Chapter: 51

Without a moment to lose, Bethany saved all her files and then left the office. On her way to the hospital, she texted Aimee to request the rest of the day off.

She rushed to her mother's ward, where several doctors were conducting various tests.

Seeing her mother's heartbeat on the monitor was steady enough, Bethany breathed a sigh of relief.

“What happened? Why'd my mother faint all of a sudden?" she asked the caregiver, brows furrowed tightly.

The caregiver, still flustered, thought carefully before responding, "I'm not so sure. This morning, I took her on a walk around the hospital grounds. At noon, she requested to have porridge for lunch, so I went out to buy it. When I came back, she seemed to have spaced out, and then she fainted from out of the blue!"

"You mean, she seemed off when you returned from shopping?" Bethany's frown deepened.

"Yes! She didn't want to talk anymore. I asked if she wanted her porridge heated, but she didn't answer me." All of a sudden, the caregiver remembered something, and she snapped her fingers. "Oh, and she was holding something in her hand!"

"What was it?" Bethany inquired further.

"I don't know," the caregiver said dejectedly. "It didn't seem dangerous, so I didn't look into it."

Bethany nodded and then turned to the nearest doctor. "How's my mother doing?"

"She's stable for now. It seems she was agitated by something, and had a minor episode due to the distress. Would you know what could've set her off?" The doctor frowned, speaking in a slightly reproachful tone. "I already told you she's emotionally fragile. Avoid upsetting her; we don't know what could happen if she has another one of these episodes."

"I don't know. I haven't talked to her today." Bethany paused. With a tight frown, she approached her mother's bedside to inspect what was in her clenched fist.

It was a note, now crumpled to a pulp.

Bethany unfolded it and struggled to decipher the unfamiliar handwriting.

The note read, "You're still alive after all these years? When will you let me take my rightful place?"

Bethany's expression darkened. Clutching the note, she called the caregiver over and asked, “Did you see who gave this to my mother?"

"No. I was careful not to leave her unattended, except when I left to get the porridge."

Someone must've slipped into the ward and left the note for Marie in the short window of time the nurse was gone.

Fists clenched, Bethany headed straight to the hospital's security department.

"I need to view the surveillance footage from the entrance to the VIP ward."

The staff, knowing they couldn't afford to offend whoever was staying in the VIP ward, promptly pulled up the footage.

Sure enough, the video showed a person in a janitor's uniform entering her mother's ward ten minutes after the caregiver had left.

"Any idea who he is?" Bethany asked, her expression grim.

"I'll look into it, ma'am."