Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Kiera Olsen looked at the photo, puzzled.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

In the photo, she was with Mrs. Olsen at the beach.

Both were wearing white gauze dresses, she in front, Mrs. Olsen behind, both smiling brilliantly, indeed looking like a mother and daughter with a great relationship.

But she didn’t own a white gauze dress…

She hadn’t seen Mrs. Olsen since she left the Olsen family in junior high, so how could there possibly be a photo of them together?

She took old Mrs. Horton’s phone and directly zoomed in on the photo.

...

Then, she discovered some clues!

The photo was actually a composite, the workmanship was quite unprofessional, it appeared to be a photo of a mother and daughter found online with her and Mrs. Olsen’s faces swapped in…

She looked at old Mrs. Horton: “When did I send this to you?”

Old Mrs. Horton shook her head: “I don’t remember.”

“How did I send it to you? Email? Or text message?”

Old Mrs. Horton continued shaking her head: “I can’t recall.”

Kiera Olsen: “…”

Old Mrs. Horton occasionally said one or two surprising things, but she could never explain why, which left Kiera feeling helpless.

But old Mrs. Horton was insistent: “My granddaughter-in-law, she is your mom, you can’t ignore your mother…”

If possible, she truly wished Mrs. Olsen was her mother…

Kiera Olsen lowered her gaze, hiding the bitterness within: “…I understand.”

She took old Mrs. Horton back to the ward.

Lewis Horton, however, did not enter the room, standing in the corridor instead.

Tom Davis quickly came over: “Boss, I’ve found out. Miss Olsen went to work again at that private restaurant and then ran into the Olsen family…”

She came home, took a bath, and changed her clothes – I thought she was going on a date with her boyfriend!

Lewis Horton’s lips curved into an imperceptible smile, his voice cool and deep: “Does the Horton Group pay her too little?”

Otherwise, why would she go out to work elsewhere!

Tom Davis answered: “Not at all, it was old Mrs. Horton who arranged it for her! Maybe the tasks Jalen Riley gave her are too tough, and she’s worried about being fired?”

Every aspect of Kiera Olsen’s situation at the company was under Tom Davis’s surveillance.

But Lewis Horton felt it wasn’t that simple: “What are the Olsen family doing at the private restaurant?”

Tom Davis answered: “They had arranged to meet Dr. South, and Young Master Jake went there for that reason too.”

“And Dr. South?”

“He didn’t show up in the end…”

Deep within Lewis Horton’s eyes flared a faint light, a vague idea forming.

But he found the idea too preposterous.

…

After two hours of rest, Mrs. Olsen’s spirits improved a lot, and she began speaking while coughing: “Isla, let Jake go back first.”

On hearing this, Isla Olsen’s expression became slightly embarrassed.

Jake Horton staying here wasn’t out of concern for Mrs. Olsen, but because of Dr. South!

She hesitated before speaking: “Mom, about Dr. South…”

Mrs. Olsen caught on immediately and said: “Hand me the phone, I need to explain to Dr. South about standing him up today.”

After she sent a message to Dr. South and rescheduled a meeting, only then did Isla Olsen show Jake Horton out.

Isla Olsen said: “Jake, don’t worry, there definitely won’t be any problem with Dr. South.”

Jake Horton then said: “Isla, there are several tough nuts in the R&D department of Horton Group that just don’t respect me, and Jalen Riley is among them. Only by getting Dr. South to join can I establish merit in the R&D department and secure my position. So Dr. South is very important to me, you must convince him.”

“Okay.”

The two of them talked and entered the elevator.

After they left, Kiera Olsen finally emerged from the corner.

She didn’t want to confront Isla Olsen in front of Mrs. Olsen again, for fear that Mrs. Olsen would become agitated and her condition would worsen.

She arrived in front of the hospital room, pushed the door open, and entered.

Upon seeing her, Taylor Olsen’s face immediately darkened, “What are you doing here? Get out!”

Kiera Olsen’s eyes chilled as the clear, gentle voice of Mrs. Olsen came from inside the room, “Is that Kiera? Let her in quickly.”

Taylor Olsen glared at Kiera Olsen and warned, “Don’t upset Mrs. Olsen again!”

“I told you already, it wasn’t because of Kiera today, it’s just that I haven’t slept well for several days… I was tired,” Mrs. Olsen chided in a gentle complaint and took Kiera Olsen’s hand, “Good child, you must have been scared today, right?”

Though Mrs. Olsen was wan and her demeanor was cool, her palm was very warm.

Kiera Olsen smiled, “Not at all.”

“That’s good, you should come back home more often.”

Mrs. Olsen, leaning on the hospital bed, said kindly, “And your husband, your mom said he’s a little punk, but I don’t believe her. Kiera has always had good judgment since she was young, and you’ve always been sensible. The person you have chosen must have his merits. Bring him to see me another day.”

Kiera Olsen felt a twinge in her nose, “…Okay.”

Since the day she registered her marriage, all she had received from everyone was scolding and ridicule, except for the care she found with Mrs. Olsen.

Mrs. Olsen wanted to continue speaking, but she started coughing violently again.

Taylor Olsen said, “Alright, stop talking, you need to rest properly.”

Kiera Olsen stood up, and from her pocket, she took out a white pill in a plastic bottle and placed it in Mrs. Olsen’s hand, “This is a cough suppressant I… asked someone to buy. You can take one when you can’t sleep at night.”

“Okay.”

Kiera Olsen didn’t want to disturb Mrs. Olsen’s rest any further and took her leave.

After she had gone, Mrs. Olsen looked at the bottle of medicine and sighed, “Kiera does care about me.”

Taylor Olsen, however, disdainfully said, “Does caring about you mean not visiting you for ten years? How can you be bought by a bottle of medicine from who knows which small clinic?!”

He tossed the bottle into the trash can, “I heard that Nora is developing a cough suppressant that is in the clinical trial phase. I will pull some strings to get it for you!”

But Mrs. Olsen’s eyes grew dimmer, “You believe these rumors too, huh? Chronic neurogenic cough is a rare disease, who would bother to research a medicine for it? The investment in research and development won’t be recouped…”

Taylor Olsen took her hand, “We have to try. You coughing all night, unable to sleep, it’s too distressing, and it hurts me to see you like this…”

Mrs. Olsen could only nod her head.

The night grew deeper.

Suddenly, Mrs. Olsen opened her eyes and started coughing violently again.

She was utterly exhausted, yet completely unable to sleep.

Lying on her side, she suppressed the itch in her throat, not wanting to wake Taylor Olsen in the outer room.

No one knew that she was also feeling despair.

There was no cure for chronic neurogenic cough…

The illness had been getting worse, and the anxiety caused by the lack of sleep even made her contemplate suicide once.

If she wasn’t strong-willed, she might have already taken her own life…

But she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on…

Recently, she had increasingly felt the ebbing of life; perhaps she wouldn’t be able to see her daughter get married.

As Mrs. Olsen pondered these dismal thoughts, her eyes suddenly fell on the bottle of medicine in the trash can.

As if possessed, she picked up the bottle, opened it, and put one white pill into her mouth…