From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 52: Chapter 52

'Mr. Hansen's mentor?' Everyone's attention snapped to Charles at those words. 'Wonder if his mentor is still around? If they are, they've got to be ancient by now. Could they even still practice medicine?'
Some couldn't help thinking, 'I mean, Charles is already a legend in the medical field. His mentor must be like a next-level genius, right?'
Hope flickered across the faces of the Vanderbilt family members at the possibility.
While comforting Kayla, Marissa looked at Charles with barely contained eagerness, finally voicing what everyone was dying to ask. "Dr. Hansen, is your mentor still alive?"
Charles' expression darkened instantly. "Watch your words, young lady. My mentor is very much alive."
Marissa's heart dropped as she rushed to backtrack. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Hansen. I didn't mean any disrespect to your mentor. Please don't be angry. I just spoke without thinking."
Charles kept his stern gaze fixed on her, clearly upset.
Marissa fidgeted nervously, terrified that Charles would walk out right then and there because of her careless comment. All she could do was force an apologetic smile, not daring to say another word.
"Mr. Hansen," Dominick cut in, "is there any way we could meet your mentor? You've seen my grandfather's condition. We're running out of time." His voice carried the weight of someone who'd grown up by Paul's side, the deep bond between them evident in every word.
Charles seemed torn. "My mentor, she..."
He trailed off, remembering her words. "Don't bother me unless it's important."
'Jeez,' he thought. 'For someone so young, she sure has quite an attitude.'
The others picked up on Charles' hesitation, jumping to the conclusion that his mentor must be too elderly to come out of retirement.
"Mr. Hansen." Dominick's voice cracked with rare emotion. At this point, they were out of options. He had to try everything possible to give Paul a fighting chance. "Mr. Hansen, please. I'll pay any price if your mentor agrees to help."
"That's right," Reginald chimed in earnestly. "Name your price, Mr. Hansen. Whatever it takes."
"Money isn't the issue here." Charles' expression remained troubled.
'Money might tempt me, but her? That's a whole different story...' Charles thought to himself.
"Come on, Mr. Hansen, at least try asking," Jonathan pleaded, not wanting to see his old friend leave like this.
Charles wrestled with the decision before reluctantly giving in. "Look, seeing how much you all care, I'll reach out to my mentor. But I can't make any promises about getting her here."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Hansen." Marissa turned to Dominick and the rest of the Vanderbilts, her eyes gleaming with both joy and a hint of triumph.
After all, Marissa was the one who'd brought Charles here. Once this was over, the entire Vanderbilt family would be in her debt.
As the Vanderbilts showered him with thanks, Charles pulled out his phone to call his mentor. But suddenly, something clicked in his mind.
"I'll take this outside." Charles gestured toward the door with his weathered hand and then shuffled out of the hospital room with an awkward expression before dialing his mentor's number.
Everyone knew Charles wanted privacy for this call. The Vanderbilts and their group who stayed in the room and hallway kept their distance from Charles, making sure not to bother him, though they couldn't help stealing glances.
It only took a moment for the call to connect.
The change in Charles was instant and dramatic. Gone was the stern, authoritative doctor they all knew. His usually serious face broke into a warm smile, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening.
'Charles must really respect his mentor,' everyone thought, watching his transformation. Whoever this person was, she had to be incredibly distinguished in their field. If she could actually get them to come, maybe there was hope for Mr. Paul Vanderbilt after all.
"Looking at Mr. Hansen's reaction..." Reginald seemed nervous. "Whoever this person is must be hard to reach. If we can't get them here... Is that it for my father, Mr. Walsh? Is there really no other hope?"
'Just a few months left?' The tiny spark of hope that had lit up in Reginald's eyes dimmed at the thought.
Jonathan stared at Paul's sallow face on the hospital bed. After a moment's hesitation, he finally made up his mind. "If Mr. Hansen can't get his mentor to come, I might know someone else. Another practitioner of the Ancient Medical Arts."
"For real?" Reginald's eyes lit up instantly.
Dominick and the rest of the Vanderbilts turned to Jonathan, waiting for him to continue.
Everyone knew that given how close Jonathan was to Paul, if this mystery healer was easy to reach, he would've mentioned them right from the start.
Sure enough, Jonathan's expression grew troubled. "Thing is, she's incredibly hard to get hold of. I've asked her to join our hospital a bunch of times, but she's shot me down every single time."
Jonathan didn't add that if it weren't for a chance encounter years ago, this young prodigy probably wouldn't even remember who he was.
Reginald nodded grimly. He knew it wouldn't be that simple.
"But don't worry," Jonathan assured them. "I'll do everything in my power to help Paul."
Right now, everyone's hopes were riding on Charles' phone call—the one that seemed to be going on forever.
Finally, the call ended. Charles let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead before heading back into the hospital room. His face had already shifted back to its usual stern expression.
Charles met the hopeful eyes of the Vanderbilt family and spoke carefully, "My mentor says she's willing to come take a look. Whether she'll treat him, or if it's even possible, will depend on what she finds."
It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no, either. For now, anything was possible.
Inside the hospital room, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
Jonathan relaxed his shoulders. "Alright, we just need one person to stay with him. Everyone else should clear out so the patient can rest."
"I'll stay." Dominick volunteered immediately to look after Paul.
The rest of the Vanderbilts knew how close Dominick was to Paul, so no one argued with his request.
"Fine by me," Jonathan said. "Just hit the call button if anything comes up."
"Will do. Thanks, Mr. Walsh," Dominick replied politely.
In moments, the previously crowded room fell quiet and still.
Dominick settled into the chair by the bed, taking Paul's warm, weathered hand in his. "You know, you're getting more stubborn with age," he said softly. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
Before, no matter how heated their arguments got, Paul would always fire back at Dominick. Even when they were just throwing angry words at each other, there was always that back-and-forth.
But now, the figure lying in the bed couldn't respond at all.
It had been a long time since their last argument. Dominick couldn't even recall when it was.
He pondered for a moment, and then it hit him. It was shortly after his divorce from Paisley. Paul was furious when he found out. He had hit Dominick for the first time.
Growing up, Dominick had never done anything to disappoint Paul until the divorce with Paisley.
"Grandpa, you were right to scold me back then. I regret it... I truly regret it..." Dominick murmured.
The truth was, he had regretted it the moment he signed the divorce papers. But both he and Paisley were caught up in the heat of the moment. He had assumed Paisley couldn't live without him, that it was all just a bluff.