?Chapter 762:


    Marc tried to follow, but the staff blocked him at the doors. The metal panels shut with a heavy ng, sealing him out. His legs buckled, and he copsed onto the cold floor, despair flooding his chest.


    This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He never meant for his grandfather to find out.


    Marc’s n had been simple: if he could win Ste back, maybe Truett would forgive him. If he failed, Truett would never know.


    But now everything had unraveled.


    Not only had he lost Ste, but he’d also lost the trust of the one person who might have shielded him. Worse, Marc feared he had pushed his grandfather to the brink of death.


    He couldn’t shake Truett’s harsh words from earlier—words that cut deeper than any knife: Ste was right to leave you.


    That condemnation seared into his chest like a curse he couldn’t escape.


    Meanwhile, at the research institute, Ste was absentminded all day. Sandra and Elbert called her name several times, but she didn’t respond.


    Her colleagues quickly noticed. Ste was usually razor-sharp in theb, but today she drifted through her work, nearly botching several experiments. At noon, Elbert tapped her shoulder gently.


    “Sylvia, if something’s weighing on you, take a break. Theb will manage.”


    She wanted to brush it off like always, to insist she was fine.


    But even she knew her focus was gone.


    A slow pace was one thing; mistakes could ruin everything.


    Reluctantly, Ste nodded and agreed to take the afternoon off.


    After lunch, she sat alone in the courtyard, sunlight spilling over her shoulders. Usually, the warmth calmed her. Today, it couldn’t touch the heaviness in her chest.


    Her phone buzzed beside her.


    It was an unfamiliar number. Not Marc’s.


    Your imagination begins with gα?ησν????s﹒?????


    After a moment’s hesitation, she answered.


    “Is this Ms. Ste Russell?” A nurse’s voice came through, calm but serious. “This is the hospital. We’re calling about Mr. Truett Walsh. He had a heart attack this morning after bing upset and is still in surgery. His condition is critical. Could youe right away?”


    Ste froze.


    “How… how did you get my number?” she asked cautiously, fearing another of Marc’s tricks.


    “When Mr. Walsh was admitted, he listed you as a family contact,” the nurse exined.


    Her breath caught. She hadn’t expected that.


    Even after her divorce from Marc nearly two years ago, Truett still regarded her as family.


    Her fingers tightened around the phone until her knuckles nched, a dull ache striking her chest like a hammer.


    No matter how much she hated Marc, she could never turn her back on Truett.


    “I understand,” she rasped, her voice dry and hoarse. “I’lle now. Please… please do everything you can to save him. I’m counting on you.”


    .<fn0582> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? f?ndnovel</fn0582>


    .


    .