Kylie had an appointment with Barbara after Ethan left the Finch family's house.

She thought it was necessary to tell Ethan's mother his terrible physical condition now.

​​

To her astonishment, Barbara came, followed by Adolph.

"Wait right here!" Barbara said to Adolph with a bad attitude, and he stopped at once.

He was even more obedient than Pupu.

Kylie asked Barbara with surprise, "Mom, does old Mr. Parker..."

Barbara sat with Kylie a little far away from where Adolph stood, so he checked them once in a while through the gap between tree branches, in case Barbara disappeared in his sight the next second.

"It'll make no difference even if old Mr. Parker knows," Barbara sighed. "He refuses to leave me no matter how I treat him."

Kylie thought to herself that Ethan should be as stubborn as his father, not her.

Both Adolph and Ethan were very adamant.

"How is Agnes?" Kylie asked.

Barbara shook her head. "I haven't seen her yet, but I heard Stephen took her away."

Knowing that Kylie sneered. For now, three parties all held a person hostage.

Tory had Dinah, they had Ben, while Stephen had Agnes.

"Agnes gave all the property under her name to Stephen, but Stephen transferred it to me," Kylie said with a serious face. "I'll return it to Ethan once he gets better."

Barbara shook her head. "Don't bother. Adolph has already asked the lawyer to go through the formalities. His assets, including the Empire Hotel, have been transferred to Ethan."

She patted Kylie's hand and said with a smile, "You and Ethan are husband and wife. It's the same thing no matter the property under whose name."

Kylie thought for a while, then told Barbara Ethan's condition. "Ethan is in a very terrible condition now."

Barbara frowned, yet she knew Ethan is not human, as Kylie thought, but as his mother, she can't spill his secret to Kylie. She then looked to Adolph after a long while. "Come here."

Adolph didn't hesitate and strode over without delay. "May I help?"

"Ethan is seriously injured," Barbara said. "If you can cure him, I'll forgive you."

Adolph's eyes lit up at once, "Really?" He turned around and walked a few steps ahead before turning back. "No matter how I do it?"

"I don't care what way you use, as long as he can go back to be healthy," Barbara said.

Hearing that, Adolph left with happiness.

"Will you really forgive him?" Kylie asked with doubt.

The deeper a woman loved a man, the deeper she hated him.

Adolph had mistreated her that year, and it wasn't easy for Barbara to let it go.

Barbara didn't talk until Adolph was far away, "It's been so many years after all. Besides, I don't have to be back to his side even though I forgive him."

Kylie was surprised and admired Barbara's wits.

The second Adolph got in his car, and he called Stephen. "Where are you?"

"What can I do for you, father?" Stephen's voice was as gentle as usual.

"Ethan's injured now. Cure him right away, and I'll let bygones be bygones," Adolph said or ordered.

"Let bygones be bygones?" Stephen sneered. "My mother died because of you!"

Adolph was struck dumb for a second. "Your mother volunteered to have the surgery!"

"She had to donate a kidney or die!" Stephen almost shouted in anger. "You used her kindness and deceived her into entering the operating room, and? Only Agnes came out alive!"

"It was just a medical accident." Adolph raised his voice, losing patience.

Stephen laughed all of a sudden. "Aren't you afraid another medical accident will happen when I'm treating Ethan's injuries?"

"How..." Before Adolph could say something else, Stephen hung up on him and dumped the phone into a trash can.

"To find out whether Ethan is really injured." A touch of evilness flashed by Stephen's eyes. "Wanna trap me? Impossible!"

"Yes, sir." The housekeeper walked away.

When the door of the room was pushed open again, Agnes walked inside with a tray. "Stephen, time to have some food."

She walked to the front of Stephen, but Stephen overturned the tray with great force. The hot food fell on Agnes's body, and she shook in the heat.

"I-If y-you don't like it. I-I can make something new for you." Agnes's eyes were full of fear, and her body was trembling in scare.

Stephen looked down at her face with arrogance. "Take good care of the part of my mother. We'll give it back to her on the anniversary of her death."

Agnes subconsciously touched her waist. She bit her lips, but didn't dare utter another word, then escaped with the tray.

Stephen stood by the window, looking out to the broad ocean, but failed to calm himself down.

It was totally understandable that he wanted to take revenge for his mother, but he somehow felt a little guilty deep down in his heart.

He caught the frame of the window and squeezed it. "What I'm doing now is right! It's right!"

In response to him, the oncoming wet sea breeze blew his windbreaker up, exposing a handkerchief in his shirt pocket. Stephen took it out and smelt it. "Kylie, I'll come to you soon."

***

Kylie made a loud sneeze.

"Do you feel cold?" Ethan walked in from the outside and left his coat to the housekeeper.

"How do you feel now?" Kylie walked upstairs, holding his hand. "The doctor is waiting for you in the study."

"I'm good." Ethan smiled.

Seeing Ethan in a good mental state, the doctor thought his medicine was effective and felt slightly proud of himself.

However, when he removed Ethan's shirt, he realized he was wrong.

Ethan's festering skin looked swollen, and wounds were visible. Ethan himself couldn't explain such an abrupt change of his body.

Kylie stood right behind Ethan. She covered her mouth in great shock.

Ethan seemed calm, but he actually was suffering inhuman torture, and she was the cause of it!

"I'm so sorry..." Kylie knelt down before Ethan, holding his hands. "It's all my fault. My fault..." She almost cried.

When Kylie was distracting Ethan, the doctor began to shave the carrion off with a scalpel.

"It's not your fault. I-I wasn't cautious enough." Sweat covered Ethan's forehead at once, but there was still a faint smile on his lips.

Kylie could feel that he was doing his best not to moan in pain.

She squeezed his hands to make him feel safe.

Although it was painful to move the carrion off and a burning sensation began to penetrate his cells, it was even more intolerable when the doctor disinfects wounds with hydrogen peroxide.

Ethan could barely stand the pain, and he got rid of Kylie's hands to catch his knees tight.

Without hesitation, Kylie stood up and kissed him.