chapter2176

Before Felix could finish his sentence, Miranda's glare sliced across the air,

silencing him. The boy's courage shrank back into his chest like a frightened animal.

"What are you afraid of?" she hissed. "You were the one who got bullied. You don't owe anyone an apology."

With fists curling at her sides, she spat each word at Nathaniel. "Stop pushing us, Nathaniel. There's a limit to your intimidation."

At that moment, Robert strode in, Adrian a pace behind him, the foyer doors sighing shut on a gust of night air.

Robert took in the tableau-grandson shaking, daughter-in-law blazing, nephew unmoved. His brows flicked upward once. "What's going on here?" he asked, voice steady as an oak trunk.

He remained unnervingly calm, offering no hint of the judgment forming behind his eyes.

Miranda exhaled in relief as though a lighthouse had pierced her storm.

"Dad, you're finally back. Please, talk some sense into Nathaniel for Felix and me. We need your help," she pleaded.

Soon, she launched into a tale of the day's events, seasoning every detail with generous exaggeration until Felix's plight sounded like high tragedy written in fresh ink.

Robert listened without so much as a blink, his expression an unreadable ledger. Adrian hurried to his son, kneeling so their eyes met. "Felix, are you okay? Are you hurting anywhere?"

Felix's lower lip quivered. Tears spilled over and tracked down his cheeks.

"Daddy, you're finally home," he blurted, relief crashing through his small body as he wriggled free from Miranda's grip and rushed into Adrian's embrace, hugging him tight.

His sobs rose less from Charlotte's earlier blows than from the dread coiled around Nathaniel's omnipresent shadow.

Adrian's chest tightened. "Nathaniel, I know I'm not half the powerhouse you are, but that doesn't give you the right to bully my son," he said, voice trembling yet brave.

Nathaniel had always deemed Adrian spineless. Seeing him stand up for his child, however, pulled a flicker of surprise across his otherwise immaculate composure. "You yourselves said Felix suffered significant injuries, didn't you? If that's true, a comprehensive examination is the wisest course. As for radiation, don't worry I'll have Zachary supervise the entire process. The tests won't so much as ruffle your boy's health."

Nathaniel's voice came smooth and even, every syllable landing with the quiet authority of a gavel.

The moment those calm words settled, Miranda and the others found themselves scrambling, suddenly out of excuses.

Adrian, still clueless to the

undercurrent, barreled forward

before his wife or father could open

their mouths Fine We

ke him

for another examination. If my son is

hurt anywhere, I will not spare Charlotte-understand?" .net

Miranda shot him urgent, cautionary glances, yet he forged ahead, unmoved by her silent warnings.

In the end, Adrian agreed to Nathaniel's arrangement with the single-mindedness of a bull pressing into a red flag.

Nathaniel hadn't expected the father and son's return to make his plan advance so much more easily, but the knot in his chest loosened all the same.

On the drive to the hospital, the air inside the car felt tighter than the seat belts.

Miranda cradled Felix on her lap, her heartbeat thumping so loudly she feared the child could feel it through her ribs.

She knew perfectly well the boy bore no injury-not even a blemish-but a hospital visit now meant an examination built on thin air.

Seeing that they were about to reach the hospital, Miranda said gently, "Felix, when the doctor checks you in a minute, don't be scared. Tell him where it hurts, okay? Remember how you told the previous doctor your head ached? Don't forget to tell the new doctor the same things."

The words were a gentle code, a reminder wrapped in motherly warmth.

Felix was no fool; he bobbed his head with exaggerated earnestness. "Okay." Sitting beside them, Nathaniel saw straight through the little performance, yet he let the charade unfold without comment, allowing their voices to ebb and flow around him like distant surf.

When they arrived at the hospital, Zachary was already waiting beneath the portico, coat buttoned, eyes alert.

Moments after Nathaniel's earlier call, he had dispatched Vivian to gather every scrap of backstory. Now, he stood armed with context and determination.

The car coasted to a halt; tires whispered against the curb.

Zachary strode forward, purposeful, impatience contained only by professional courtesy.

Car doors swung open in sequence. Nathaniel emerged first, followed by Felix, Miranda, Robert, and finally

Adrian each face set with a different shade of worry-as they converged on Zachary.

Zachary greeted the elder first. "Good evening, Mr. Robert."

Robert dipped his chin and, by way of small talk, asked, "Hello, Zach. How has your grandfather been lately?"