Chapter 562 - 554: Main Story Finale Countdown (6)

Maeve Sutton returned home, fuming. She saw her parents watching TV, sat on the sofa, picked up a teacup from the table, and drained it in one gulp. Then she said, "Dad, I really don’t want to marry a man like William Chapman. Can’t you find someone else?"

"We’ve already accepted the betrothal gifts. Who’s going to lose face if we return them now?"

"What’s more important? Your reputation, or my happiness for the rest of my life?"

"Reputation is more important. Marriage is marriage, no matter who the man is. We’ve supported you at home for long enough. You need to remember, you have a younger brother. If you don’t get married, it’ll be hard for him to find a wife."

"So... if I don’t get married for the rest of my life, does that mean my brother can’t get married either?"

She shot to her feet and stormed upstairs.

Slamming the door shut, Maeve Sutton felt that her life was a complete tragedy.

Lying on her bed, she thought about how she was getting married in just a few days to a notorious scoundrel, and she was filled with despair.

A lot of people would be attending.

At the thought of it, Maeve Sutton felt like dying, but she didn’t have the courage to go through with it.

「*」

Lillian Bancroft had just finished his official duties when he heard about Ethan Ellsworth’s accident. He immediately took a private jet, flying for several hours to get to Alveria.

Standing outside the hospital room, he looked through the small window on the door and saw Chloe Marshall tightly gripping Ethan Ellsworth’s hand. Her expression was full of sorrow. ’Just like how I look at her,’ he thought.

He grasped the doorknob, pushed the door open, and walked inside.

Chloe Marshall didn’t turn around. ’Nora must be back with food,’ she thought.

Not until he was standing right behind her and called out, "Chloe."

Chloe Marshall turned her head to meet his gaze. Tears streamed down her face as she choked out, "Silly."

He looked at Ethan Ellsworth on the bed. "How is he?"

"The doctor said he needs a kidney donor for his left kidney. We can’t find a suitable match right now. Young Master Grant and Young Master Hawthorne are doing their best to find one."

He nodded and sat down in a chair. He pulled a white handkerchief from his breast pocket and handed it to her. "Wipe your tears."

She took it and wiped her eyes.

"Don’t worry. He’ll be okay."

Chloe Marshall nodded, not knowing what to say.

The two of them just sat there in silence until Nora Ainsworth returned.

Upon seeing him, Nora Ainsworth immediately put the food on the table and extended her hand. "Mr. Bancroft, hello."

Lillian Bancroft stood up and shook her hand. "Miss Ainsworth, hello."

Nora Ainsworth asked, "Have you eaten, Mr. Bancroft?"

"I have."

Nora Ainsworth quickly said to Chloe Marshall, "Chloe, you need to eat. You have to keep your strength up. You can only take care of Young Master Ellsworth if you take care of yourself first."

Chloe Marshall nodded. "Okay."

Lillian Bancroft spoke up. "I’m going to talk to the attending physician. You two go ahead and eat."

With that, he turned and left the room.

Lillian Bancroft went straight to the office of Ethan Ellsworth’s attending physician. Seeing him, the doctor was stunned and asked uncertainly, "You... Are you...?"

"That’s right. I am Lillian Bancroft."

"You... You... Please, have a seat." The attending physician was so nervous he started to stutter.

Lillian Bancroft sat across from him and said, "There’s no need to be nervous, Doctor. I just want to ask about the specifics of Ethan Ellsworth’s condition."

"Ah... that... Yes, of course. I’ll explain the details to you." ’How could the attending physician not be nervous with the Supreme Leader of a country sitting right in front of him?’

He paused for a moment, trying to suppress his nervousness and speak calmly. "Here’s the situation. Mr. Ellsworth was struck by a very heavy metal light fixture. When an object that heavy falls at high speed, the impact is devastating and potentially fatal. It struck Mr. Ellsworth directly in the kidney. Unfortunately, the impact was incredibly precise, causing the kidney to hemorrhage and rupture. To make matters worse, his right kidney was already in poor health. Factoring in the damage to his left kidney, a transplant is the only option."

"So if a suitable donor can’t be found, his life will be in danger...?"

The attending physician said, "It’s not that his life will be in danger. He will die. The injury wasn’t just to the kidney, but also the surrounding area..."

Lillian Bancroft continued to ask, "Then what’s the longest we have?"

"He needs surgery within fifteen days. Otherwise, he will certainly die."

"I see."

Lillian Bancroft’s mood was heavy as he left the doctor’s office. He knew exactly what Ethan Ellsworth meant to Chloe Marshall.

Pulling out his phone, Lillian Bancroft called his Secretary-General. "Conduct a nationwide search for male patients between the ages of 22 and 30 with terminal cancer. Their left kidney must be perfectly healthy. I’ll send you the detailed specifications in a moment to cross-reference for a match."

"Your Excellency, why do you need a kidney donor?"

"To save a life. Just do as I say, quickly."

"Yes, sir."

After hanging up, he sat down in the hallway. His exceptionally handsome features drew stares from the female doctors, patients, and even family members who passed by.

It wasn’t just because he was good-looking; he also bore a striking resemblance to the national leader of Harrowin.

But no one dared to approach him to confirm.

"Silly, you should go back and get some rest. Here are the keys to our house." She handed him the keys.

"Okay." Lillian Bancroft took the keys, left the hospital, and went back to the Ellsworth family’s home.

Aside from the Ellsworth family’s servants, none of the masters of the house were home.

Lillian Bancroft turned on the bedroom light and walked inside.

On the wall hung a wedding photo of Ethan Ellsworth and Chloe Marshall. They looked like a perfect match, leaning affectionately against one another. He could tell that Chloe Marshall’s smile was genuine, coming from the bottom of her heart.

It seemed one could feel the love the couple shared just by standing in the room.

Lillian Bancroft turned and went to the guest room to lie down. For some reason, he felt a sense of peace lying there and quickly fell asleep.

Back at the hospital, Chloe Marshall was asleep on a spare bed in the room. Nora Ainsworth went home.

As soon as she stepped out of the hospital room, she was surrounded by the head of the TV station and the event organizers.

"Nora, how is Young Master Ellsworth?"

Nora Ainsworth didn’t feel like talking to anyone at that moment, nor did she want to assign blame. She simply said, "We’re looking for a kidney donor. The situation is very serious."

Hearing this, they all looked worried. "Who could have known this would happen? The person who installed the light has already been sent to the police station. We take full responsibility for this incident. We hope Young Master Ellsworth pulls through."

"Let’s hope so." After saying that, Nora Ainsworth went home.

Quentin Grant was sitting in the living room with a wine glass in his hand, their two boys sitting beside him.

When they saw her return, they shouted in unison, "Mommy!"

"Yes, I’m back."

She sat down. "Quentin, I’m so sleepy."

Quentin Grant put down his wine glass and looked at his two sons. "You two go upstairs to bed. Your mommy and I are going to rest as well."

The two boys looked like they wanted to say something but held back. They turned and headed upstairs on their short little legs.

Quentin Grant picked her up and carried her upstairs, one step at a time.

"Nora, Young Master Ellsworth saved you, but now his own life is in peril. If it had been you... I can’t bear to think about it. You might have died on the spot..."

Nora Ainsworth closed her eyes and answered listlessly, "I know. After all, that light would have landed on my head. If Ethan Ellsworth doesn’t get better, my conscience will never be clear."

"I won’t let him not get better. He will get better."

Nora Ainsworth lay there. "Quentin, I’m going to sleep."

He took off his shoes and lay down beside her, his voice low. "Go to sleep."

Several days passed. Not only had they failed to find a suitable kidney donor, but Ethan Ellsworth’s condition was also getting worse.

Fueled by media hype, the fans of Ethan Ellsworth and Nora Ainsworth inexplicably started a flame war online.

Ethan Ellsworth’s fans felt it was all Nora Ainsworth’s fault; this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for her.

But Nora Ainsworth’s fans disagreed, arguing that while Ethan Ellsworth’s actions were commendable, he never would have just stood by and watched Nora get hurt, especially since the Grant and Ellsworth families were so close.

Besides, Quentin Grant and Ethan Ellsworth were best friends who had grown up together.

And Nora Ainsworth had come up under the same mentor as Ethan Ellsworth.

For all these reasons, it was only natural that Ethan Ellsworth would have stepped in to help.

Furthermore, while Ethan’s injury left time for a rescue, if Nora had been hit, she might have been killed instantly.

The two fanbases argued endlessly.

Just as the argument was raging, someone of unknown identity posted a long comment on Nora Ainsworth’s social media page, and everyone’s focus shifted to what they wrote. The content was as follows: "To be honest, Nora Ainsworth can’t even compare to Ethan Ellsworth. His talent is undeniable—he acts in TV dramas, he can dance, and he can sing. What can Nora Ainsworth do? She just got lucky, found a man like Quentin Grant, popped out two sons, and starred in a couple of TV shows. Big deal. Any woman can have children. After this incident, shouldn’t Nora Ainsworth just go kill herself to atone for it? It makes sense she’s not that famous. I’m not a fan of either of them, but I follow their accounts and watch their shows. As for Nora Ainsworth’s movies, I just watch pirated versions online. Attitude is everything. For me to pay to see a movie, it needs either a good plot or an actor I admire. For the good ones, I will. But Nora Ainsworth isn’t a good-tempered actress, heh. No wonder she’s not famous. From this whole affair, Nora Ainsworth is totally at fault. Why should Ethan Ellsworth suffer for her? She should be the one to die, shouldn’t she? Following her is a waste of space on my feed. Bye."

This long-winded comment was immediately attacked by Nora Ainsworth’s fans. Even Ethan Ellsworth’s fans, who had been arguing with them, couldn’t stand it.

One of them, with the username ’EthanIsMyHero,’ commented: "Who the hell are you? How can you say Nora Ainsworth isn’t famous? The dramas she stars in are always number one in the ratings. You call that not famous? Yeah, our hero Ethan Ellsworth got hurt because of her, but if you really think about it, Nora is innocent too. If you have to blame something, blame the damn light! I say we draw and quarter that light fixture!"

Nora Ainsworth’s fans weren’t having it either, and replied directly: "You say Nora has a bad temper? Where are you getting that from? Explain yourself!"

The original commenter replied: "I sent her a private message before, telling her I watched a pirated copy of her movie instead of going to the theater. She said I wasn’t respecting the fruits of her labor. She’s just some B-list actress. I did her a favor by watching her movie, and she had the nerve to lecture me. If that’s not a bad temper, what is?!"