Chapter 156: Critically Ill

The acupuncture session was scheduled for the afternoon. Otherwise, after using the Nine Revolutions Needle, she wouldn’t be able to continue seeing patients. A few patients were from out of town and had appointments today; Amanda Vance didn’t want them to have made the trip for nothing.

That morning, Amanda Vance was taking a patient’s pulse when a sudden commotion erupted outside. Mr. Lynch ran over, too out of breath to even catch a gasp, and said hurriedly, "Master, something’s happened!"

Amanda Vance shot to her feet and asked as she walked, "What’s going on?"

"I don’t know. I was just preparing the Golden Needles. When I went back, I found that Mr. Ford’s stroke had suddenly returned. You need to go check on him, quickly."

A stroke can be sudden, and every second of delay could lead to irreversible consequences.

Amanda Vance had no time to question why he had suddenly relapsed when his recovery had been going so well.

Mr. Ford had already been rushed to the emergency room. Amanda Vance hurried over as fast as she could. Just as she was about to enter, she found a crowd of people blocking the way, periodically glancing toward the operating room and seeming to mutter amongst themselves.

She soon had her answer.

As soon as she appeared, someone spotted her, and everyone turned their heads in unison. Only then did Amanda Vance see clearly that the person standing right in the middle was Sarah Sullivan.

This area was close to the Western Medicine Department. The bodyguards had only been watching the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, which gave her an opening to slip through.

Now, she stood in the crowd, pointing at Amanda Vance and declaring, "That’s her! Practicing medicine without a license! She’s the one who made him worse. Now who knows if he’ll even make it out of there."

Her words caused an uproar. The crowd stared at Amanda Vance, their eyes filled with doubt.

Amanda Vance usually stayed in the Chinese medicine section and rarely came over to the Western medicine side. Even when she did, patients who didn’t have an appointment with her wouldn’t know who she was. All they knew was that the patient who had just been wheeled in was being treated by Amanda Vance.

Instantly, the way they looked at her changed, and they began to point and whisper.

Mrs. Ford was furious. "What nonsense are you spouting? Dr. Vance is an excellent doctor! She had almost cured my husband!"

Sarah Sullivan sneered. "’Almost cured’ means not cured. Fine. If he was almost better, then why was he just rushed into the emergency room?"

Mrs. Ford wanted to know the answer to that too. Forgetting about arguing with Sarah, she turned her head to look at Amanda Vance.

Amanda Vance ignored Sarah Sullivan and asked, "What happened?"

Mrs. Ford was on the verge of tears from anxiety. "I don’t know either. I went out to buy some food, and when I came back..."

She choked up, unable to finish her sentence.

"Mom." Shawn Ford ran over. "Mom, what’s wrong with Dad?"

"He was just taken into the operating room."

His condition this time looked even more serious than before.

The mere thought made Mrs. Ford’s palms go cold.

"What happened to Dad? Did he eat or drink anything? Or did anyone see him?" Shawn Ford asked urgently.

Mrs. Ford grew even more anxious. "He didn’t eat anything! I had just gone to buy food, so he hadn’t had a chance to eat yet. He only drank his medicine."

"See? She’s the one who messed up his treatment! He got worse after drinking her herbal medicine," Sarah Sullivan said immediately, as if she’d caught them red-handed.

"Impossible," Mrs. Ford was the first to object. ’This isn’t the first day my husband’s taken this medicine. It was fine before, so why would something happen today?’

She absolutely believed in Amanda Vance as a person and had complete faith in her medical skills.

"Megan, what should we do?" she asked, grabbing Amanda Vance’s hand, completely at a loss.

Amanda Vance put on a surgical mask. "I’ll go in and take a look first."

"Okay, okay, good."

Just as she was about to go in, Sarah Sullivan blocked her way. "You quack! Are you going in there to save him or to kill him?"

SLAP— Amanda Vance spun around and backhanded Sarah Sullivan right across the face.

The hallway fell silent in an instant. Everyone was stunned, staring blankly at Amanda Vance.

Sarah Sullivan froze for a second, then let out a piercing shriek. "Amanda Vance!"

’Is she crazy? How dare she hit me!’

"Shut up!" Amanda Vance’s voice was laced with ice, and her glare was as sharp as a dagger, making people shrink back. She said coldly, "Sarah Sullivan, if I find out you had anything to do with this, forget about me—the Ford Family will never let you go."

After saying her piece, she didn’t waste any more time arguing and went straight in with Mr. Lynch.

Shawn Ford was also startled; he hadn’t expected her to lash out so directly. ’Her medical skills are the real deal, though,’ he thought. Snapping back to his senses, he looked at Sarah Sullivan expressionlessly. "Why are you here?"

’She’s not part of our family, yet she suddenly shows up and starts stirring up trouble. What is she really trying to do?’

Recalling what Amanda Vance had just said, Shawn Ford’s gaze grew cold.

He was usually laid-back and rarely serious, but now, with a frosty expression on his face, he inexplicably resembled a true member of the Ford Family.

Sarah Sullivan swallowed hard, cheering herself on internally. ’What’s there to be afraid of? I have a member of the Ford Family backing me too.’

At that thought, she felt a surge of confidence. "I was just passing by, is that a problem? Since you all trust Amanda Vance so much, then just let her go ahead. But don’t blame me for not warning you when something goes wrong."

Hearing this, Shawn Ford raised his fist. "Say that again, I dare you! Are you trying to jinx my dad?!"

He didn’t care what happened to Amanda Vance, but Sarah’s words were a clear curse against Mr. Ford, and there was no way Shawn Ford could tolerate that.

Sarah Sullivan was intimidated and instinctively shrank back. Remembering his usual behavior, she didn’t dare provoke him further and said hastily, "I was just giving you some well-intentioned advice. If you don’t appreciate it, then fine."

With that, she turned to leave.

But she had only taken a few steps when she saw Samuel Ford walking over. Her pupils constricted, and she instinctively avoided his gaze.

Samuel Ford gave a slight raise of his hand, and the men in black behind him stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?! Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because the Ford Family is rich!"

Samuel Ford walked up to her, his eyes sharp as he stared at her, and said in a low voice, "So, what are you doing here?"

Sarah Sullivan had intended to repeat her earlier excuse, but looking into his deep, bottomless eyes, she found herself unable to utter a single word.

"If I find out you’re up to something, I won’t spare you."

After speaking, he gave the bodyguard a look.

The bodyguard understood, nodded, and skillfully covered her mouth before dragging her away.

Sarah Sullivan was still making muffled cries, but no one paid her any attention.

Samuel Ford strode forward and glanced at the emergency room door. "Mom."

"Yes." Seeing her eldest son, Mrs. Ford’s eyes immediately reddened. She said guiltily, "I’m sorry. I didn’t take good care of your father. I shouldn’t have left."

"It’s not your fault." He helped her sit down to the side. "Tell me everything that happened from the beginning. Did you run into anyone? Did anyone come to see Dad or talk to him?"

His father’s condition was extremely susceptible to agitation. He had been doing fine, so a sudden relapse like this didn’t seem like an accident.

"See anyone?" Mrs. Ford thought carefully, then shook her head. "No, just me. The caregiver works the night shift and left after I arrived this morning. Your father was fine when I left. He said he wanted some porridge, so I went to buy it for him. I didn’t run into anyone."

’Then they must have deliberately avoided her.’

Samuel Ford glanced sideways at Shawn Ford. "Go check the security footage."

"Right." Shawn Ford nodded. The usual playful smile was completely gone from his face, replaced by a fierce look. ’If I find out who did this, I’ll tear them limb from limb!’