chapter2178
After what felt like an age measured in heartbeats instead of seconds, Albert's eyelids lifted. His gaze fixed on Felix with a chill, glacial intensity that made the boy shrink.
"Besides the headache, where else do you feel unwell?" Albert asked, his voice low as a winter river.
Felix hadn't yet found his voice; his lips parted, then closed again.
"Doctor, my son has been holding his stomach all morning," Miranda cut in, anxiety sharpening her tone. "He kept saying it hurts. It's only now easing a little."
Albert gave a small nod and flicked a glance toward the nurse.
The nurse, catching the doctor's silent cue, retrieved a first aid kit and set it down before him with practiced care.
"Lie down on the examination bed behind the curtain," he directed, pointing to the partition.
Unsure what awaited him, Felix obeyed and stretched out on the thin mattress.
The nurse drew the curtain shut, sealing Felix and Albert inside. Miranda and the others were told to stay where they were while the doctor stepped into the enclosed space.
Felix scanned the cramped cubicle, perplexed, as Albert stood beside him and opened the first aid kit.
The boy's eyes instantly widened the box was packed with needles of every length and thickness, gleaming like a bed of silver thorns.
"I'm going to perform acupuncture on you," Albert announced.
Felix had seen the procedure on television; he knew it meant being pierced.
"I don't want that," he whispered, trembling.
"Your condition is serious, and acupuncture is necessary. Didn't you say your head hurts?" Albert pressed.
"I don't want to be stuck with needles!" Felix protested, shaking his head so hard his hair whipped his cheeks.
Albert exhaled through his nose and turned slightly toward the nurse. "Hold him still."
With that, the nurse pinned Felix's shoulders to the pillow with practiced efficiency. From the array of silver, Albert selected a thick needle and moved toward the boy. "Hey, kid, I'm about to insert the needle. You mustn't move an inch. Understood?" Felix stared at the grotesquely thick needle; his pupils dilated in horror.
"No! Don't stick me with that! I'm not hurt anywhere. My head doesn't hurt-nothing hurts!" he shouted, twisting beneath the nurse's hands.
"How can it not hurt? Are you lying?" Albert challenged.
"It's true! Mom told me to pretend like I did and lie to you guys. I'm perfectly fine-I don't need acupuncture!"
Felix's declaration bore through the fabric partition; everyone outside heard it loud and clear.
Miranda's complexion blanched. She surged forward, intent on snatching her child away.
Zachary's arm swept out, a quiet barrier between her and the curtain.
"The doctor is examining the child right now. Please, let the doctor work."
Miranda's composure instantly shattered. She slammed her palm against the wall, desperation quivering in. very syllable. "Didy
not hear my son screaming? Tha
wasn't a whimper-it was a howl. Your people must be forcing him. Let me inside-now!"
The words were still echoing when, inside the room, Felix's small voice carried past
the partitions, truthful and terribly clear.
"My mother hǎates Aunt Cecilia," he
confessed, each admission a stone dropped into a silent pond. "And since Charlotte is Aunt Cecilia's friend Mom told me to pretend wasured That way, Charlotte would get in trouble, and Aunt Cécilia would panic."
With the ugly scheme laid bare by her own child, Miranda froze. Any hope of salvaging the situation dissolved on the sterile hospital floor.
Nathaniel turned, dark eyes locking on her. "Miranda, care to explain yourself?" he asked, calm enough to chill the air.
Miranda's smile was brittle as cracked porcelain. "Well, you know how children are. They make things up all the time. Surely you don't believe him?"
Only now did Adrian put the pieces together his wife's frantic theatrics had sparked the entire calamity. Panic drained the bravado from his posture leaving him small and apologetic.
His shoulders sagged, a man deflated. The swagger he'd worn minutes ago crumpled like cheap paper.
"Miranda, how could you teach our son to lie?" he muttered, shame and disbelief tangling in his throat.
Robert arrived, reading the room with a statesman's speed. This was no time for further bickering; reputations were bleeding out fast.
"Miranda, apologize to Nathaniel. End it here," he urged, voice low but firm.
Robert knew too well-if the quarrel dragged on, their side would pay the heavier price.