Chapter 736
And Caitlin was only twenty! What right did a twenty-year-old girl have to stomp all over her? What was Caitlin Gonzales? Nothing!
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Mina took a deep breath, trying to force herself to remain calm.
Her secretary was just as miserable. “Ms. Mina, you… you can check YouTube p>
Mina grabbed her phone and opened the app. Her heart sank. The entire trending page was dominated by Caitlin. And if it wasn’t Caitlin’s name, it was Jade Glow Balm or Gonzales Holdings. Every single item in the Gonzales Holdings international online store was sold out. Even products only tangentially related to the company were being snapped up by foreign buyers in a frenzy.
How could she have known that retribution would come so swiftly?
Worst of all, industry regulations dictated that a new skincare conference had to be held whenever the chairperson changed. Not only had she been stripped of her title, but now she would be forced to stand through the meeting, a public spectacle for everyone to mock. The very thought of that humiliation made it hard for her to breathe.
With a cry of rage, she swept a decorative piece from her desk, smashing it against the floor. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces.
Her secretary flinched, not daring to breathe, but had to speak up. “Miss Mina, Mr. Tyrell’s representative is still waiting outside p>
Mina yanked the official seal from her drawer and hurled it at the secretary. “Get out!” she screamed. She would see just how long Caitlin Gonzales could hold onto that chair.
The secretary snatched the seal from the floor and fled the office without a backward glance.
At the hospital, Leo was anxiously awaiting Ivy’s test results.
“Ivy King?” a doctor in a white coat called out, holding a report.
Before Ivy could respond, Leo shot up from his seat. “I’m her husband!” He rushed forward before the doctor could speak. “How is my wife? Is everything okay p>
Ivy watched the doctor, a knot of nervousness in her stomach.
The doctor smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, your wife is perfectly fine. All her results are normal. You can go home p>
*Fine… She was perfectly fine p>
Leo took the report from the doctor, his world tilting on its axis. He stared at the doctor, his face pale and frantic. “Doctor, are you sure? There must be a mistake. How can she be… fine p>
The doctor’s brow furrowed. “From your tone, it sounds like you’re disappointed she’s healthy p>
Ivy stared at Leo in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.
Suddenly, a phone rang.
“Hello?” Leo answered, his hand trembling.
A young woman’s voice came through the line. “Mr. Barrett, good afternoon. This is Vivian, Ms. Gonzales’s assistant. I’m calling to remind you that today is the fine day of your wager. Though you are on the losing side, Ms. Gonzales hopes you will still attend the press conference at two o’clock p>
*Thud p>
The phone slipped from his grasp. Like a puppet with its strings cut, Leo’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
Soon, Leo was being rushed into an operating room. Ivy waited outside. Half an hour later, a doctor emerged. “Are you the patient’s family p>
“I am,” Ivy nodded.
“Your husband has a pre-existing heart condition, and the shock has triggered a critical event,” the doctor explained. “He needs bypass surgery Immediately, but the procedure is extremely high-risk. We need you, as his next of kin, to sign the consent form p>
A consent form? Ivy glanced toward the emergency room doors, her voice breaking into a sob. “Is my husband in serious danger? What will happen if he doesn’t have the surgery right away p>
“If he doesn’t have surgery within the hour, he could die, or he could end up in a permanent vegetative state,” the doctor replied.
Hearing this, a flicker of light passed through Ivy’s eyes. “I’ll sign,” she choked out sign it right now!” She took the pen the doctor offered Just as the tip was about to touch the paper, her body went limp, and she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.