The Apple of My Eye

After the doctor left, Sheryl walked away from Charles' embrace and sat beside Clark. Holding her son's hand between hers, her tears started falling down silently.

"Clark, what can I do? How can I save you? I don't want to see you in pain. I don't..." Gently taking her son's hand closer to her cheek, she burst into tears. She could no longer contain the pain inside her. Sheryl felt like her heart was going to explode anytime soon, but there was nothing she could do.

Melissa's eyes were red and swollen too. She had been crying as soon as she heard the news, but like Sheryl, she was helpless.

Charles stood behind Sheryl, his hands clenched into fists. Who would've thought someone so handsome could look so terrifying at the same time?

Across the room, Vicky watched them silently. As a bystander, she could keep calm and think things over. At that moment, a bold idea struck her.

Though her idea's success rate was not 100% guaranteed, it was still worth a shot. She was worried that if that method didn't work and Rob ended up very angry, it was likely that Clark would be dead. She would be as guilty as everyone else. The thought of it would haunt her. What could she do at that moment?

But looking at Sheryl's sad face, she thought that was the least she could do.

Vicky was still hesitating when she heard Charles call out to her all of a sudden, "Would you please see me outside for a moment?"

Not even waiting for her response, Charles turned around and walked out of the ward.

Feeling a little nervous, Vicky followed Charles out quietly.

Sheryl and Melissa were both immersed in their own miserable memories. Neither of them noticed Charles and Vicky were gone.

Outside the ward, Charles walked to a corner and stood there. He then took out a cigarette from his pocket before he turned to watch Vicky approaching.

Vicky followed him outside as he had requested. Putting the cigarette between his fingers, he lit it up, lowered his head, and took a puff. A trace of white smoke slowly drifted away.

Vicky was stunned, and her memories took her back to a similar scene from her past. The man then was somewhat like Charles. He may not have been as good looking, but he was handsome in his own way. His ten fingers had distinct joints. The palms of his hands were full of calluses, which were the result of being trained for a long time.

That man always had the warmest smile, but he seldom smiled at others. Like each smile would cost a fortune that he'd rather have kept. His cold face always made people feel indifferent. But when he had smiled at her, he often smiled like a child...

Just with those thoughts, Vicky's eyes became a little moist. She felt that tears were flowing out of her eyes in a hurry, so she immediately looked up, hoping the tears wouldn't run their course. Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to pretend that nothing had happened.

"What's wrong with you?" Charles just took another puff and blew out a big cloud of smoke before he asked.

Hearing Charles' question, Vicky snapped back to reality. Shaking her head, she wiped off the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and answered, "Nothing. I suddenly remembered someone."

"Bernard?"

His name made Vicky's heart jump a beat. "I owe him too much in this lifetime. Charles, do you still want to kill Ferry?" Vicky asked seriously. Charles didn't respond. He seemed to be deep in thought. He took another puff, stubbed the cigarette out, and then tossed it into the bin. "What do you think of it? Tell me," he asked, throwing Vicky a quick glance. He then looked away, waiting for her response.

A bitter smile appeared on Vicky's face. She knew it. She couldn't hide anything from Charles.

He must have noticed earlier that she was thinking about it, but he had just waited for her to spill it out herself.

"Yes, I have a plan, but I can't guarantee 100% success rate."

"I'm all ears."

"Okay. Rob is unwilling to tell you where the antidote is. I'm sure he's purposely doing this to save Ferry. Since you are holding Rob captive, that means he has no way to contact Ferry from where he's at. On the other hand, since Ferry is in prison, that means he has no idea of what has been happening outside. We can use this to our advantage and come up with a plan," Vicky said slowly, waiting for Charles acknowledgment.

"Go on," Charles urged her to continue, his brows furrowed while listening.

"I know of someone who has superb skills in prosthetic makeup. I think that we can hire two people to pose as Ferry and Rob to meet the real Rob and Ferry, respectively. What do you think of it?" At last, Vicky mustered up the courage to speak her mind.

Charles listened but didn't answer right away. He just lowered his head, seemingly thinking about the possibility of Vicky's suggestion.

"Have you ever thought that Rob and Ferry's looks may be easy to imitate, but their behavior isn't?" Charles answered after thinking for a while. He still looked far away while he waited for her response.

"I know Rob very well. I know everything about him, so I can help with that part." Thinking back on those days that Rob had held her in the basement, Vicky couldn't help smiling bitterly.

Taking a glance at Vicky, Charles could understand that she must have had her own difficulties, but that was not something they should be discussing today.

"So if I found someone who would agree to pose as Rob, will you be responsible in training him to act like Rob?" Charles asked finally.

Vicky nodded immediately. "Right now, the most important thing to accomplish is getting the antidote that Rob is keeping. Once Clark is out of danger, everything will be okay."

Charles didn't respond. It was indeed Clark's safety that mattered most at the moment. A slice of warmth flashed across his eyes.

Although he knew that Vicky wasn't a good person, and she had done many bad things in the past, she did treat Clark with all her heart and soul. At this point, he could consider forgiving all of this woman's trespasses.

"Okay," Charles finally agreed.

Seeing that her suggestion was taken into consideration, Vicky was pleased. She couldn't help smiling from ear to ear. She didn't expect that Charles would agree to it so easily. But seeing he believed in the plan gave her more than enough motivation.

"Thank you." Charles' words came out suddenly.

Vicky was overwhelmed. She couldn't believe her ears.

Did she hear it right? Charles had just voiced out his appreciation. It was so strange to be hearing such words from Charles. She had not heard him give thanks to others anytime previously, so this would be the first.

"So where is this person who knows of prosthetic makeup?" Charles asked, curious to get things started. Hearing Charles' question, Vicky came back to her senses and answered quickly, "I'm calling him right now."

Vicky pulled her cell phone from her pocket and walked aside to make a phone call.

Looking at her back, Charles became lost in another thought.

Rob had insisted on asking for Ferry's freedom, in exchange for him giving Charles the antidote to cure Clark. But Ferry had committed severe crime, so he would more likely be sentenced to death than refeased from prison.

Even if he could take Ferry out from prison, he could not fully trust Rob's words.

Could Rob really have the antidote in his possession? Not necessarily!

At the thought of this, Charles took out his cell phone, quickly typed a message, and sent it out.

A few seconds later, the phone beeped to tell him a message was received.

Charles' face turned dreary as he opened the message and read through it. His brows furrowed as he went along.

Being a known businessman, he had

tried to use all his connections. He

had asked his friend abroad to keep

ve

an eye on the HUR drug for him, but he had immediately replied to him upon seeing the name of the medicine, saying that the production of the said medicine had been prohibited, and all the poisons and antidotes had been burnt.

'How could this be?' Charles was stunned after reading the message.

Vicky had just finished her phone call and was on her way to announce the good news to Charles, but when she saw his face, she felt confused.

"Charles, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Vicky rushed to his side, seeing that Charles' face turned pale. His eyes reflected great sadness.

Charles didn't seem to hear her. He remained silent, but he was trembling all over. Charles could feel chills creeping down his spine and throughout his body.

Seeing this, Vicky felt a little worried. She couldn't understand why Charles suddenly seemed to have become a different person shortly after she returned from making her phone call. What could've happened?

Clueless, she still didn't dare to ask him anymore. As much as she respected Charles, she also feared him very much. She was in no position to ask him for explanations.

As for the love they had shared in the past, she could say that it had already disappeared, with no trace left in her heart.