I felt as if I was in a dream. Ryan, in my mind, was never that kind of man.
A person's character can be gradually understood through interactions, and Ryan's affection for Faith had always been strong. Suddenly hearing that Ryan had an illegitimate son who was raised in the Whitmore family, alongside Neil, seemed nothing short of incredible to me.
Did Louis have any proof? Otherwise, the Whitmore family would never accept this!
"Who told you this?" I asked.
"A friend of mine whom you don’t know." Stella said, somewhat uncomfortable. "Rena, Neil's mother has always been kind to you. Maybe you should pay her a visit. She's in the hospital now."
"Do you know which hospital?" I asked.
Knowing that Faith was in trouble, I had to see her.
Stella immediately picked up her phone to find out the hospital for me.
Two minutes later, she gave me the address of a hospital. She wanted to accompany me, but the journey to Springvale was long, and despite having a nanny, she was not comfortable leaving her kids for an entire day, so I set off alone.
Driving to Springvale, I couldn't help but think of Neil and the similarities between his current situation and that of my family when we had a crisis, during which he had been a great help to me.
I drove past the former residence of Bonnie Tueley, which was about half rebuilt and still bustling with construction. There was no indication that the Whitmore Co. was having any issues, and the project was not delayed at all.
Without stopping, I continued on my way. My second chance at life began with Bonnie, but it certainly wasn’t going to end with her. There were more complex issues awaiting me to handle and decisions to make.
Suddenly, I heard frantic honking from behind me. I glanced in the rear-view mirror, and, to my surprise, it was Neil's car.
But he didn't seem to recognize Stella's car, so he didn't notice me on the car.
His car sped past me, seemingly in a rush, most likely heading to see Faith in Springvale as well.
Didn't he get the news yesterday? I watched as his car sped away and pressed the accelerator to follow him.
I arrived at the hospital by evening. It was the most prestigious private hospital in Springvale, and I heard that Whitmore Co. held shares in it. If Faith was here, her privacy could be protected from unwanted visitors.
But of course, that also meant it was a hassle for me to enter. I had to call and get permission.
I called Faith, but her phone was turned off. So, I called Neil, whose car was parked at the entrance of the hospital.
After a few rings, Neil picked up, his voice indifferent, "Hello."
"I'm at the nurse's station. They said I need permission from the patient or their family to visit. Could you please come out and help?" I went straight to the point.
Neil seemed surprised that I was there, "You’re here?"
"Yeah, can you please come out?" I replied.
"Okay."
Hiram seemed inattentive to Faith’s situation. He persisted, as if the whole world revolved around his mother who, in reality, hadn’t been a responsible mother for him at all.
Suddenly, Neil walked over, picked Hiram up, and placed him next to the wall. "Stay there and think about what you've done." His attitude was cold.
"But I didn't do anything wrong!" Hiram raised his voice in protest.
I was worried that Neil might lose his temper, but he held back, his face stern, inhaling deeply as if suppressing his anger.
"Hiram, your grandma is already very upset. Can we not talk about this right now?" I tried to soothe the situation.
"But it's all your fault! Because of you, my dad doesn't want my mommy!" Hiram suddenly turned his anger towards me.
I was left speechless. The kid's perspective was truly unique, thinking that Neil abandoned Karina for me.
I wanted to say that Neil actually distanced himself from me for many years just for Karina!
To my surprise, Hiram actually came over intending to hit me. Although he was just a seven-year-old kid and didn't have much strength, the full force of his small fists punching me still hurt, since I was caught off guard.
"Hiram Whitmore!" Neil, seeing this scene, rebuked him angrily and promptly pulled Hiram away.
Neil's anger scared Hiram, and he didn't dare to cause any more trouble. But he started crying, tears streaming down his face like a broken faucet. He looked so wronged.
Faith, though upset, still loved her grandson dearly. Seeing Hiram crying so pitifully, she said, "Hiram, you can't be rude to Ms. Finch, you know that? We're keeping you away from your mom because she's not treating you well, not because of Ms. Finch."
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