"Can you believe he just hung up on ??" Louisa fud, jabbing the screen to redial.
Steward glanced at Sean who was still resting in the hospital bed, and with a heavy heart, he stepped into the hallway to answer the call, bracing himself for the onslaught.
"You ignored my calls? And hanged up on ?. Have you all grown too big for your britches? Is that you got too wild out there, and thought you can just hang up on now?"
"Ma’am, I swear I didn’t hang up. It was it dropped onto the floor."
"Blaming heaven and earth but never yourself, huh, Steward? After all these years shadowing Sean,you’ve learned nothing but shirking responsibility. You’re trying to give an ulcer, aren’t you?"
Steward attempted to soothe her, "Please, ma’am, just cool down a bit."
"Cool down? I’m steaming right now!"
Louisa had been trying to get a hold of her fourth son for half a year now, but to no avail. He either dodged her calls, ignored her ssages, or made up excuses to avoid her. Anyway there was no sign of him.
"During this ti, Hunter, Chase, Clark, and David have all visited their sister, except for that rascal Sean! Steward, I want a straight answer now, what in the world are you two up to? Is Sean coming
ho for the new year or not?"
Steward shivered as he replied, "Ma’am, I can’t predict Sean’s whereabouts."
"Then give an address, I’ll drag him back myself! Half a year without a peep; he gave no care for the family, let alone his parents. Nor did he give a thought for his own sister."
"Ma’am, take it out on , I can take a hit."
"Just wait, you’ll get yours too!"
Steward visibly shook at the threat.
"I’m asking you one last ti, where is Sean?" Louisa’s tone was a clear indication of her seriousness;
she wasn’t going to be brushed off with a few words.
Steward could hear Kenneth trying to calm her in the background.
"Honey, honey, don’t work yourself into a frenzy. The New Year is coming, and we’ve got to plan a grand holiday feast for our darling daughter. Look at you, all this anger is going to make you sick."
Louisa snapped back, "Sean has crossed the line. I’ve called and ssaged him countless tis, but he was either making excuses or ignoring . And Steward is no better, a chip off the old block!"
Steward knew she was adamant about getting Sean ho.
Just then, a slight noise ca from the hospital room – It seed Sean woke up.
Steward rapped on the door lightly but urgently, and as he entered, he mouthed exaggeratedly,
"Ma’am. It’s Ma’am!!"
Sean, who just ca to his consciousness, was greeted by Steward’s contorted face and wild gesticulations.
He raised an eyebrow, "Are you asking for trouble?"
Steward was speechless.
"Is Sean right there?" Louisa’s voice tightened, demanding, "Put him on the phone now!"
Steward could only offer Sean a sympathetic glance as he silently handed over the phone.
Sean saw the caller ID and shot Steward a warning look.
Steward felt helpless; it wasn’t his fault that Sean had been caught.
Seeing Sean still hooked up to the IV, Steward wisely switched to speakerphone.
"Sean, I know you can hear . Your sister has been ho for six months now, and you haven’t bothered to show up or even send a single gift. New year is around the corner, and we’re going to
announce her to all our friends and family. You need to be here, do you understand? If I don’t see you in the next couple of days, you might just forget about this ho, and drop the Collins na as well .
Don’t even call mom anymore!"
Steward heard Kenneth trying to calm Louisa down on the other end of the phone, "Honey, you can be mad, but don’t work yourself into a frenzy. Sit down, take a deep breath."
As he saw Mrs. Collins so worked up, but found it impossible to tell her that Sean was on the brink of uncovering so leads about a fire incident abroad, he had no choice but to explain, "Mrs. Collins, it’s
not that Sean doesn’t want to co ho, it’s just that he’s sick. He just had surgery and is currently on IV fluids."
"What? He is sick? When did this happen? Is it serious? Why did he need surgery?" Louisa’s tone shifted to one of concern, "Why is he dealing with this alone? Why didn’t you tell ?"
"He didn’t want to worry you both."
"The way you guys kept secrets from makes worry more!"
"He’s in post-surgery recovery, and just needs to rest for so more days."
"Let him co ho to recuperate! Your sister, she’s a whiz, who was known as Dr. Bell. She’s the one who cured your grandparents."
Before Louisa could finish, Sean blurted out, "What did you say?"
Steward, who thought he misheard it as well, paused for a while and said, "Ma’am, do you an Ms.Collins is Dr. Bell?"
"Yes!" Louisa affird over the phone, "You boys haven’t been ho, so we didn’t tell you. Her dical skills are exceptional; she even cured Phillip McMillian!"
"Does she look a bit like you, fair-skinned with long hair?" Sean asked urgently.
"Nonsense, she’s my daughter; of course she looks like !"
Sean pressed on in disbelief, "Is she rather aloof, with a temper?"
"What temper? Your sister couldn’t be sweeter, the darling of the house and the treasure of us!"
Sean continued, "Is she good in fighting?"
"What are you talking about? Your sister is gentle and kind! She’s no thug. Can’t you have a better imagination about your sister? What kind of descriptions are those?"
"You just said she’s Dr. Bell??" Sean felt his heart clench.
"Yes, and let tell you, she’s not only just Dr. Bell but also the renowned artist Mirabelle. You’ve seen the Christmas gift she sent you; I bet it’s better than any of the world-famous paintings we have at
ho!"
Sean’s mind went blank. The item Hunter passed on to him was so precious.
And he...
Sean abruptly ended the call and urged Steward to dial the club manager.
"Find out where that painting ended up!"
It was a painting his sister had made for him.
And he hadn’t even looked at it!
As soon as the call got connected, Sean snatched Steward’s phone imdiately and demanded,
"Where’s the painting I left behind that day??"
The club manager, startled by Sean’s direct questioning, stamred, "Sir, you said you didn’t want it. I reminded you that evening that you’d left sothing in the club."
"So you lost it???" Sean’s voice was tinged with desperation.
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