Chapter 555: An Old Record

Katherine insisted on watching over her grandfather that evening, so she and Damien decided to stay for the night. As long as she was happy, he didn't mind it at all.

Good thing that the VIP hospital suite had one bedroom, so they and Frank agreed to take turns in staying up beside Grandpa Theo's bed while Deborah and her daughter, Caroline, went home to the mansion to rest.

Damien had been quiet the whole time, and she noticed that he was getting tired, so she held his hand and suggested right after her aunt left, "I'm fine staying here. Why don't you go home so you can rest properly?"

He shook his head and gave her a small smile as he responded, "I'm okay. I don't want to go home either. I'd rather stay here with you. I'll help you watch your grandpa."

His words touched her, so she could only agree to let him stay, knowing that he would only get worried if she wasn't around.

Frank proposed that the couple rest first, guessing that the two had an eventful and tiring night. But before Katherine and Damien turned in for the evening, a female doctor came by to check on Grandpa Theo's condition.

"Doctor, how is he?" Katherine asked as soon as the doctor finished. She kept her voice low because her grandfather was already sleeping. Then they walked towards the door to talk so they wouldn't disturb him.

The doctor scribbled something on her chart and then pocketed her pen into her white coat's front pocket. When she lifted her head to face them, she explained, "I can hear a little wheezing on his chest. After checking the results on the tests that we did earlier, I found out that his cough is caused by bacteria. He should be okay as long as he takes the medicines. Also, his blood pressure is elevated, so he needs to make changes in his lifestyle and diet. At his age, he needs to be more careful from now on."

Nodding, her brows slightly knitted when she glanced at her grandfather from where she stood. She was clearly very worried about him. "I'll let him know. Thank you very much."

When the doctor left, Damien comforted Katherine, stroking her arms as he told her, "I will have Markus ask our dietician in the company to come by tomorrow so we can work out your grandfather's needs. We'll do everything we can to get him back in shape. Okay?"

"Thank you, Damien…"

"Let's get some shut-eye," he said as she squeezed herself in his embrace, then he walked her towards the bedroom so they could rest.

…

Meanwhile, Hughes decided to leave the Crown Hotel the next day and convinced Chris and the others that she could get herself protected. She still had some responsibilities to take care of in the office and she couldn't put it off just because her husband wanted her dead.

And because she couldn't guarantee their safety, it was best that she would separate herself from them. Now that she knew Chris had back up and even met Katherine and Damien, she was rest assured that although it was dangerous for everyone, she believed they were capable.

She also told them that she would deal with her husband herself, so they didn't have to worry about her anymore. Josiah Connor may have fooled director Hughes even after their years of marriage, but she was a capable and strong woman—she would surely not let this matter go.

Their alliance wasn't officially agreed upon, but it was pretty obvious now that they could both benefit from each other.

Shadow failed their mission in killing Hughes, and even though they had erased their traces, the matter about meeting Parker would still alert them. It was too much of a coincidence that Katherine and Damien were there while Shadow weren't successful in their mission.

It was definitely Katherine's bad luck that she bumped into Parker. And because of that, Damien restricted her from going anywhere without security. Hughes agreed that it was for the best and suggested for everyone to do the same. Sometimes, one has to take a step back in order to safely tread the waters.

However, they all believed that it was only a matter of time until Parker would make his move.

...

A few days later...

Damien decided to work from home in the Young Mansion for the meantime so he could be around Katherine while she took care of her grandfather. They only stayed in the hospital for two days, and her grandfather was allowed to go back home as long as he followed the doctor's advice.

Katherine had insisted on taking care of Grandpa Theo herself that the older man couldn't say no, so she took some time off from work. Her grandfather enjoyed her company, loving the time that they got to spend together. She also had the chance to explore the mansion, discovering things that she had forgotten from when she was still a child.

At the same time, she got to keep a closer eye on her aunt.

…

Thursday — December 6

While Damien was working, he received a phone call from the lab regarding the DNA Phenotyping and familial searching. He was asked if he was available to talk, but since it was Chris's important personal matter, he suggested having the conversation while Chris was present. So they agreed to have a video conference that afternoon.

Katherine and Damien then went to the safe house and met the rest of their group.

Once they entered the premises, they found Chris anxiously waiting in the living room; his knees bounced up and down in anticipation. He didn't know what they were going to find out that day, and he could only hope that it was good news. But when he noticed the couple's arrival, he suddenly became unsure and his heart started to race.

For a long time, he wondered if his sister was alive and if she was, where was she? Without any clue, he was rendered hopeless and had almost given up. Consoling himself to think that as long as she was alive and well, that was enough for him. But each day, it remained a mystery, and the longer he didn't have any news about his sister, the more frustrated he became.

Amelia made everyone some refreshments, and she brought a tray into the living room with glasses filled with drinks. When she gave one to Chris, the latter shook his head and didn't even look at her.

Damien saw this exchange, and he had been noticing it happen in the past few days since the other learned that Amelia had a son—and that son was him. He was displeased to see that Chris had been ignoring her. Even though he felt uneasy about his mother's relationship with Chris, the fact that the latter was ignoring Amelia so bluntly bothered him.

Just who was he to get mad at his mother? Chris was already lucky enough to have spent more time with her than he did. Damien subconsciously clenched his hand, but he brushed his thoughts aside to focus on what's at hand. He would have to deal with this asshole later.

..

"Are you ready?" Katherine asked Chris as they hovered over Styles's workstation.

Chris sat in the armchair in front of the monitor so that he could talk in the conference directly while the rest stood at the side and decided to give him the floor.

When Damien's friend, the CEO of the lab, called him earlier, they agreed to do the conference call at three in the afternoon. There were five minutes until the time, and everyone, not just Chris, grew nervous.

The clock struck at three, and their gazes were glued to the screen. However, they didn't receive any call.

A few minutes after three in the afternoon—still none.

"Are you sure he is going to call?" Chris questioned Damien when he began to feel impatient that the man hadn't called them yet.

"Yes."

"He's fifteen minutes late already. Why don't you call him?"

Damien's face hardened. He understood why the other was impatient, but he already disliked him, so Damien only grew irritated.

"Be patient," he replied under gritted teeth.

Then he felt Katherine's hand slipping into his as if to calm him down. She always knew how to.

Just then, the monitor rang, catching everyone's attention to the screen. As soon as the call came through, they talked about the results right away.

"As we speak, I'm sending the soft copy of the files through Park's email. We will send the hardcopy via express, so you will receive it by tomorrow," said the man from the lab. "Everything can be easily understood based on the results as explanations are written thoroughly. But if you have any questions, you can contact me any time."

Chris had a confused look on his face. He didn't understand why they had to do the conference call if everything was easy to understand. They could have just informed them via text or email if that was the case.

"That's it?" he probed.

"Actually, there's one more thing." The man cleared his throat. "We found that you already have a record in our local database dated a few years ago. It was a request made by a man named Parker Green."