novelxo Chapter 229
Cloudia hurried to catch up with Yorick's brisk pace.
Upon seeing Cloudia, Yorick was somewhat taken aback. "Cloudia, what are you doing here?"
Cloudia took a moment to catch her breath.
"Rick, let me ask you, did you come here because of Stella?"
Yorick froze, caught off guard.
Orion stayed silent, equally taken aback.
The bluntness of Cloudia's question unsettled Yorick for reasons he couldn't quite pin down, especially the mention of Stella.
If he remembered correctly, Cloudia had never spoken Ursula's name with such disdain. But Stella was her biological daughter.
For the first time, Yorick noticed the difference in how Cloudia treated Stella and Ursula.
It suddenly dawned on him why Stella had always been so cold towards the Larkins.
Orion, too, was surprised. He hadn't expected Cloudia to raise such a direct question about her own daughter. After all, hadn't the Larkins practically handed Stella off to Yorick two years ago? What was this change of attitude now? Yorick narrowed his eyes. "Did Ursula send you?"
Thinking back to Ursula's words over the phone, he suddenly felt she was being unreasonable.
During her treatment, he had been juggling work and hospital visits. Now, with an issue at the company keeping him busy, he hadn't visited her recently. And here was Cloudia, questioning him? What was this, an interrogation?
Cloudia's breath hitched. "No, no, that's not it, I just..."
Faced with Yorick's sudden seriousness, Cloudia began to stutter!
"Well, you see... Ursula's sick, and she's very vulnerable right now. Knowing that both you and Stella are in Spring Hill, she's refusing to take her medication."
Yorick was taken aback. "What?"
Hearing that Ursula was refusing her medication made his expression darken further.
Noticing the concern flicker across his face, Cloudia continued, "You know she relies on you a lot. In good times, she might act more rationally, but it's different now. She's facing life and death."
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Yorick's irritation melted away as he listened. Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and called Ursula.
She answered quickly, her voice weak, "Rick."
"Why aren't you taking your medication properly?"
Yorick asked directly, his tone stern yet laced with caring reproach.
Hearing Yorick's tone, Ursula started to cry.
Yorick felt a headache coming on. "I've been really busy with the company lately. Can you try to behave?"
"I thought you were ignoring me. You went to Spring Hill, and so did Stella."
Yorick remained silent.
Stella? He hadn't wanted to bring up Stella, but now that her name was mentioned, irritation flared within him.
Trying to stay composed, he calmly reassured Ursula, "The company is swamped these days. Can you please try to be good?"
The Lugar family had just signed a contract with Jeremy, and even his father's intervention hadn't solved it. Yorick could already foresee the troubles looming over the Quarry Group. He simply had no time for hospital visits.
After a few more reassuring words, Yorick hung up in a hurry.
Cloudia, though noticing Yorick's softened attitude, also sensed his dwindling patience.
"Are you sure you didn't come here because of Stella?"
Cloudia, perhaps driven by desperation or confusion, mustered the courage to press on.
As expected, Yorick's expression hardened at the mention of Stella His piercing gaze bore into her for a moment before he turned and
walked away without another word.
Cloudia instinctively followed. "Rick, I..."
But Yorick was already fed up. "Cloudia, what you should really be worried about is the Larkin Group's affairs.
I heard that StarRiver Corp., the same company that made Stella Hundreds of thousands last year, has made a move against the Larkin Group. What's your thought on this? Do you think Stella is connected to this?"