Chapter 4

Grandpa and I both froze.

I choked down my anger and asked Pamela under my breath,

"What is this supposed to mean?"

She looked at Chad.

"Chad has a kind heart. He wanted to come see Grandpa too."

I bit out each word.

"Pamela, you'd better keep him in line."

Grandpa asked her,

"Who's this young man? Your secretary?"

Pamela was about to speak when Chad stepped forward.

"I'm a friend of Pamela's. Grandpa, how's your health? How much longer do you have to live?"

"Chad."

There was a warning buried in my voice.

Chad stuck out his tongue.

"Oops. Listen to me, running my mouth like that."

"Grandpa, take a look at this."

He suddenly pulled a sheet of paper from inside his jacket and handed it to Grandpa.

I moved to stop him, but it was too late.

Grandpa read, and read, and his breathing turned ragged, his face flushing red, his chest heaving.

With everything he had left, he struck Chad, the man closest to him, across the face.

"You, you—"

Grandpa coughed violently, then spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Grandpa!"

The scream tore out of me.

"Someone, help! Somebody come quick!"

But Pamela shut the door and locked it.

She patted Chad soothingly as he covered his face and cried.

Then she turned to Grandpa, her eyes frozen over.

"Grandpa, Chad came to see you out of kindness. Even if you're the elder, you hit someone, so you have to apologize."

"Pamela!"

Eyes red, I glared at her, teeth clenched.

At her words, Grandpa's breathing grew more frantic.

Then, all at once, he pitched straight over onto the bed.

Pamela froze.

Outside the door, the doctors and nurses were pounding to get in.

I lunged and grabbed her by the collar.

"Open the door, let the doctors in, Grandpa needs emergency care!"

Pamela lowered her eyes.

"You apologize to Chad on Grandpa's behalf."

"Chad takes things hard. Who knows how many nights that slap will keep him up."

My eyes went wide.

"What did you just say!"

"Apologize."

"Never."

Chad nestled against Pamela's leg and cocked an eyebrow at me.

He'd done it on purpose.

"Then I'll never open this door."

As Pamela spoke, the heart monitor split into a shrill, screaming alarm.

The line on it had already gone flat.

My heart seized.

"…I apologize, I apologize, all right? Chad, I'm sorry."

"Pamela, save him now!"

Chad grinned from ear to ear.

"Mr. James, I accept your apology."

Only then did Pamela open the door.

A crowd of medical staff surged in and worked to save him.

A minute later.

Grandpa's attending physician spoke, powerless.

"Mr. James, the shock was too great for Old Mr. James. His heart stopped on the spot."

"There's nothing more we can do."

Something detonated in my head.

My mind went blank.

Mechanically, I laid my hand over Grandpa's cold, stiff one.

Only then did I notice he was still gripping the paper Chad had given him.

I pried it loose.

It was a pregnancy test report.

The baby was five months along.

Father: Chad Matthews.

And the mother: Pamela Simmons.

"Heh…"

My mouth twisted into something bitter, and I couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying.

I squeezed my eyes shut, hard.

Then snapped them open.

"Someone, tie Chad up for me."

"As for Pamela… autumn's here. It's about time the skies over Simmons Corp turned cold too."