The next morning Knock! Knock! Knock! âJoe, are you awake?â Lukas called out from the other side of the door of Joeyâs room. He then put his ear against the door to listen for any sound. It was silent inside the room. He looked at his watch and it said that it was already ten oâclock. Lukas thought it strange that Joey was still in bed. And he hadnât come out since he took a shower in the room the previous night. Joey was still a child, but he kept a regular schedule. Lukas knocked on the door again. Still, there was no answer. He couldnât even hear a thing moving inside the room.
Alarmed, he quickly got someone to open the door with the spare key. A cold gust of wind hit Lukas as he entered the room. He noticed that the cold air was coming from the floor-to-ceiling glass door, which was open. Lukas frowned. He remembered asking the servant to turn the heating system on in the Sue Garden. He didnât want Joey to catch a cold when he walked into the cold room. And yet, the door was wide open now and the wind had been blowing in all night.
Lukas stepped inside the room, closed the door, and looked around the room. Joey was lying in the bed and all wrapped up tightly with his quilt. Lukas could see only the top of his head. 1 âJoe?â Lukas walked toward the bed and called the boyâs name softly. Joey didnât reply. He wasnât moving either.
Lukas thought that Joey was still asleep. âJoe, itâs almost noon. You havenât had your breakfast. Maybe you can sleep again after youâve put something in your tummy. So Lukas bent down and took hold of the quilt. As soon as he pulled the quilt, Joey turned around, his eyes were tightly closed.
âMommy, I am so cold,â he uttered almost indistinctly. âJoe, what is it that youâre saying?â Lukas strained his ears to hear what Joey was saying.
âMommy⦠Coldâ¦â Joey murmured. Lukas heard him clearly. Cold?
Lukasâ eyes turned to the thermostat reading of the air conditioner at the bedside. The room temperature had risen to some fractions so Joey shouldnât feel so cold. Seeing that the boy was still sleepy, Lukas didnât have the heart to wake him up. So he decided to fix the quilt around Joey. Joey turned over, revealing his face. His face was flushed, and his lips were parched and dusky in color.
Lukas knew at once that Joey was sick. So using the back of his hand, Lukas felt Joeyâs forehead, cheeks, and neck. Joeyâs skin was hot to his touch.
âJoe!â Lukas cried, worry etched on his face.
âJoe, wake up!â Joey must be burning with fever for some time now. He looked awful!
In the study of the Bennet family Two days after Rachel left the hospital, Ivan asked someone to send the share transfer agreement to Rachel. Victor had transferred to Rachel the shares of the Bennet Group owned by Sullivan Group. Andy knocked on the door before he walked into the study. He found Rachel seated, looking at the share transfer agreement on the table. While Rachel looked like she was studying the document, Andy knew that her mind was on something else.
âHi, Rachel! I just want to tell you that the time for the shareholdersâ meeting of the Bennet Group has been fixed. Itâs the day after tomorrow.â
âOkay,â Rachel curtly said as she closed the folder holding the share transfer agreement. Andy sat on the chair opposite Rachel.
âYou can just show up at the meeting. But if youâre not really feeling well, you canâ¦â
âIâm fine,â Rachel cut in. Her eyes automatically turned to the share transfer agreement, which had been sent to her a week ago, and yet, she hadnât signed. Rachel didnât expect Victor to send her the document. She thought that he would use these shares to force her to compromise, just as he did before.
Yet, Victor readily agreed to the terms of the agreement. This made Rachel hesitant to sign it.
âLetâs stop talking about me. Why are you here? Didnât you say that there will be a trial today?â Rachel changed the topic. Andyâs lips moved but no words came out. He wanted to say something but hesitated on second thought.
âIs something the matter?â Rachel asked nervously. She felt that Andy was going to tell her some bad news.
âItâs a call from the hospital.â