The Heiress Spoiled by Four Brothers and One Devilish CEO-Chapter 197 You Never Really Forgave Grandpa, Did You?
By the time the first light crept over the skyline, Megan had finally fallen asleep.
Tristan looked down at her anxious face and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sorrow. He gently pulled her into his arms, rhythmically patting her back, hoping it would help her sleep more peacefully.
At seven, he reluctantly woke her up. The surgery was scheduled for 8:30 a.m., and they couldn’t be late.
After washing up and grabbing a quick breakfast, they left Dreamscape Manor and reached the hospital by 7:45.
As they opened the door to the hospital room, Bernard looked up and met eyes with Megan. Instantly, a wave of bitterness washed through him.
One wrong decision had stolen Megan’s chance to grow up with her real parents—and taken his precious granddaughter’s life, too.
"Megan, Tristan, you’re here," he said softly.
Megan walked over and sat beside him, gently holding his frail hand. "Don’t worry, Grandpa. With Brandon on the case, everything’s going to be fine."
"I trust Dr. Lewis, no doubt. But you’re pregnant and still insisted on coming. I can’t help but feel guilty—Megan, I’ve owed you for so many years. I let you down."
"Grandpa, don’t say that. All these years, I’ve never felt unloved. Everyone in the family’s been good to me."
Bernard shook his head slowly. "Still, I need to say this. Megan, I’m truly sorry."
Tristan gave a faint smile. "Megan never lies. She means it. You really shouldn’t keep dwelling on the past. The surgery’s soon—keep your mind easy."
"Bernard, please prepare. We’re ready for the operation," a nurse called as she wheeled in a portable bed.
Bernard slowly lay down, and Megan patted his hand lightly. "When you’re better, I’ll play chess with you again."
"I’d like that."
Because of how confidential the surgery was, the hospital had upped security—no one was allowed prolonged contact with the patient.
The surgical suite was on the 16th floor. They walked with Bernard to the operating room doors.
As the metal doors slid shut, Megan finally felt a tiny bit of relief.
Once inside, he was safe.
She glanced at Tristan, "You never really forgave Grandpa, did you?"
He met her eyes, not bothering with pretense.
Letting out a quiet hum, he said, "He was selfish. People got hurt. Even if he regrets it, what’s lost can’t be brought back—you’ll never get back that time with your family."
Megan took his hand in hers. "Thank you, babe. I know you’ve always stood by me."
His eyes softened with affection, and he reached out to ruffle her hair gently.
Just then, Elliot walked over. "The surgery should take four to five hours. You guys can head back to rest if you want."
Megan shook her head firmly. "No, I want to stay."
At that moment, Kevin came rushing in, clearly in a hurry.
Chloe frowned at him. "What took you so long? Grandpa’s already in the OR!"
But Kevin didn’t have time to explain or apologize. He immediately pulled Tristan aside and whispered something urgent in his ear.
Tristan’s eyes snapped up. "Just as I suspected."
Megan instantly picked up on the tension. She stood slowly, eyes narrowing. "What’s going on?"Tristan said in a low voice, "There was a homicide on the outskirts a few days ago—a woman. Her internal organs were completely gone. Ryan called to say it might be linked to sorcery worm poison. So I reached out to Karl. After examining the body, he confirmed the organs were devoured by a sorcery worm. I told Kevin to use SkyEye to trace her recent movements, but her tracks had been wiped."
Megan asked, "Did you get Karl to restore the data?"
"That idiot wouldn’t know where to start," Tristan chuckled. "Karl handled it himself. Turns out the woman worked at Paradise Realm. I asked Kevin to look into who she’d been in contact with before her death. Guess who popped up?"
"Who?"
"Josephine—my uncle Harrison’s girlfriend."
Megan thought for a moment. She remembered during that fiasco at the Reid family dinner, Evelyn had pointed out that Josephine’s pregnancy was fake—Harrison’s condition made it nearly impossible.
That had stayed with her.
Trying to connect the dots, Megan mused, "You’re saying this links back to your uncle?"
From what she knew, Harrison was always messing around, your classic spoiled playboy. Useless, really.
What could he have to do with sorcery worm?
Tristan’s tone dropped, "Looks like we’ve all been fooled by his act. I had Kevin follow him and found he’s got a hidden house in Binford—security’s tight. That woman had been there, then vanished."
"So he really killed her... and even used sorcery worm?" Megan asked.
Tristan nodded, "Karl said the sorcery worm used was something Jacob once mentioned—really lethal, only upper-rank users can control it."
That said a lot. It meant either Harrison was the puppet master, or at least deeply involved.
Megan frowned, "So he didn’t actually give up on the family fortune—he’s just been scheming in secret, trying to wipe out both the Reid and Lewis families to take control. Can’t believe someone that important was hiding in plain sight this whole time."
Suddenly, the hospital alarms blared—then cut out just as fast.
Megan’s eyes snapped up. The light above the operating room had gone out.
Her heart sank. "Something’s wrong!"
Tristan immediately tried calling Brandon, but no one picked up.
Just then, Nova Tech popped out of her bag. "Metal door won’t budge. I’ll try drilling a hole through the window to peek inside."
With that, she unfolded her metal wings and zipped outside. Hovering over the surgery wing window, she punched a neat little hole.
Flying in, she quickly saw the two nurses who had accompanied Bernard passed out. The rest of the medical team, including Brandon, were trapped inside, with the door sealed by a strange substance.
Nova returned to the metal doors and activated the manual system to open it.
Tristan and Kevin stormed in. Noticing the sealed door, Tristan’s brows furrowed. "That’s military-grade adhesive—strong stuff."
"How do we get in?" Kevin asked.
"We blow it open," Tristan said, glancing at Nova. "Two bubble-gum bombs."
Nova opened a small hatch in her abdomen and dropped two white cubes into Tristan’s hand.
He stuck one on each side of the door and told those inside to take cover.
Tristan grabbed Megan, hurrying away from the OR. Kevin, Chloe, and Elliot followed, dragging the passed-out staff with them.
Fifteen seconds later, two loud blasts rocked the place. The ceiling lights burst from the shock.
"Check on Brandon!" Tristan ordered.
He left Megan in Kevin’s care and rushed inside.
The blast had knocked staff onto the floor, but luckily, no one was seriously injured.
Tristan helped Brandon to his feet. "You okay?"
"I’m fine," Brandon replied, shaky, "but Mr. Shaw—he’s been switched."
