Chapter 78
“I’ll leave this matter to you, senior p>
After replying to the message, Vivian Sinclair saw a doctor come out and hurriedly call Mrs. Archer to the doctor’s office.
Vivian stood up and then received a call from Julian Thorne.
“Where are you p>
Vivian replied softly, “19th floor p>
Julian Thorne: “Someone will meet you outside. They’ll call for number 23 p>
Why number 23?
Before Vivian could figure it out, a person in a nurse’s uniform came out and called, “Number 23 p>
Vivian raised her hand slightly, “Here p>
Vivian followed the nurse through a door marked “Staff Only p>
It was much colder behind the door than outside.
Vivian tightened the scarf around her neck, following the nurse up the stairs, winding around corners.
She then arrived in a spacious and bright office.
As she was examining the room, she heard Julian Thorne’s voice behind her, “What are you looking at p>
Vivian turned to see Julian walking in with one hand in his pocket.
Today, he was rarely dressed in light colors, and his usual aloof aura had more of a gentle and elegant warmth.
Vivian also removed her face mask.
She replied, “I’m examining this room p>
“What part of the hospital is this? It doesn’t seem like an ordinary office p>
“Didn’t Mr. Thorne say that today I would see a good show by Jordan Vance at the hospital p>
Seeing her impatience, Julian walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window with tightly drawn curtains, “No rush. A good show always unfolds slowly p>
Saying that, he pulled open all the curtains.
Only then did Vivian see that she could directly view the ward downstairs!
What—what kind of place is this?
Vivian walked closer for a better look and saw that the person lying on the hospital bed below was none other than Old Madam Grant!
She was utterly shocked.
Who knew a hospital would have such a room! It was pretty terrifying p>
But what truly frightened her was Julian’s seemingly limitless influence!
He could walk in and out of the hospital freely, without any obstruction.
And now, the two of them were here without anyone to monitor them.
Neither the hospital staff nor his entourage; it was as if this office was his personal forbidden territory p>
Was it trust the hospital had in him, or simply… fear?
A faint sense of dread crept into Vivian’s heart.
Getting involved with someone like him—how unfortunate could it get?
Because in the entire city of Ardis, there was no place beyond his reach, and dealing with someone would be child’s play for him.
Altogether, if she were to hang onto this powerhouse, Vivian would become untouchable in Ardis.
However, not only did she not dare to cling to him, she also felt the urge to gather her belongings and escape as far as possible.
Because she knew deeply, much like the dream she had, The Thorne Family would never permit an unknown illegitimate child to exist in this world.
Therefore, Vivian must flee immediately!
Seeing that she was deep in thought, Julian, fearing she was frightened by the scene before her, softly explained, “This is merely the intensive care monitoring room of the hospital p>
“I use it occasionally, so typically, no one else comes here p>
Why would he have access to hospital resources?
Could it be… he had some other identity?
Vivian’s mind flooded with countless questions, but she refrained from asking further.
Perhaps it was due to Stella’s medical condition or maybe because of the extensive and specialized medical team at Crestfall Villa… thus his close ties with this non-private hospital.
Vivian decided not to dwell on the matter any longer, as Jordan Vance had arrived.
Under Julian’s arrangement, Jordan, fully disguised as a cleaner, sneakily entered the ward.
“Is it him p>
Vivian knew that Jordan was in the hospital today because Julian had personally laid the bait.
He didn’t use any other tactics.
He just took a photo of Jordan’s painting and posted it on the social platform with the comment: A radical change in style, a leap in skill.
Once this message was released, it quickly exploded across the internet.
This was the first private post on any public platform by the head of The Thorne Group p>
What did this mean?
Even though Julian’s personal account might occasionally post something related to company technology.
But a personally related post was the first of its kind across all platforms!
Due to Julian’s charisma and wealth, his social media accounts across all platforms had long since surpassed a billion followers.
Even an official post would garner hundreds of thousands of likes.
He rarely showed his face and had never posted a personal update before.
So, even before anyone had a chance to see what on earth Julian Thorne had posted, the update had already been shared tens of thousands of times, with likes and comments quickly surpassing ten thousand and spreading widely.
Then, everyone began to pay attention to what mysterious figure President Thorne had posted.
A painting.
A painting of a tiger.
A tiger painting signed by Jordan Vance.
It turned out that the enigmatic President Thorne had a taste for appreciating art.
Then, curious netizens started digging into the painting and began to follow Jordan Vance.
Things unfolded exactly as Julian had anticipated, and Jordan soon found out about the matter.
He almost lost his mind on the spot.
This—this painting, how did that old thing from the Grant Family not hide away, not destroy it, but instead release it?
Julian had long since planted people to monitor Jordan secretly.
That’s why Jordan Vance was aware of Fiona Rhodes’ every move.
He intentionally plunged Fiona Rhodes into chaos.
Then deliberately leaked the news to Fiona Rhodes that Old Madam Grant was being rescued in the hospital.
After that, he subtly let Fiona Rhodes through, allowing him to sneak into the hospital smoothly.
Because Fiona Rhodes himself knew the truth about the painting.
The competition back then was entirely closed off, and almost no one had truly seen the original works of his competition with W.
Fiona Rhodes knew deep down, once that painting was exposed to the public, his entire life would be completely ruined.
Not to mention Fiona Rhodes’ group of people were still watching him closely, if they saw the painting, it would be easy for them to uncover that it wasn’t his own work at all!
By then, his reputation, status, honor, wealth, and future… all would be utterly destroyed!
Even his master’s entire faction could be implicated!
Fiona Rhodes’ master had already scolded him severely, urging him to resolve the matter before it escalates further.
Otherwise, he’d be expelled from the school.
In desperation, Fiona Rhodes would naturally confront Old Madam Grant.
So, his appearance in the hospital wasn’t just Julian Thorne’s manipulations, but also his only choice when cornered.
As soon as Jordan Vance entered the ward, he immediately closed and locked the door.
He first pretended to be cleaning while secretly checking for surveillance cameras in the room.
After confirming there were none, Jordan Vance looked up at the massive floor-to-ceiling window above him.
Vivian couldn’t help but step back.
A large hand gently stopped her on the back.
“He can’t see us p>
From outside, that window was always dark.
Even with lights on inside, no light could pass through.
So Jordan Vance wouldn’t know that someone was watching him.
And it would give him the illusion that no one was in the room above.
So, after staring for a while, Jordan Vance confidently looked away.
Vivian quietly let out a breath of relief.
“But how can I hear what he’s saying p>
“And what if he harms Old Madam Grant fatally, what then p>
“Wouldn’t it cause trouble for you, Mr. Thorne p>
A hint of surprise flashed through Julian Thorne’s eyes.
Was she worried about him?
Julian Thorne’s gaze lingered on Vivian Sinclair’s face a moment longer. Vivian turned her eyes, “It seems someone’s coming p>
It was Mrs. Archer returning.
Noticing the ward was locked from inside, she immediately tried to open the door.
“What’s going on p>
Only then did Julian Thorne retract his gaze, walking to the desk and picking up a remote.
He pressed a button aimed at the window, and all the sounds from the ward below transmitted up instantly.
Even the faint noises of various instruments came through clearly.
Such high-tech?
Vivian knew The Thorne Group’s tech companies had rapidly advanced over the past years, securing a spot in the nation’s tech industry.
Perhaps, this room’s gadgets were just the tip of the iceberg.
But to a layperson like Vivian, it felt incredibly magical!
Vivian couldn’t resist scanning the entire room.
She suspected this room was custom-built for Julian Thorne himself.
Her curiosity about him grew—what kind of person was he?
“Who’s inside? Open the door, quickly p>
Mrs. Archer shouted anxiously and fiercely from outside, “Someone, come quickly, open the door p>
Jordan Vance hadn’t expected Mrs. Archer to return so soon, and he hadn’t done anything yet!
Jordan Vance realized that even if he acted now, escape would be impossible.
All he could do was toss the cloth in his hand to the floor in frustration.
Then he quickly went to open the door for Mrs. Archer.
As he opened the door, Jordan Vance made sure his mask was secure, then opened it by bowing and apologizing, “I’m sorry, I accidentally locked the door while cleaning p>
Mrs. Archer raised her hand in anger and slapped him.
“If something happened to our Old Madam, you’d face severe consequences p>
Jordan Vance, covering his face, dared not lift his head.
But the clenching of his fists showed his anger.
Yet in the end, he endured, “I’m sorry. It was truly accidental p>
Just then, a nurse hurriedly arrived with a key.
Seeing it was a misunderstanding, she did not bother to scrutinize Jordan Vance’s identity.
She just impatiently instructed him to leave quickly and not disturb Old Madam Grant’s recovery.
Jordan Vance hunched humbly, and as the nurse left, he hurriedly went to collect his tools, only to mistakenly spill the disinfectant all over the floor again.
Mrs. Archer was furious, almost cursing.
She glanced at the hospital bed, seeing Old Madam Grant unresponsive, her pent-up anger, from days of worry and care, came boiling over, kicking Jordan Vance.
“Are you seeking death? Disturb Old Madam’s recovery, and the Grant Family will have your head p>
“Get lost, you pathetic cleaner p>
Jordan Vance quickly squatted to wipe up the spilled liquid with the cloth, “I’m leaving right away p>
“But before I go, I have a score to settle with you p>
With those words, Jordan Vance angrily rose to his feet, and with a swift motion, pressed the disinfectant-soaked cloth over Mrs. Archer’s face.
No matter how Mrs. Archer struggled, she couldn’t shout out, and soon fell unconscious from the intense chemical exposure p>