Chapter 3: Father's Passing, Poisoned She Is

Thus, Melissa Ernest would work part-time at the Imperial Kitchen during the day and write on her computer at night. She had always been a novelist.

Although the Yun family was considered a prominent household before its decline, Yun's parents had always instilled good values in her, so even though they were not short of money to provide for her, she almost entirely used her living expenses to support the orphanage. The costs of her education and living were mostly covered by the income from her writing, and her novels were very popular among readers.

Just as she was about to start writing, her phone rang. Picking it up, she saw an unknown number, shook her head, and was about to put the phone down, thinking it might be a spam call. But then the ringing stopped.

A few seconds later, the phone rang again. After some thought, considering it might be someone she knew, she answered.

"Hello! Are you Miss Melissa Ernest?" A male voice asked.

"Hello! Yes, I am. May I ask who is calling?"

"This is Y City Prison. Your father suffered a heart attack while in prison and passed away at the First Hospital. Could you come over? He left something for me to pass on to you."

*Boom*

Melissa Ernest felt as if her brain had suddenly stopped working. Her breath caught, and tears instantly overflowed from her eyes like a kite cut loose from its string.

"I'll be right there."

Taking a taxi to the First Hospital, she numbly turned and walked toward the hospital bed after receiving her father's belongings, seeing him under the white sheet.

Melissa Ernest felt as if her world had collapsed in an instant. In just a few days, both of her parents had passed away, and the only people who had ever truly cared for her were gone.

"President, it's bad news. Mr. Yun had a sudden heart attack and passed away at the First Hospital," Evan Hicks said as he hurriedly entered the ward.

"Where is she now?"

Frederic Howard, pulling out his IV drip and getting out of bed, asked with concern and urgency, a tone he himself hadn't noticed.

Evan Hicks, startled by Frederic Howard's actions, rushed over to support him, trying to stop him. "She's at the First Hospital, President. Your injuries haven't healed yet. Let me handle this, and you should rest in the hospital."

However, Frederic Howard did not listen to Evan Hicks's advice. He forced himself out of bed, changing clothes with one hand, and said, "Go get the car. We’re going to the First Hospital right away."

Seeing Frederic Howard's determination, Evan Hicks could only agree and went to get the car.

Arriving at the First Hospital, Frederic Howard rushed inside, with Evan Hicks following behind, worried that Frederic Howard's wounds might reopen. But before he could say anything, Frederic Howard spoke again.

"Find out where she is."

A couple of minutes later, Evan Hicks ran back. "She's in the inpatient department on the third floor. I heard she fainted from the shock."

Standing in the elevator, watching the floors go up, Frederic Howard felt a complex mix of emotions, a dull ache in his heart, which made his brows furrow.

Evan Hicks followed silently, thinking to himself that he had never seen the president so anxious about anyone. For years, outsiders had speculated that the president preferred men, but it seemed Miss Ernest was an exception...

In the ward, a slender figure lay on the bed. As he approached, he saw Melissa Ernest's pale face, and that familiar feeling surged in his heart again. Frederic Howard was certain he didn't know Melissa Ernest, but she gave him a distinct sense of familiarity, which was particularly clear every time he saw her.

Frowning, he ordered, "Go get the doctor."

Evan Hicks nodded and, within a few minutes, the door opened, and the hospital director, followed by several doctors, entered.

"Mr. Howard, what brings you here?" the director asked respectfully.

"How is her condition? When will she wake up?" Frederic Howard's deep, magnetic voice asked, without any emotional fluctuation.

"Miss Ernest fainted due to shock, but because she has been taking a slow-acting poison for a long time, her body is in very poor condition, and there is still residual poison in her system. So, she won't wake up anytime soon."

"Slow-acting poison? Residual poison? Why hasn't it been cleared?" Frederic Howard's face darkened.