The next day, Noah updated Justin about his schedule as Justin began his work in the study of his presidential suite.
"Mr. Harper, we have a eting with a few departnt heads at ten. These are trustworthy individuals who can keep your presence here confidential. At noon, Ms. Natalie Ford will be coming here to et you. After lunch, you have a video conference eting with..." Noah continued listing the day’s tasks, concluding with, "In the evening, you can et with the interior designer we hired for your new ho."
Justin humd in acknowledgnt, glancing at his wristwatch, ntally calculating how long it would be until he t Natalie again. By the ti it would be a lunch ti so this seems to be a good opportunity to have a lunch with his step-sister while they chat.
The morning eting stretched longer than expected. After it ended, Noah handed Justin a cup of coffee and noticed his boss checking the ti. Understanding the unspoken ssage—Justin didn’t like to be kept waiting—Noah quickly said, "Ms. Natalie should have been here half an hour ago. I’ll check where she is," and pulled out his cellphone.
Justin sipped his coffee, his intense gaze on Noah, who nervously put the phone on speaker mode. The line rang, but no one answered. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Noah dialed Natalie’s contact number again.
This ti, the call was answered after a few rings. "What do you want?" ca the angry voice of a woman, catching both of them off guard. They hadn’t expected such a tone from soone who had agreed to the eting.
Noah quickly gathered himself and responded, "Ms. Natalie, you were scheduled to et Mr. Harper half an hour ago."
Her voice, still angry and louder than before, cut through the air. "Tell , is your boss my husband, Aiden Handrix? If not, don’t bother ."
The unexpected outburst left Noah montarily speechless. He looked at Justin who was drinking coffee quietly to know what he wanted to say, but Justin chose silence.
"Ms. Natalie, Mr. Harper is not Aiden Handrix. He just wants to et you—"
"Tell him to go to hell and never bother again. If he’s not my husband, I have nothing to do with him."
"Ms. Natalie, your wedding certificate—"
"Throw it away."
"Ms. Natalie—"
Beep... Beep... Beep...
The call was abruptly cut off. Noah turned to Justin, unsure of what to do next.
"Find out where she is," Justin ordered calmly.
"Yes, Mr. Harper," Noah responded, quickly getting to work.
By now, Justin had his own judgent about Natalie despite what others thought of her. He understood Natalie was straightforward person but not an unreasonable one.
If she had agreed to et before and now her behavior had drastically changed, sothing significant must have happened. Her voice wasn’t just angry; it was trembling, as if she was struggling with sothing emotional.
"Ms. Natalie is at the parking lot of the City Center Hospital, sitting inside her car alone," Noah reported after checking with the people assigned to follow and observe Natalie.
Justin raised an eyebrow. "Hospital?"
"She seed to have so conflicts with her family there," Noah put the tablet in front of him, "Here is the video from the hospital."
-----
An hour earlier, Natalie was preparing to et Justin wondering why he wanted to et her.
’Is he going to finally confess that he is Aiden Handrix and why he married or is he going to tell he had found that man?’
Just then she received a ssage that her grandfather, who had been hospitalized for so ti, was in serious condition. Overco with worry, she rushed to the hospital, driving as fast as she could.
Her grandfather Albert Ford was the only person in her family who had treated her with kindness and protected her after her mother’s passing. Natalie felt regretful for not visiting him sooner, while being caught up in her own troubles. How could she forget about him?
’Grandpa, you better be alright.’
Upon reaching the hospital, she headed straight to the floor where her grandfather’s private room was located. As she entered, she noticed that the entire family was present—but the bed was empty.
"Where is Grandpa?" Natalie asked, her voice trembling with anxiety, fearing the worst.
Instead of an answer, she was t with cold, angry glares from her family mbers. Her grandmother, Sephina, walked toward her, her expression filled with disdain.
"Grandma, where is—"
Slap!
The sound echoed in the room as Sephina’s hand connected with Natalie’s cheek, the heavy blow left her skin burning and the taste of blood in her mouth. Sephina had not held back, as if all her anger and hatred was channeled into that single mont.
"How dare you show up here after driving your grandpa to his death?" Sephina spat out, her voice laced with venom. "You’re a bad on, just like your mother."
Natalie stood there, stunned, her cheek stinging from the slap and her heart aching from the accusation. She looked at the older woman in disbelief, her eyes turning teary, not because of the slap, but because even at this mont of crisis, her grandma didn’t let go of her hate towards her. What had she ever done wrong to make this woman hate her so much while she showered Briena with love.
"Who called her here?" Sephina’s angry voice echoed through the room, breaking the silence as everyone was left shocked as well.
"Grandma, I called her," Briena admitted, her tone gentle and apologetic, as if trying to soothe her grandmother’s anger. "I thought, as family, she should be here for Grandpa."
It only angered Sephina more as she glared at Briena. "After what she did to you last night, you still think of her as family? When will you learn to stop forgiving this witch? Haven’t you learned enough lessons to stay away from her? Will it only sink in when she finally succeeds in killing you?"
Briena’s face turned sad, playing the victim once more. "She’s my sister..."
"She is not!" Sephina snapped, turning on Natalie, who still stood there, desperate to hear any news about her grandfather, not minding Sephina’s bitter words.
"Because of you and the scandals you caused, Albert went into shock. It’s all your fault that he’s fighting for his life. You despicable wretch... you..." Sephina’s voice trembled with rage.
Jay Ford quickly approached, gently holding his mother to calm her down. "Mother, don’t be angry."
"You," Sephina spat, glaring at Jay. "I told you not to marry her mother back then, but you insisted on marrying that wench. First Caryn, and now her daughter, are hell-bent on ruining us. If sothing happens to your father..."
"I’ve regretted it for a long ti, Mother. I know you were right, but it was too late," Jay said, his voice heavy with remorse as he tried to console his emotionally overwheld mother.
Natalie was stunned by her father’s words. Though she had always known Jay wasn’t a good father, hearing him speak so harshly about her mother shook her deeply. But then again, what more could she expect from a man who had kept a mistress while his wife was still alive?
She had co here worried about her grandfather, only to be t with bla and hatred from her family. Despite the hurt, she stood there silently, desperate to know what had happened to the one person who had ever shown her love.
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