."

"Nathaniel doesn’t love you, so I wasn’t intervening!"

Grace declared self-righteously. Nathaniel had liked her from early on, and for the past five years, he couldn’t stop thinking about being with her.

"Then why are you questioning me? Nathaniel doesn’t like you either. Even if I were involved with him, it wouldn’t be considered interference, would it?"

Eleanor threw her words back at her, her dismissive attitude nearly driving Grace mad.

"Do you think the old patriarch will accept you? Even if you were involved with Nathaniel, everyone would just despise you. Eleanor, don’t do something stupid just to get back at me."

Grace felt as though she hardly recognized this person; how could she have changed so dramatically, wanting to destroy her marriage?

"Grace, I wasn’t planning to hold a grudge for you hooking up with my ex-husband. After all, I stopped loving him long ago. But you should never have involved my grandmother. Wasn’t it you who released Stella Lynch and Liam Lynch, even telling them I had bought a lot of good things?"