<h4>Chapter 328: Risa’s agony...</h4>


    Jessica spun on her heels to lead the way. Inasmuch as she was worried and concerned about the Old Man, she understood the need to be calm especially at a moment like this.


    Panic would help no one, and right now, all eyes were watching. Her spine straightened with silent resolve as she paced ahead, herposure collected.


    Behind her, Be halted briefly, her eyes heavy and filled with unshed tears. She nced back toward the ward’s door, as if willing it to open and bring better news.


    The beeping machines and the fluttering pulse on the monitor were still etched in her mind. She bit her lower lip,to keep her emotions in check.


    Beside her, Ethan stood quietly, his hands in his pocket as he watched her, his gazeced with concern and worry not just for Elder Allen, but for Be too.


    "Be," he said softly, "things aren’t as hopeless as you think. Otherwise, who is your brother? Do you really believe he’ll just sit back and watch things fall apart?"


    His tone was calm but firm yet the silent supportced into it was noticeable.


    Be turned to him slowly. "Ethan, we were only hoping to meet him after theunch. My brother hasn’t even informed him about me yet. He wanted it to be a surprise," she whispered, her voice crackling with emotion. Her shoulders slumped slightly.


    "I know," Ethan replied gently. "But with how things are unfolding, isn’t it better to be strong and think of a way out instead of....crying?" he scolded gently.


    "Maybe with the connections you have built over the years, it might go a long way," he suggested.


    He actually didn’t want to put this pressure on her but with her tears flowing non-stop, he had no other choice.


    He couldn’t help but wonder why she had turned so emotional about the situation.


    Even though there is a past that needed to be corrected but then Elder Allen’s situation isn’t entirely hopeless. The doctors were simply being cautious.


    In their field, the unexpected was routine and no matter the diagnosis there’s always room for the unexpected.


    Just like in the case of Elder Allen, he woke up and slipped back into unconsciousness. It was never predictable.


    And though they hadn’t said it outright, the medical team had arranged for such a possibility.


    The emergency team had been prepared; it was within that fragile window they had calcted. Time was of the essence, but not all hope was lost.


    Be closed her eyes briefly as she took a deep breath. No matter what, she had to be strong enough to face the situation. She schooled herself.


    Be opened her eyes again and fixed them on Ethan. "Do you think he’ll be fine?" she asked more steadily now, searching his face for reassurance.


    Ethan nodded once. "He will be fine," he replied confidently, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before leading her gently toward the elevator.


    The group stood at the elevator doors, waiting patiently for them, they arrived just as the doors slid open with a ding, they entered together in quiet unison.


    The elevator descended and finally dinged again on their arrival at the ground floor of the hospital.


    One after another, they stepped out, the warm fragrant air of the open air flowing through their nostrils as they took a deep breath easing the tension on their shoulders.


    But at that moment just as Jessica moved forward she came face to face with a figure she hadn’t seen in a long time. Her stepsister –Risa.


    She was standing there with arms folded, clearly waiting to ascend to the upper floor. Jessica’s eyes flickered briefly in her direction but didn’t linger.


    She simply walked past her without a single pause, her head held high, her shoulders squared.


    It was as though she had not seen anyone at that moment, as though Risa didn’t exist. Jessica didn’t nce back, didn’t falter, didn’t offer the barest nod of acknowledgment.


    Her cool indifference burned like acid in Risa’s chest, her action infuriating her so much that she halted in her steps.


    The elevator dinged its closure yet Risa never moved from the spot she was standing.


    Her eyes followed Jessica’s back, her brow furrowed, her fists clenched at her sides. She stood frozen, dumbfounded at the sheer boldness of Jessica to walk past her as if she were nothing but an air.


    "Jessica Brown!" she shrieked suddenly, her voice shrill and loud enough to make heads turn towards her. Her clenched fist trembled at her side as whispers rippled through the corridor.


    But Jessica didn’t look back.


    She didn’t even flinch.


    Her footsteps echoed with purpose as she disappeared through the corridor, Davis holding her hand, totally unaffected by the venomced in Risa’s voice.


    To Risa, it was a p in the face. Her blood boiled, her rage surging as anger and humiliation bubbled just beneath her skin. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t swallow this insult.


    Jessica.


    That lowly, timid fool, now this arrogant?


    The nerve of her.


    As far as Risa was concerned, Jessica was the reason her life had copsed. It was Jessica who had caused her pain and agony.


    It was Jessica who destroyed her home and had sessfully made her live in the streets.


    It was Jessica’s fault that she had fallen into the hands of an abusive man, yet couldn’t pull away from him because she had no ce to stay.


    It was Jessica who destroyed her dream of being a top-ss celebrity.


    It was Jessica who had denied her the benefits of the princess she was, a princess of the Brown family who deserved to be worshipped and adored by all.


    It was Jessica who had taken the spotlight. Jessica who had taken the family name and twisted it in her favor.


    Jessica had entered the Allen family in her name, yet she had turned them against them all.


    She should have been the one to marry into the Allen wealth and name.


    She should have been the Allen princess.


    Everything was supposed to be hers.


    Yet, atst, the Browns had been reduced to ashes just because of her.


    When the reason she had married in her stead was to take the Brown family higher.


    The exact thing a lowlife like her should be doing but then it had all been the opposite of what she ever wanted.


    And now, she wants to live and enjoy the glory of the Allen family.


    This score, she had always made up her mind to settle someday and the best time should be now.


    Risa’s fury made her chest heave, her fists clenched tightly, that she never noticed her fingernails digging into her palms, almost drawing blood.


    She took a careful look at Jessica’s retreating form once again, a sh of what she had seen before coursing through her mind that she paused briefly.


    Her eyes narrowed.


    A small bump?


    No—could it be?


    "Isn’t that supposed to be a slight baby bump?" she muttered to herself.


    She took in a shaky breath, trying to make sense of what her eyes were telling her.


    "Is it possible she’s conceived the Allen great-grandson?"


    Several thoughts raced through her heart at the same time.


    "Doesn’t the news always mention Davis in one problem or the other?"


    "Is it possible she might have gone an extra mile to have the baby just to cement her position?


    "Possibly she had hired a gigolo?" she mused.


    "Would the family know?


    "But then, if it is that way, doesn’t that mean the Allen family should have sent her out by now?"


    "No... no, Jessica was far too meek, too timid, too dull to think that far ahead.


    If she’s pregnant...and still living in the Allen household, that could only mean one thing.


    It was Davis’s child.


    The heir.


    The single heir.


    It is said the Allen family never had two sons in any generation, except in the generation of Alex and Desmond Allen where they had two heirs, but then..."


    Risa nodded slightly as she pieced together the information, her thoughts grew darker, more venomous with every second. Her head tilted slightly in contemtion, her smile twisted with cruelty.


    "What will happen when she loses her life, the child’s, or better still both of them?" she murmured under her breath.


    Sheughed suddenly, loud and sharp.


    Some nearby nurses exchanged concerned looks. A woman pushing a stretcher paused mid-step. Whispers trickled through the corridor.


    "Yes... that would reset everything." She said andughed again.


    Her mind spiraled into madness, fixated on one conclusion that never changed "Jessica couldn’t be allowed to win. Not like this. Not with a child. Not with the Allen name.


    The world Jessica was enjoying? It was meant for her. And if she couldn’t have it, then no one could.


    "Impossible!" she screamed, stomping her foot against the ground in fury.


    People around her recoiled. More heads turned. Whispers grew into murmurs of concern. A man stepped back cautiously, shielding his toddler.


    "She needs help," someone whispered.


    "Is she having a breakdown?" another asked.


    "Should we call the hospital security?"


    "She’s unstable."


    But Risa heard none of them and she never noticed as she sank deeper and deeper into her world.


    "Did she really think she might have this world of affluence originally meant for me?"


    She stomped her feet angrily on the ground. She can’t let this happen. "Impossible!" she screamed.


    Onlookers stared at her in astonishment as they continuously wondered what had gone wrong with her.


    Some advised she should be taken to the psychiatric hospital, as it might be the onset of brain damage.


    But Risa was lost, utterly consumed by the storm raging inside her, lost in her own bitter world.


    Her feet moved without thought, her eyes unfocused. The only view before her was the tail-end light of their cars that had long left the hospital.


    She didn’t hear the tires.


    She didn’t see the speeding car.


    "Screech!!!! Boom!! And everything turned dark.