Chapter 164

The moment Eleanor and Lillian left the coffee shop, Fraser hurried back to the hospital room.

As soon as he pushed the door open, his eyes landed on Lainey. Her back was facing him, her body leaning awkwardly over the bedside.Something about her posture looked off, almost secretive.

At the creak of the door, her shoulders jerked stiffly.

"What are you doing?" Fraser's voice was sharp and cold.

Lainey whipped around in a hurry, shoving her hands behind her as if she had been caught red-handed.

"N-nothing," she stuttered.

Forcing herself to calm down, she put on a soft look and tried to sound gentle. "Fraser, you're back."

Fraser gave her a doubtful glance, then looked past her at Hilda.

Something wasn't right.

Hilda's face looked normal, but her breathing was too fast.

Alarm shot through him, and he rushed forward, forgetting everything else. "Mom? Can you hear me?"

Hilda's brows were knitted in pain, and her lips were tinged faintly blue.

She tried to respond, but no. words came out.

Fraser's heart pounded. Slamming his hand against the nurse button, he shouted, "Doctor! My mother's having an asthma attack! Get in here, now!"

Lainey widened her eyes, mimicking panic, but inside her chest was a knot of dread.

If the doctors saved Hilda, all the trouble she had gone through would mean nothing. Still, she knew better than to stand there frozen. She needed to look convincing; she couldn't let Fraser doubt her.

With that thought, her eyes quickly filled with tears, and she threw herself against Hilda, crying out, "Mom,what's wrong? Please don't scare me!"

Then she turned to Fraser, her voice breaking as she explained, "Fraser, it's my fault. I was just about to press the nurse button, but when you came in, I panicked and forgot. If I'd called earlier, maybe Mom wouldn't be suffering so badly right now."

The excuse was neat. It covered what he had seen and painted her as a concerned daughter at the same time.

Fraser, however, wasn't buying her story.

His eyes went straight to the doctor rushing in. "How is my mom? Will she be alright?"

The doctor's face darkened. He stopped what he was doing and shook his head. "There's nothing more we can do. Even with intubation, her chance of recovery is less than twenty percent. It would be kinder to let her go peacefully..."

Before he could finish, Fraser grabbed him by the collar, his voice shaking with rage. "No! That's impossible.She didn't seem that bad just now!"

The doctor didn't fíght back. His eyes carried only regret. "She never fully recovered. This attack made things worse. On the outside she may look fine, but inside, her body's giving out. I'm afraid... there's no hope."

Lainey's heart leapt with joy at those words.

Finally, no one would be in her way.

She forced the feeling down and put on a heartbreaking display, throwing herself on the bed with sobs."Mom, nọ! Don't leave me! I can't live without you!"

Her tears looked so real that even the doctor's eyes grew wet. But Fraser didn't spare her a glance. In that desperate moment, he suddenly remembered the bottle of medicine Eleanor had given him. His hands shook as he dug it out of his pocket.

Something inside him told him Eleanor would never harm his mother.

He carefully helped Hilda sit up, slipped the pill into her mouth, and held a cup of warm water to her lips.

Minutes passed, and then, like a miracle, her brows eased, her breathing slowed, and a bit of color returned to her pale face.

Fraser finally let out the breath he had been holding.

His tense body gave out, and he slumped against the bedside, utterly exhausted.

He didn't dare imagine what would have happened if it weren't for that pill, or how empty their lives would be without Hilda.

In that moment, the usually calmn Fraser felt like a helpless child, breathing hard with relief.