Chapter 25
Faced with Jaxon’s sharp questioning, Caleb immediately clammed up.
15
“Keep looking, pull some strings if you have to,” said Jaxon. “Father’s condition isn’t great–we’ve got to stabilize him quickly. If all else fails, find a decent acupuncture master. Someone who really knows their stuff.”
His voice was low and heavy as he glanced away, staring out the window.
The moon was unusually bright tonight, but his mood was anything but good.
“Got it, Mr. Zale. I’ll get on it right away,” Caleb promised.
A moment later, Jaxon spoke again, “After father got sick, did Brad or that woman show up at the hospital?”
That woman? Caleb hesitated, then finally recovered. Jaxon was talking about Lena.
“Brad brought Lena to see Howard, but Mrs. Zale didn’t come by…” He paused, then added carefully, “Maybe Brad didn’t tell Mrs. Zale that he was hospitalized.”
Jaxon said nothing more. To him, it looked like Sally made a smart call by divorcing Brad.
The next morning, after Abigail sent Sally the room number, Sally packed up her acupuncture tools and grabbed a cab straight to the hospital.
When she arrived, there was no nurse or caretaker–only Howard lying there alone.
“Grandpa,” she stepped forward to greet him.
Howard’s eyes lit up with a gentle smile as he saw her. “Sally, I was just about to call you! Didn’t expect you to come.”
Sally set her tools on the table and lowered her gaze. “I only just heard last night that you were admitted.”
“I just woke up. The nurse said I was rushed here the day before yesterday because of chest pains,” Howard smiled. “I’ve been out cold for two days. I remember three years ago, I suddenly had chest pains too, and you treated me with acupuncture. That’s why I wanted to call you–I need your help again.”
“Well, I came especially for that.”
Sally sat by the bedside and gently felt Howard’s pulse. He wasn’t doing great, but with some acupuncture, he could still get better—definitely better than just relying on modern medicine.
‘Grandpa, I’m going to start now,” she said.
“Sure.”
Just as Sally began inserting the needles and told Howard to rest, a sharp knock came at the door. And then, the door suddenly swung wide open.
Sally turned and froze for a split second at the sight of two figures standing there. It was none other than Brad and Lena.
Brad’s brow furrowed sharply. “Sally, what exactly are you doing?”
The acupuncture needed at least half an hour to take effect, and Howard had just settled down. Sally knew no one was allowed to disturb him now.
She had no choice to step forward, stopping Brad from entering the ward. “Come with me.”
As she passed by, Brad suddenly grabbed her wrist hard. His face darkened instantly. “Sally, with your half–baked medical skills, you really think you can just poke needles in my grandpa? Don’t screw this up and kill him.”
“Exactly!” Lena chimed in, “Mrs. Zale, do you even have a medical license? How can you just randomly jab needles into Grandpa
‘I’ll say it one last time: Grandpa needs peace and quiet. You two, get out of here right now.” Sally shook off Brad’s hand and
1/2
10:24 AM D
Chapter 25
strode toward the door.
Brad and Lena reluctantly followed. Once in the hallway, Brad’s temper flared.
“Sally, this is a hospital, not your living room. You can’t just go around doing whatever you want! Pull those needles out right now, or if anything happens to grandpa, you’ll be the one to answer for it!”
He’d always known Sally dabbled in medicine. Over the years, she’d secretly treated patients who came to her through connections–but no one, not even him, knew the extent of her skills.
Though she’d devoted herself to her career during their marriage, when serious cases came up, she’d quietly step in to help. But she kept it under wraps. Brad had no clue.
“Brad’s right,” Lena also spoke up. “Even the hospital’s top traditional medicine experts are hesitant to do acupuncture on grandpa. You’ve got some nerve stepping in without permission. If something goes wrong…”
“As long as I’m here, nothing will go wrong.” Sally lifted her eyes to Lena, her voice dropping to a serious, almost threatening
tone.
“That’s some nerve you’ve got!” Brad’s face twisted in anger. “Grandpa’s my one and only. You can’t just come here and challenge the family’s doctors.”
He tried to head back into the room, but Sally held up her hand. “Do you not understand plain English?” she snapped. “I said don’t go in and disturb Grandpa.”
“Move!” Brad’s eyes burned with rage, and his voice rose.
“Give me half an hour. After that, you can do whatever you want,” Sally said, never lowering her hand. “But in that half hour, nobody steps foot in the room.”
Both Brad and Lena were stunned by her forcefulness. Especially Brad – he barely recognized the woman who usually played the gentle, sweet wife.
But since he didn’t know her true medical skills, he wasn’t about to let her run wild.
“I’m going in–no matter what.” Brad insisted. Grandpa had just slipped into unconsciousness. What if she did something to
him?
He shoved her aside with all his strength. Sally stumbled, nearly falling.
Just as she thought she was going down, a pair of strong hands caught her from the side. A familiar cool scent washed over her, filling her nose. A powerful wave of safety wrapped around her instantly.
Her mind flashed back to the fire–could it be Jaxon? Before she could turn, a deep, commanding voice came from above.
“Brad, what do you think you’re doing?”
“Jaxon Brad’s hand froze on the doorknob. He spun around and met the cold, sharp gaze of his uncle.
With Jaxon’s support, Sally steadied herself. Once the hand that had held her arm loosened, she quickly put some distance between them, finally getting a good look at the handsome man standing nearby.
“Mr. Zale, it was Sally who did the acupuncture,” Lena stepped forward and explained. “Grandpa fell asleep after the treatment. Brad wanted to check on him, but Sally wouldn’t let him in…
2/2
