Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 501-510

Alex parked his car on the side of the road and after he was done with his thumbprint, he drove to the hospital again.

A black SUV rushed into the night like a black panther out of Presgrave Residence. Anxiety was evident in Anastasia’s eyes as she sat on the passenger seat. How can this be happening? Did he really pass out because of the two glasses of wine he had?

“Don’t worry. Let’s go to the hospital and check out his condition first.” Elliot comforted her tenderly. When he heard the news earlier, he drove her out without a second of hesitation.

Over at General Hospital, Francis was placed on a stretcher and quickly taken to the emergency room. Naomi and her daughter followed behind while crying uncontrollably.

Naomi weeped as she begged the doctor, “Doctor, you have to save my husband. You must save him!”

“Ma’am, we’ll do our best.” reassured the doctor as he shut the door of the operating room.

Alex, Naomi and Erica exchanged glances with each other; they were all silently praying for the same thing—a ‘sorry, we have done our best’ from the mouth of the doctor.

About fifteen minutes later, Anastasia and Elliot hurried over from the elevator. She glanced at the operating room where her father was still being treated and looked at Naomi and Erica. “When did Dad faint? Was he still conscious when he was brought here?”

“Anastasia, was your dad drinking at the Presgrave Residence? If you knew that your dad shouldn’t be drinking, why didn’t you stop him?” Naomi snapped at Anastasia as if Anastasia had caused Francis’ to be admitted to the hospital.

Of course, Anastasia knew that her dad had two glasses of wine. Hence, all that was on her mind right now was guilt and regret. I should’ve stopped him…

“If something happens to Dad, know that it’s all your fault!” Erica cried and scolded.

“It is indeed not advisable for President Tillman to drink any alcohol. The doctor suggested that it is best to not even drink a sip,” added Alex.

Anastasia’s figure shook with remorse, but a strong arm behind her supported her firmly while reassuring her, “Don’t worry. Let’s see how things go.”

In the operation room, an emergency rescue was being carried out; the doctor put in all his effort to revive Francis. Though the doctor had shaken his head several times, he still tried every means possible to carry out a second rescue.

Fortunately, when they used the defibrillator for the second time, the still line on the machine had started showing weak signs of a heartbeat.

“Heartbeat’s back. The patient’s will to survive is strong.”

This time, Francis’ condition was considered a severe heart failure. If he had been a minute late, he might have not been able to survive. However, due to the prolonged cardiac arrest, the oxygen supply to his brain was insufficient, so he was now in a severe coma.

Even after a successful resuscitation, there might be a risk of him being in a vegetative state.

Two hours later, the exhausted doctors came out with layers of cold sweat on their foreheads.

“What happened to my dad? Is he still alive?” Erica was the first to ask.

“Did you save my husband? Is he still alive? Tell me!” Naomi acted like a desperate wife.

Anastasia also clenched her fists tightly and stared at the doctors.

“Since the patient has missed the golden hour, we’ve done our best. So far, the operation was successful, but due to the prolonged cardiac arrest, the patient’s brain was severely deficient in oxygen supply and that has caused a certain amount of brain damage. Please prepare yourselves mentally as the patient is likely to be in a long coma or at the risk of a vegetative state.”

“What?” Naomi’s entire body went limp, so Alex reached out to help her. When she raised her gaze to meet Alex’s, both of them expressed joy in the depths of their eyes.

Erica covered her mouth and looked distraught, but there was a flash of delight in her eyes.

Even if Francis was not dead, he would never wake up. This is exactly what they would want.

Anastasia was the only one who seemed to be drained of strength. Pain shrouded her face as she let tears roll down her cheeks.

Standing behind her was a heartbroken Elliot as he felt sorry for Anastasia. As a daughter, this is the last thing she’d ever want to hear.

“Francis! Francis…” Naomi began to cry and sat on the ground bawling while Erica hugged her as they cried together.

Not to forget the remaining ‘actor’ Alex, who also looked solemn. He glanced at Anastasia whose face had paled under the lights. Elliot, on the other hand, had been supporting her from the back and assisted her to the bench.

Now, how could Naomi miss such an opportunity? She rushed over suddenly and she slapped Anastasia before Elliot could even react. A burning sensation grew on Anastasia’s face, but the very next second, a sturdy arm blocked her as Elliot questioned in a deep voice, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“It’s you… You’re the one who did this to your dad! Why did you let him drink?! He had been fine taking his medications regularly! It’s all because of you! You Presgraves are guilty of killing my husband!” Naomi seized this opportunity to curse them hard.

This time, she even scolded the Presgrave Family.

“Exactly! If my dad ends up in a vegetative state, you’ll be overjoyed, won’t you?!” Erica chimed in.

Anastasia’s ears went deaf for a few seconds as finger marks slowly appeared on her pale face.

Elliot could not bear to see her in such a state anymore. He glared at Naomi and Erica with cold eyes, then warned, “I dare you to touch her again.”

His gaze was murderous. If Naomi were not a woman, he would have definitely fought back.

Frightened by his aura, she took a step back as Elliot’s gaze stopped her from acting aggressive.

“Mrs. Tillman, please calm down. Our priority is to save President Tillman at this moment.” Alex came to drag Naomi away as he did not want her to cause any more trouble.

“Mom…” In truth, Erica was satisfied to see her mother slapping Anastasia.

Anastasia covered her cheek and remained silent. If it was not for the nerve-wrecking and guilt-inducing circumstances that she was in, she would not have stayed quiet about this.

“Does it hurt?” Elliot gently touched the side of her face that had been slapped.

“It’s fine.” Anastasia shook her head.

Elliot’s eyes shot at Naomi once again like a dagger with a killing intent present through his gaze.

When Naomi’s eyes met his, she instantly jumped up in shock as she quickly thought of an excuse. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

As she returned, Francis’ attending doctor, who was the Head of Neurology, came over and inquired, “What kind of medicine does your husband usually take? What’s the dosage of the medicine? We found a residual pill in his mouth just now. Why is it there?”

“Doctor, my husband usually takes supplements for his heart. He came back today and felt uncomfortable, so he took a few more pills at a time. But before he could swallow the medicine, he fainted,” Naomi explained while sobbing again.

Funny how the act of shoving pills down Francis’ throat has now become a voluntary act of his, thanks to her great storytelling.

“He shouldn’t have prescribed his own dosage. In cases like this, you should have sent the patient to the hospital right away, but you’ve delayed for way too long. That’s why you missed the golden hour.” After the doctor finished speaking, he left.

Although Anastasia was in grief, she was in a clear state of mind. She stood up beside Elliot and questioned while looking at Naomi, “Why didn’t you send Dad to People’s Hospital and took a detour to this hospital instead?”

Naomi was startled, but Alex came over and apologized, “I’m sorry, Miss Tillman. It’s all my fault. I took the wrong turn because I was not familiar with the road to the nearest hospital, so I ended up here.”

“I’m grateful enough that Alex came and took your father to the hospital. How dare you come at us for being late! Did you think I was going to harm my own husband?” Naomi turned around and retorted aggressively. “What about you?! When your dad passed out, where were you, and what were you doing?”

“She was busy preparing for her engagement, of course! Why would she even have time to care about her father?” Erica insulted.

“Your father is in a coma and in a vegetative state. The audacity to even still think about engaging! Aren’t you afraid of karma? How could you even do such an awful thing at a time like this?” Naomi scolded again as if Anastasia becoming engaged was an unfilial thing to do.

Elliot’s eyes scanned the mother and daughter as their malicious intentions against Anastasia were getting clearer by the minute…

Alex, who was enjoying the show on the side, sneered inwardly. Elliot’s dream of marrying Anastasia might as well be flushed down the drain now.

As long as Francis remained unconscious, Anastasia would not be able to marry with a peace of mind, which meant that Elliot could not be the son-in-law of the Tillman Family anytime soon.

“Are you done? Can’t you see that she’s already stressed out? What else do you want?” Elliot stared at Naomi and Erica with a cold gaze.

“Young Master Elliot, I’m sorry but Anastasia belongs to our family. I’m afraid that her engagement will be off,” Naomi stated boldly.

“This matter is up to us to decide. You don’t have the right to intervene.” Elliot glanced at her coldly, not bothering to save any respect for her.

Naomi choked in surprise and looked at Anastasia. “Your father is in serious condition now. You can’t get engaged without his presence!”

As long as Anastasia was not engaged, Elliot was not the son-in-law of the Tillman Family. Despite how powerful he was, he could not interfere in the affairs of their family.

She looked up at him and inquired, “Can I arrange for my dad to be transferred to your hospital?”

Even without her request, Elliot already had that plan in mind. Presgrave Hospital had state-of-the-art medical equipment and technology, so it was more likely for them to cure Francis.

“Sure. I’ll make an arrangement right now.” Elliot nodded.

and she immediately stopped them. “Your dad has just been resuscitated.

hospitals. It will be helpful for Dad’s treatment.” Of course, she

offer. “I don’t believe in any hoax of better technology. I just don’t want my husband to suffer again. He’s merely just

that you hold a grudge against me, but Dad’s health is more important now.” Anastasia was furious because Naomi insisted on going against

out to support her mother. “Dad is still weak now. Why do you have to torment him? If something

the mother and daughter insisted on not transferring Francis to another hospital, Anastasia could only hold back temporarily. Nodding as she compromised and said, “Okay, I will let Dad stay here tonight. We’ll see how

monitoring, Naomi went in to visit for ten minutes as the representative. She sat in front of Francis’ hospital bed and looked at his lifeless and pale face. She muttered

the glass window. During dinner, her father was still happily drinking and talking to her, yet now, he was lying in the cold

have arranged for a few doctors from Presgrave Hospital to check

looked at him with gratitude filled in her eyes. At

fell asleep, so I had Grandma take care of

leaving her son at Presgrave

so the chill was still vaguely present despite the heater that was switched on outside the ward. Elliot took off his suit coat and draped it over Anastasia’s body. Since she was in such a hurry to come to

the other row, Erica looked at Anastasia with jealousy. A rich and young master like Elliot was considerately by

he exuded a dark and cold aura that

to

them and handed a bottle to Elliot, who was obviously reluctant to accept anything given by another man. Even if it was just a bottle of water, he

she set the bottle aside and opened the one in her hand

Elliot take it before he took a few sips of the water she

beside Erica, she

suit and gave it to her. Erica was wearing Alex’s suit, but she did not receive the feeling she

hour later, three men in suits appeared in the corridor while looking dapper with a scholarly aura. They went straight to Elliot’s side and greeted him respectfully, “Hello,

nodded in response. “All

was delighted to see Benedict among them. It seemed that these three were the

to you to discuss the details.” After

to have realized something and immediately got up to ask, “Who are these people and what

her exaggerated reaction, she uttered

like his friends but doctors instead. She then exchanged glances with Erica and Alex

want to go in and take a rest? It’s quite cold here,” Alex

all three of them went over to the

they entered, Naomi hurriedly looked at Alex and inquired, “The three people just now

here, so we shouldn’t raise his suspicion,” Alex

her temper and reply,

then

fine,” Elliot reassured her and

to him as she felt bad. She then snuggled into his embrace

while his thin lips kissed her hair since he felt sorry

are the leading cardiologists and

instantly felt relieved. At this moment, she realized how

while, Benedict came over. “Elliot, Miss Tillman, please come

out to hold Anastasia’s

three experts and the two doctors who revived Anastasia’s father earlier were present. Through their gaze, one could tell that they

gave a detailed explanation of

late to

for my dad to wake

it’s not totally impossible. Nothing is absolute, but your father’s heart failure has caused various complications, especially his brain

cheeks uncontrollably. As she heard

in a deep voice, “Please think of some

way, but it can’t be implemented right now. It’s gonna take a period

long do you

will do everything in our power

whatever medication he needs. Money is not a problem,”

We guarantee to provide the best available treatment for

question that had been lingering on her mind, Anastasia took the opportunity to ask, “Does my dad’s episode have something to

cause his heart failure. We suspect that

residual pill in your father’s mouth and it is a poisonous drug for the cardiovascular system. Rather than strengthening the heart, it has the opposite effect. As for the

took the wrong pill?” Anastasia was shocked to hear that. Why

who stays with your father about the situation and the

it while I collect some samples

“That would be great.”

hospital. Take Miss Tillman over to rest! Rest assured we’re here to take care

“Benedict and the others will guard here. They’ll inform us right away if

battle that would take more than a day or two.

she was thinking about one thing—why is there even a chance for a

check on the kind of medicines my dad

drive you there.”

when Alex quickly walked in

“Where did they go?”

you guys home! Let’s come back tomorrow morning,”

exhausted Erica then prodded her mother to leave. “Mom, let’s go! I

to go home. Along the way, Alex asked Naomi if the pills were left at home which she then answered, “I only bought two bottles. One is in my hand now and the

it! We can’t let anyone

and returned to

a sigh of

that the lights were still on. She also saw the driver, Joe, sleeping on the sofa. When Joe heard the noise

back. What

you here,

left just now, she asked me to stay and watch the house, so I didn’t

turned serious as she inquired, “Mr. Bachelor, tell me about the situation last night when you saw my father passing

left, but I suddenly recalled that Old Madam Presgrave gave a lot of gifts in the car, so I turned back. When I walked in with the gifts, I already

about my stepmother

wanted to take President Tillman to the hospital, but

moment you witnessed it and the time

to

the call log. When she added up the time it took for her to receive the call, the time it took Joe

to General Hospital was about twenty-three minutes. Alex said that he had taken the wrong way, but did it really take him more than twenty minutes to detour? Why did he not take Dad to People’s Hospital, which was only ten minutes away from home? Why did he take Dad

overthink Naomi’s motives and thoughts, but their unreasonable time on the road was the very factor why Francis missed

you know what kind of

the last time he fainted, President Tillman took it with him every

to the master bedroom on the second floor. In the cabinet, she found a bottle of heart medication that

cabinet. She wanted to clarify

were gathered, Anastasia requested Joe to cover for her. “Mr. Bachelor, I got some pills from home, but please

chest. He had always been loyal

in through the door. Judging from the luxury car parked outside,

expect Anastasia to

around instead of taking care of your dad in the hospital?”

Anastasia answered coldly, “What’s wrong with me coming back? This is my home

her reply, then saw Anastasia and Elliot walking toward

immediately entered the hall and saw Joe, who was about to leave. She hurriedly asked, “Joe, what did Anastasia

came out to smoke earlier, madam. If there is nothing else, I will be leaving too.” Joe

no good if she came home secretly.” Erica gritted her

entirely an accident. When

you suspect your

but if I really find out that she plotted something, I won’t let her get away with this.” Anastasia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as grief

it’s her, she’ll definitely leave a trace.” Elliot comforted her once again. Not only did he

Anastasia back to the hotel,

took over her. She thought about what she had done at this moment and

I go big or go home, then. Otherwise, things would become more troublesome. But… What did Anastasia do here? Did she suspect something? I

much

a round of passionate tussling, she started asking him about Francis. All he divulged was that Francis

nodded. She was not angry when she sensed how wary and secretive Alex was toward her,

Francis still in a coma, Hayley doubted that Anastasia would continue with the engagement; it was not proper in light of the grim situation at present, and besides, the cheerful novelty of her upcoming

not sleep. She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and stared out at the hospital across the road. Worry was evident in her eyes, and for each day that Francis stayed unconscious, she grew even

softly and wrapped his arms around her

that kept her grounded when everything else in her life was tossed up in the air. Faith came with the sense of calm that suddenly washed over

restful slumber. Elliot, on the other hand, hardly slept a

to tell him that Francis’ condition had not changed much since last night, though there were several tests that the hospital had scheduled for

the facilities in the hospital are limited. We’re going to need you to sign the consent form

objects to it. You can bring Dad over to your hospital for a thorough check-up and all other

him over to the hospital and run all the necessary

her breakfast, Anastasia headed over to the hospital to sign the patient transfer paperwork. It wasn’t until she saw her father being wheeled into an idling ambulance that she felt hope course through her. She

She glanced at the caller ID, and upon seeing Naomi’s name flashing on the screen, she knew that her stepmother had already found out about Francis’

fearlessly, sparing no

father is in no condition to be moved around willy-nilly! You better pray that

full responsibility for anything that might happen,” Anastasia replied curtly. “He’s my father, and

the fool who will believe it, Anastasia. You just want your father to die so that you can take over his company. That’s it, isn’t it? I know exactly how that mind of yours works, you wench! You’ve

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255