Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 511-520

Elliot brought Anastasia to the break room. Her eyes were welling up with tears and every time she thought about what her father was going through, her heart throbbed with pain.

He wrapped his arms around her and gently wiped away her tears.

“I’m sorry,” she said, turning to look at him. “I really don’t wish to get engaged at the moment. Can we postpone it?”

“Sure,” he said, nodding. “Don’t rush. It can be done after your father wakes up.”

When she heard that, hope filled her heart. That’s true! When her father was finally awake, she could select a new date with her father for her engagement to Elliot.

In Elliot’s eyes, postponing the engagement party made no difference. After all, their relationship had progressed so much that it felt like they were already married. The engagement party was merely a ceremony to him.

No matter what happened, he would never abandon Anastasia. He would always protect her and stay by her side as they weathered troubled times together.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door before Rey walked into the room. He held an iPad out to them and said, “President Presgrave, Miss Tillman, have a look at this. Naomi and her daughter have released a statement to the press.”

She took the iPad from him and read out the headline of the article shown, “Eldest daughter holds comatose father hostage to steal the right to inherit Tillman Constructions.”

By the time she was done reading the entire article, she was trembling with anger. The audacity of those two women to release such an insidious statement at this time infuriated her.

“Many media outlets have shared the statement as soon as it had been released,” Rey said. “Furthermore, many independent journalists are defending them, amplifying the message and causing considerable damage to Miss Tillman’s reputation.”

Anastasia’s eyes turned as cold as ice when she heard that. Naomi and her daughter were playing victim by attacking her first.

“Find a way to suppress the news,” Elliot ordered.

“Sir, doing that might not end well for Miss Tillman. Also, there are a lot of eyes on this right now. If we do not publicly respond now, it would be a disaster when Miss Tillman marries you.”

“Yes,” she said, nodding in agreement. “We don’t need to do that. Let us ignore them for now. The most important task at hand is to wake my father up. When that happens, this lie would be exposed for what it truly is. As for my reputation, I do not care at all.”

Elliot’s heart ached at how calm and collected she was. “Okay.” He sighed. “I’ll hold back myself for now.”

Otherwise, the mother-and-daughter duo would have already been thrown into prison. There was no way he would have tolerated their impertinent behavior.

“Ignore them. They are only doing this so that they can make healthcare decisions for Dad instead of me. It is impossible for that to happen. If I let them take care of my dad, he would never wake up again.”

Anastasia was determined to withstand anything and everything just so her father could be saved. Let Naomi and her daughter kick up a fuss because she couldn’t be bothered about them.

Elliot would eventually build her the greatest shield ever that would protect her from their attacks.

Meanwhile, Hayley was whiling time away at a cafe when she stumbled upon the article about Anastasia. She was shocked by what she saw and also awed by how astonishingly beautiful Anastasia looked in all the photos shown in the video that kept bashing her.

Anastasia looked just like a rose proudly showing her glacial beauty despite the adversities she faced.

Even the comments of the video were all praising her beauty while they piled hate on her.

‘Anastasia is so gorgeous. She might be evil, but she is amazing.’

‘Yeah! Well, the prettier they are, the more dangerous their venom. She is beautiful because she is pure evil.’

‘Is she the future head of Tillman Constructions? Oh, my goodness! She is just divine! I finally have a face for the female lead of the novel I’m reading.’

‘She might be evil, but she is just too beautiful. She is so sexy. What should I do? I think I’m in love.’ This comment was made by a user who appeared to be male according to his profile picture.

Hayley was seething with jealousy as she read those comments. As expected, even though the situation was bad, Anastasia would still attract admirers for her beauty while being hated on.

The uproar online made Anastasia famous.

Amidst all the insults, journalists kept uploading photos of her. Some people even dug up photos of her in university just so they could get more views and attention. Then, there was the photo of her at the annual celebration of Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier, shining brightly as she stood on stage.

In spite of the chaos online, Anastasia directed all her focus on taking care of her dad in Presgrave Hospital. Sitting by his bed and staring down at his pale face, she forced herself to remain strong. She could not break down at a time like this.

Meanwhile, at Tillman Residence, Erica was scrolling on her phone, watching video after video. However, the more she scrolled, the more frustrated she got. Just then, she received a call from Alex.

“Hey.”

“This is causing quite the uproar. Aren’t you afraid that it would get out of hand?” Alex asked, worried. After all, he had the exact same mindset as a rat that hid in the gutters, forever shying away from the light.

Even so, Anastasia was now under attack. Any response from her would turn the tides and redirect the barrage of attacks toward those who were after her.

“What are you afraid of? Honestly, you are such a coward. Having the whole world know about this will force her to return my father to me,” she answered.

“I will notify Anastasia to attend tomorrow’s meeting then. It is time to publicize the will,” he said.

Joy flashed through her eyes. She had been waiting eagerly for this very moment. “For real? That is amazing! Does that mean there will be no issues with the will?”

“Everything will go smoothly.”

“Nice, and by tomorrow, my mother and I will take over 60% of all the company shares my father owned!”

When she hung up on the phone, she was nearly bursting with giddiness. She was going to be rich. The thought of having to ask Francis for money all these years filled her with disgust. He was not her actual father, yet she had to call him that for so many years.

Frankly speaking, she felt no love for Francis.

All she wanted was money, an endless stream of money.

It was around three in the afternoon when Anastasia received a call from Alex, notifying her about the details of the board meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Due to Francis’ condition and the fact that the company could not go for long without a decision maker, the board needed to discuss the company’s next step forward.

After she agreed to attend the meeting, Alex decided to ask, “Are you okay, Miss Tillman?”

“I’m fine.”

“I saw a lot of lies being spread online about you.”

“Thanks for your concern,” she curtly replied, not wanting to tell him much about the topic.

Deep down, she had a feeling that he was on Naomi’s side. Additionally, with how close he was to Erica, he was definitely pulling some strings in the company for the two women. Hence, she did not think much of his show of concern.

As he also knew how wary she was of him, he did not say much and just hung up.

That evening, Elliot brought Jared over to the hospital. The kid had seen neither hide nor hair of his mother for two whole days, so the latter was feeling quite worried and upset.

When Jared arrived, she told him about Francis’ condition. She did not want to lie to her son, even though he was just a child.

Jared stood in front of the window, eyes blinking hard as he stared into the ICU ward where his grandfather lay. There is no way Grandpa will be asleep forever; he is just taking a nap.

“Mommy, Grandpa will wake up soon, right?” Jared asked, looking up at her.

“That’s right. He’ll wake up when he’s done sleeping.” She knelt down and kissed her son on the head, blinking back tears as she did so.

Later that evening when she told Elliot about the board meeting she was going to attend at Tillman Constructions, he suggested going along with her.

However, she did not agree with that idea. It was not that she did not want him with her, but this was Tillman’s internal affairs. Naomi and Erica would surely criticize her for bringing him along.

“Okay, I won’t go, but my lawyer and bodyguards must go with you,” he insisted. He did not want anything to happen to her.

“Okay.” She nodded.

When it was time for bed, she slept with Jared while Elliot rested in the room next door.

The next morning.

were hiding near the entrance of Tillman Constructions. According to the rumors, something important that was happening today would decide the heir to

vehicles immediately swarmed the newcomers. Just as they were about to block the back doors of the limousine, eight burly

flying in the cold breeze, Anastasia stepped out of the car with a lawyer following right behind. Her beautiful face was locked in a serene expression as she

a barrage of questions

kidnap your comatose father

have some ulterior motive for secretly transferring your father into a

Tillman, do you even know what love

merely glanced at the surrounding journalists before striding into the building doors where the security guards kept the pack of journalists

among her bodyguards, just like how a

of her, they

the moment they heard of Francis’ collapse. After all, he had been leading the company this entire time. Now that he was

over at Anastasia. No

a chair for herself and sat down. The middle-aged lawyer following

a private meeting, Anastasia. Why is

the right to be in the room,” Anastasia coldly

let us discuss the future of the company. The reason why we

family, so let us play nice,”

but the company cannot be left headless. After all, we have a few hundred employees waiting on our orders. Hence, we must decide on the next person who will

sad, but the company cannot go ignored.” Jordan then turned to Alex and said, “Mr. Hunter, you are President Tillman’s most

any say in the company.” Alex then

my husband’s lawyer for an early reading of Francis’ will.

and prepared Naomi was, it was obvious to her that her father’s will had been tampered

mother’s suggestion,”

stood up. “As per Francis Tillman’s wishes, I have been entrusted with his will. By request from Mrs. Tillman, I will now

then pulled out a few pieces of paper from his

her father’s accounts, assets, and investments were to be inherited by Erica and Naomi. Then, Colin arrived

three portions; the first lot containing 40% of his shares would be inherited by Naomi Lowell, the second lot containing 30% of his shares

clenched into

Naomi and Erica would own a total of 70% of Francis’ company shares. While the division of shares inherited may seem logical and fair to an outsider, she

was secretly pleased. The four of them, who had concealed their malice, had formed an alliance all for the sake of profit. “This is the will my father had personally written?” Anastasia gave a chilling gaze at

this is the will President Tillman had replaced

I have a

you a copy

imply here? Are you

30 percent of the shares, so why are you still not satisfied?” Erica said with

clearly obvious who will take over the company now. That person is me, especially since I have

Dad’s

added, “Mrs. Tillman, the company’s affairs will be left to

the company since they had thought that Francis had

Hunter. We still require your service in certain matters in the future,” Naomi said as a demonstration of her newfound authority

was more concerned with the matter of her father regaining consciousness as Naomi’s schemes would be stopped the moment her father woke up. “Alright, then I leave the company in your hands.”

both taken aback at such development since they had anticipated Anastasia to have made a fuss about the contents of the will, and not to accept it so readily. “Miss Tillman, are you suggesting that the company

nodded. “Yes. Please give me a copy of the will,” she said to

copy of it. When the assistant was done and handed a copy of the

it, Anastasia Tillman. What are you trying to do by hiding my husband in Presgrave Hospital? As his wife, do I not even have

have the right to

Then, I shall visit him later

able to do so after making an appointment,” Anastasia

made eye contact with one another, as they were puzzled as to how Anastasia wasn’t as oppressive as usual and that

Erica said with a puzzled expression, “What the heck is

who had gotten the shares they wished for, Alex reminded them, “Although everything went well, there is still one

dad will wake up

the affiliated hospital told me that the chances of my

let our guards down before President Tillman is declared dead. We must keep

his situation later this afternoon during my visit. Hmph, that Anastasia still thinks she could save her father.

for Anastasia when she came out. Ignoring the reporters, she went into her car and gave the copy of the will she received to the lawyer beside her. “Mr. Brown, please check if there are any

“On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be any problems with the will. However, we would

was the only one who knew the real content of

Presgrave Hospital.

immediately dragged her into a quiet lounge the moment he saw her. “Tell me, did they give you a hard time?”

regarding the content of

let your

they pay the price they fully deserve.” Her eyes tinged with sorrow before she changed the topic. “How’s my

vitals are still

have my father’s company. I assumed they knew my father was going to let me inherit the company, so they decided to do something like this to him. If only I knew this would happen, I would’ve refused to go help

at her exhausted pale face, he immediately wrapped his arms around her.

leaned against his chest. “Have you sent

was very willing to go

grateful that the Presgrave Family

PM in the afternoon. Naomi and her daughter arrived at the lobby of Presgrave Hospital. This time, they were being led by one of the nurses to the hospital ward after going through the proper registration process. “As

was in the ICU. Furthermore, she no longer addressed him as her father. It was clear that

here for now? We will consult the doctors first before making

entered

way out, the nurse intentionally left the door slightly open. Just as Naomi and Erica were about to sit down and have their cup of tea, they heard a female voice coming from outside their room. “Dr. Jones, since my father just had a checkup this morning, can you explain to me in detail regarding

pair made eye contact with one another before they quietly went closer to the door to eavesdrop on the

we have good news for you. We’ve just introduced the most advanced international brain scanner and medicine in our hospital. We’ll be able to

great news! Does that mean there’s a possibility

may even regain consciousness by next week,” the doctor said

much, Dr. Jones. You really are the

father-in-law, how can we not put our utmost effort into treating him? We will definitely do

for a favor? Later, two of my family members will be visiting my father. Can you

Jones was

a favor,

do

slightly opened door, the mother-daughter pair were looking at each other in disbelief, as they

should we do now?” Erica

equally anxious. Should Francis wake up to find the contents of his will having been replaced, he would most definitely be furious and might divorce Naomi

As she knew Naomi’s greatest fear was her father regaining consciousness, she was fully anticipating what Naomi

Francis right now was a global leading neurology specialist. Adding to that, the hospital had gathered countless skilled doctors. Thus, she couldn’t discount the possibility that Francis would wake up. However, she couldn’t understand why Anastasia had told

back in and invited them to visit Francis. Sitting by the bed, Naomi noticed that Francis was slowly regaining the colors in his face and the mysteriously high-end looking machines, as though they were a source of life that could wake Francis at any moment, on him. Glancing at these machines, Naomi had the immediate thought of taking them off Francis

they left the ward, they ran

father?” Naomi

chances of him waking up are miniscule.”

dad be waking up

slightly as she deliberately leaked hints of emotions in her eyes. “Why would I lie

down. Hmph! I won’t fall for that, she thought. “Then take good care of your father. We’ll come and visit him tomorrow. There’s something back in the office that requires my presence right now.” Saying that, Naomi left in a hurry with

knew they had taken the bait. She then took her phone out and dialed Rey’s number. “Rey, please arrange some men for the next phase

worry, Miss Tillman! We’ll keep a close eye

slightest idea on what Naomi would do specifically to harm her father once more. Right now, all Anastasia had to do was wait for the moment Naomi would strike, and catch her right in

and told him everything they heard in the hospital,

that President Tillman will wake up?” Alex

not sure. However, we overheard the conversation between Anastasia and that doctor and heard Anastasia asking the doctor not to tell us the truth! You should

planning some sort of trap for us here.”

only listen to Alex, and stopped

was on guard, the fact that her father would wake up any moment now was like a ticking bomb in their head, as they would feel a sense of danger at all times. It would be like a nightmare haunting

their roots in Naomi’s heart, as she could not eat nor sleep well after she had returned home, fearing she would wake up to hear the news

up and looked at the pillow beside her. As the fear in her gradually

went to the hospital and overheard two

saying that Mr. Tillman’s medicine has started

good news to

panic, as she began to believe the possibility of Francis waking up since even the nurses were talking about it. Sitting by Francis’ bedside, she started to feel unease as she stared at his

Anastasia stood silently while intently watching Naomi’s chilling gaze of hatred. She was waiting for the moment of Naomi’s breakdown, the moment Naomi took

more. As she walked along the corridors of Presgrave Hospital, her eyes wandered around the high-tech hospital that looked as if it could raise a man from his death. Upon leaving the hospital, she came to a conclusion that she couldn’t let that man wake up, as she couldn’t lose

was about to do from her daughter and Alex, as she feared her daughter would crumble under the pressure and that Alex would stop her since he did not understand the

pin his death on Anastasia and sue the hospital for a huge amount of compensation. All in all, to Naomi, there were only

method of how she would administer the drug, as she noticed that Francis’ arm was hooked up to some tube for his medication. By discreetly injecting the tube with

long as she had her back to the camera while using her clothes as a cover while she was injecting the drug into the tube. Naomi, who was immersed in her planning, was completely unaware that every movement of her wicked plan was being monitored,

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