Chapter 6: Go Beg Him

Luckily, Kevin Letherdale moved fast. He slipped aside with ease, then kept talking as if nothing had happened. "Ian Sowden, you should get to the hospital. Right away!" "Kevin Letherdale, stop it!" Faye Sowden couldn't listen to another word. She charged over, grabbed his arm, and dragged him upstairs toward her bedroom. If she let him keep running his mouth, he really might piss her grandfather off so badly he collapsed on the spot. "Look at him. All of you, look!" Ian Sowden raged, spit flying. "This is the thing she brought home! He offended the Lashbrook family, and he's still here trying to give me a heart attack!" "Dad, I'll handle it. Don't get worked up. Sit down, please." Chandler Sowden hurried to steady him and guide him to the sofa. If anything happened to the old man, the Sowden family would be in real trouble. "Sit down, my ass!" Ian Sowden snapped. "You deal with that little bastard. Tonight, fine. But first thing tomorrow, make him go with Faye and get a divorce. Then I'll call Grey and the others over. We'll tie that little bastard up and take him to the Lashbrook family to apologize!" He had no interest in sitting. After spitting out those orders, he stormed off, already planning to summon his eldest son and the rest tomorrow to haul Kevin Letherdale away. This had to be Kevin Letherdale's burden alone. It couldn't touch them. Even if the Lashbrook family killed him, it would have nothing to do with the Sowdens. "God… what a mess," Chandler muttered, watching his father leave in a fury. Then he glanced upstairs, unease creeping in. "That kid went into Faye's room with her. He won't do anything stupid, will he?" Skyla Zimmerman frowned in thought. "Probably not. Kevin Letherdale seems… simple, honestly. What he did today was a little extreme, but he was protecting Faye." "You never know." Chandler's voice stayed tight. "Go get him out. Have him sleep in the guest room." He didn't trust letting a man stay in his daughter's bedroom. Faye's beauty was famous in Jermon, praised as the city's number one. Even a "simple" man was still a man. Who knew what he might do? Not throwing Kevin Letherdale out tonight was already a huge concession. "Fine. I'll go check." Skyla Zimmerman wasn't entirely at ease either, so she headed upstairs. Meanwhile, Kevin Letherdale stood in the bedroom, taking Faye's scolding head-on. "You really are something," she snapped. "How could you talk to my grandpa like that? What if you actually made him sick?" Kevin Letherdale looked utterly serious. "Sis, I wasn't lying. He really is ill. I wanted to treat him, but his temper is too big. He wouldn't believe me. You should persuade him to go get checked at the hospital." "Are you… for real?" Faye studied his face. He didn't look like he was joking, and despite herself, she started to believe him. Kevin Letherdale nodded. "I am." "But…" Faye hesitated, worry tugging at her. "Grandpa's furious. He might not listen to me." She knew Ian Sowden's temperament. Stubborn, foul-mouthed, impossible to bend. Otherwise, he wouldn't have forced her into marrying Zeke Lashbrook no matter how much she resisted. At that moment, Skyla Zimmerman pushed the door open. Kevin Letherdale immediately stood. "Auntie." Skyla Zimmerman nodded. "Kevin, thank you for standing up for Faye today. The old man's temper was a bit much. Don't take it to heart." "I won't, Auntie," Kevin Letherdale said. Skyla Zimmerman's gaze flicked between them. "So… what are you two doing for the night?" Faye pointed at the floor. "He can sleep on a pallet in here." Skyla Zimmerman shot her a look. "How can you make a guest sleep on the floor? We have spare rooms. I'll have Qianqian tidy one up." "That works." Faye relented, then turned to Kevin Letherdale. "Go sleep in the guest room next door." Even though they had gotten the marriage certificate, they weren't truly husband and wife. Sharing a room didn't feel appropriate. Kevin Letherdale, however, looked a little reluctant. He had been thinking that if they stayed in the same room, he might get another chance to peek at Faye's chest. But they had already said it plainly. He couldn't argue without looking shameless. "Alright. Sorry to trouble you." At the same time… Ian Sowden had already contacted his eldest son, Grey Sowden, and had him drive him to the hospital for an exam. He still believed Kevin Letherdale had been cursing him, but when he had flown into that rage earlier, his head really had started to ache. He had even felt dizzy. Better safe than sorry. He just couldn't bring himself to ask Chandler to take him to the hospital on the spot, so he had gone back and called Grey instead. Before long, the results came out. Several neurology specialists gathered, their faces grim as they analyzed the report. After a brief discussion, the attending physician walked into a nearby lounge and found Ian Sowden and Grey Sowden waiting. "Mr. Sowden, could I speak with you privately for a moment?" the doctor said to Grey Sowden. The Sowden family dealt in pharmaceuticals. The hospital had long-standing ties with them, which was why they had pulled in multiple experts in the middle of the night to help with the diagnosis. The moment Ian Sowden heard the doctor ask to speak to his son alone, his heart sank. He seemed to understand at once. He spoke first, voice steady. "Doctor, say it in front of me. I've lived through enough storms. I can take it." Grey Sowden nodded. "Just tell us." The doctor didn't dodge it any longer. "The old gentleman's condition… is serious. With current medical capabilities, there isn't a solution." "What exactly is it?" Grey Sowden shot to his feet, panic flashing across his face. The doctor chose his words carefully, explaining in terms they could understand. "Simply put, there's a tumor in his brain. The position is extremely tricky. It's completely compressing the middle cerebral artery, and it's pressing against the brainstem. It's very dangerous." Grey Sowden's eye twitched. "Can't you remove it surgically?" The doctor shook his head. "It's difficult. Even setting aside his age, the tumor's angle makes cranial surgery far too risky. The success rate is under twenty percent." "Then conservative treatment?" Grey pressed. The doctor's expression tightened. "It won't help. The tumor has already squeezed the artery to the point there are signs of bleeding. If it's fast, half a month. If it's slow, at most one month. Mr. Sowden, you understand what I'm saying." "How could this happen?" Grey Sowden's voice cracked. "My dad's always been healthy. How could…" He understood. His legs gave out, and he collapsed into the chair, unable to accept it. Sowden Corp was already being crushed by the Lashbrook family's rival pressure, barely holding together. If Ian Sowden went down too, the Sowdens would be finished. Ian Sowden sat there, stunned. Kevin Letherdale's words echoed in his head, clear as a bell: he was sick, and he had at most a month to live. And Kevin Letherdale had been right. "If I transfer to Dragonville for treatment?" Ian Sowden asked. The doctor fell silent, as if weighing the odds. Finally, he said, "At most thirty percent." Ian Sowden nodded, then stood. "I understand. Thank you, doctors." He turned to Grey Sowden. "Let's go. We're heading back." "Dad, we should admit you," Grey said urgently. "With your condition, you can't go home." "Being hospitalized is just a way to comfort yourself," Ian Sowden said flatly. "Listen to me. We're going back." He knew it himself. Staying in the hospital would only mean waiting to die. He refused. With no choice, Grey Sowden took him home first, planning to call Chandler Sowden and the others in the morning to discuss what else could be done. But as they got into the car, Ian Sowden suddenly said, "Grey, Faye brought home a strange man today and went to get a marriage certificate with him. When Zeke Lashbrook came to deliver the betrothal gifts, that kid even beat up their driver." Grey Sowden lived separately, so he hadn't heard any of this. "What?" Grey's eyes widened. The engine had just turned over when he killed it again. "What the hell is Faye doing?" Ian Sowden then recounted everything that had happened that night, from start to finish. After listening, Grey Sowden seized on the key point. "Dad… you mean that kid saw you were sick, and that's why you came to the hospital?" "Yes." Ian Sowden nodded. Grey finally understood what his father was implying. "If he could tell you were ill, maybe he can treat you. Let's go find him." Ian Sowden waved him off. "It's too late. Tomorrow morning. Besides, things got ugly tonight. If we're going to ask him for help, we need to act like we're asking." "Then what do we do?" Grey asked. "I heard Chandler say he just came out of the mountains," Ian Sowden said. "If he's a poor kid, we solve it with money. Tomorrow morning, we withdraw some cash." "Why not just transfer it?" Grey didn't understand. Ian Sowden glared at him. "Use your head. A transfer is convenient for us, but for a poor kid, cash hits different. The visual impact works." In his mind, there was nothing money couldn't solve. And for a poor kid from the mountains, a stack of cash would be temptation he couldn't possibly resist.