Chapter 7 Father-in-law Hospitalized

"Yes," Noah said.

Xavier Bray said, thrilled, "I've been expecting your call. Seems that you're no longer restricted by the family. We haven't spoken in over a decade, have we?"

"Indeed. How's my dad? And how's the family?" Noah asked.

"He's doing great. It's just that he's been talking about you a lot. He blames himself for making you suffer for years. And don't worry, the family's business is thriving," said Xavier.

Relieved, Noah said, "Glad to hear that. Oh, one thing. Is there a way to deal with my condition?"

"Rest assured, Mr. Anderson. It was all done when you were no longer restricted. The drugs will be airlifted to Eagleland in a couple of days and delivered to you by the administrator of the Family Financial Management Center," Xavier said at once, relieving Noah.

"The Family Financial Management Center?"

Noah nodded, knowing that his family had established branches in various regions of Eagleland, and Oceanbridge City was under the jurisdiction of the Family Financial Management Center.

"I see. That'll be all for now, Xavier. I'm hanging up," he said.

"Sure, Mr. Anderson. If anything, call me at any time," Xavier replied hastily.

After hanging up the phone, Noah pondered his future.

He decided to find a job.

As he was well-off, a job wasn't necessary for him. Yet he figured that instead of idling around, he might as well find something easy to get by.

Therefore, he took out his phone, clicked on a job search app, and submitted his resume to every company on the list, not even bothering to look at the job requirements.

He didn't care much about the outcome. It was all the same to him if he found a job or not.

As he had expected, during the whole day, he received only a few calls. And all the companies politely turned him down after learning about his educational background and experience.

In the afternoon, suddenly, his phone rang again.

"Noah, bad news. Dad has been hospitalized! He's in the intensive care unit!"

As soon as he picked up, he heard Lisa's anxious voice.

"How could it be? He's always healthy, isn't he?" he asked immediately.

"I don't know the details. Anyway, I'm on my way to Royalty Hospital. Hurry!" Lisa was practically sobbing.

"OK!"

Noah hung up the phone and took a taxi to Oceanbridge City Royalty Hospital.

Though he didn't think much of Daniel, they were family anyway. Now that Daniel was hospitalized, he was naturally worried.

It was the evening rush hour, and the traffic was heavy, so it took Noah a good hour to get to the hospital.

A nurse told him Daniel was in a ward on the sixth floor. Then he quickly headed to the elevator only to find it packed with people.

Royalty Hospital was the largest and most prestigious in the entire city, and therefore it was always crowded.

Not wanting to waste time, Noah took the stairs to the sixth floor.

Panting, he exclaimed, "Finally."

He was out of breath, and his back was drenched in sweat. He couldn't even feel his legs after climbing up so high.

He thought to himself, 'Guess I ought to exercise more.'

Pushing open the door, he saw Daniel on the bed with an oxygen tube inserted in his nose. His face was pale, his breathing was weak, and his eyes were tightly closed.

Lisa, Sarah, and Larry were already there.

About 5 members of the Wilson family were also present, gathering and talking.

Hearing the door opening, they looked at Noah disdainfully.

"Well, well. Isn't this the good-for-nothing live-in son-in-law?"

"Noah..."

Lisa's eyes turned red, and she burst into tears. She ran over to hug Noah, trembling and choking up.

"The doctor said Dad had a heart attack and was seriously ill."

"Calm down. I'm sure he'll be fine," Noah patted her back and comforted her softly.

"Noah, I thought you would never show up."

Sarah sneered, "You're not related to us by blood after all. You knew exactly Dad was in a critical condition, yet you still showed up late. He means nothing to you, right?"

"Sarah, it was the rush hour, and there was a traffic jam. I even took the stairs..."

Noah wanted to explain but got interrupted by Sarah right away.

"I don't give a damn what your excuse is. The fact is, you were two hours late! You did so on purpose, right? You wanted to see Dad die, didn't you? Otherwise, he would blame you when seeing you showing up so late."

"Daniel is Lisa's dad. How could Noah only show up now? That's just wrong," those relatives started to point fingers.

"He knows he's just the live-in son-in-law, and he never thinks of himself as part of the Wilson family."

"That's just so ungrateful. Without the Wilson family, he would have starved to death on the streets!"

"So, so ungrateful!"

Everyone was criticizing Noah.

Lisa was furious. "Sarah, how could you say that? Can't you see? Noah is sweating all over!"

Meanwhile, Larry chimed in, smiling, "Enough. Guys, give Noah a break."

Dressed in a suit, carrying a leather briefcase, and with slicked-back hair, he looked just like an upstart.

"You know that Noah doesn't have a car. He could only take a taxi here. Besides, there was a traffic jam. I guess he didn't mean to be late."

Larry glanced at Noah with a hint of mockery and then continued.

"Daniel is unconscious, and the family business has to go on. Now that everyone's here, may I propose something? I recommend myself to be the temporary head of the family.

"Let me share with you what I'm thinking. This ward costs 1,300 dollars a day, but it's only of average quality in Royalty Hospital. A friend told me that there's an advanced ward here for municipal officials only. Don't worry. It's not that expensive. It's just 3,000 dollars a day."

He said so complacently as if 3,000 dollars were nothing to him.

"I want Daniel to live in the best ward. After all, he's been working his whole life to raise his kids. Now that he's sick, of course, he deserves the best treatment.

"The doctor said Daniel is expected to be hospitalized for about half a month. With 3,000 dollars a day, we're looking at 50 thousand dollars at most in total."

Frowning, Lisa had a vague feeling about what Larry was gonna say.

And of course, Noah could tell, too. Yet he looked indifferent, not giving a damn at all.

"I'm thinking that maybe we should transfer Daniel to the best ward. 50 thousand dollars for me is nothing, and I'm happy to pay for all of it. But Noah is also Daniel's son-in-law, right? If he doesn't chip in, he'll look bad," Larry smiled.

"Noah, given your situation, I say I'll cover 34 thousand dollars, and you may pay the rest. Well? What do you think?"

"You want him to cover 16 thousand dollars?"

Lisa widened her eyes. She didn't have much money on her card. How was Noah supposed to cover 16 thousand dollars?

"Why the silence, Noah? Don't tell me you don't even have 16 thousand dollars. Come on. We've covered most of the money for you, right?"

Larry was unaware that Noah's true identity was that of a billionaire. To Noah, not just a mere 16 thousand dollars, but even ten million was mere pocket change.

Noah was known for his amiable personality, remembering anyone who treated him well. He had initially planned to give Larry a helping hand, but after seeing Larry's objectionable behavior, Noah dismissed the thought.

He prepared to continue revealing Larry's hypocrisy and deceitful persona step by step, eventually leading everyone to keep their distance from Larry.

At the same time, Noah harbored another thought.

If Larry continued to be unrestrained, and if he truly enraged Noah, he might even go as far as to hire a hitman to eliminate Larry.

Noah believed that Larry was just too repulsive.