Chapter 1242 - 1182: Aftereffects

Southeast Military Base, Taylor Family.

The sky outside had long turned dark, and General Taylor sat in a chair, facing a row of bodyguards. In front stood the defiant Kevin Taylor, and Alton Young felt uneasy inside, knowing the General was truly angry this time.

Seeing everyone silent, Alton Young mustered the courage to speak, "General, the young master knows his mistake, please forgive him this time!"

The troublemaker Kevin, however, refused to cooperate, saying stubbornly, "I did nothing wrong!"

General Taylor raised his hand to strike Kevin, but Kevin stood firm and unafraid. Despite his anger, General Taylor hesitated and couldn’t bring himself to hit him.

"...Didn’t grandpa say he’d give me anything I wanted? I want that little baby!" Kevin insisted.

General Taylor sighed and reasoned, "You like her, when she grows up, I’ll ask for her hand in marriage for you and bring her into our family. You don’t need to kidnap her back... Kidnapping is one thing, but you can’t inject her with sedatives! ...Injecting is alright, but you must use less..."

Alton Young shook his head repeatedly. It was General Taylor’s unconditional doting that spoiled Kevin.

Back when Kevin’s parents were alive, Kevin was not like this.

Such unprincipled words; kidnapping is wrong, it’s not about the amount of injection. Injecting less is still wrong.

Kevin thought of Claire Desmond, who was still unconscious, and began to worry, feeling uneasy inside.

"Grandpa, she won’t die, will she?"

General Taylor scolded with disappointment, "Now you’re scared? What were you thinking earlier?"

"She cannot die!"

General Taylor kept shaking his head and sighing, looking at his little grandson, not wanting to speak harshly, "In a few days, you’ll come with me to apologize in person."

As the saying goes, show a friendly face to dull the blow; the gesture must be made properly. With his old face, he didn’t believe they would dare harm him.

Kevin said nothing, and General Taylor became angry seeing his grandson’s expression, scolding, "You put her in that situation, isn’t an apology necessary?"

"After apologizing, can we bring the little baby back to our house to raise?"

"Do you truly like her?"

"I do!"

"Do you want to marry her as your wife?"

"Yes."

Alton Young was at a loss for words, thinking that the baby was only a few months old, discussing such matters this early seemed inappropriate.

General Taylor thought differently, seeing early courtship positively, if it leads to a great-grandchild sooner, all the better.

With his son dying young, only leaving behind a grandson, General Taylor now hoped Kevin would grow up, marry, and give him a great-grandson.

General Taylor reasoned with his grandson, "Kevin, she’s still so young, raising her will take a long time. Raising a child is not easy. Better to leave her with her parents, and when she’s grown, we bring her home to marry, how about it?"

"No!"

"Why is this child so stubborn?"

Kevin insisted firmly, "I want to bring her home to raise. I’ve raised puppies before, raising a baby shouldn’t be much harder. I’ll definitely raise her well."

"A big difference!"

"I don’t care, I want to bring her home!"

"One is a person, the other is a dog, how can they be the same?"

"..."

"Kevin, I’m telling you, give up this idea as soon as possible."

Seeing his grandson upset, General Taylor coaxed, "Don’t worry, when she’s grown, I’ll ask for her hand for you and bring her as your little wife, alright?"

Alton Young interrupted their absurd conversation, "It’s too early to discuss these matters, that baby is in critical condition now and still in emergency care, it’s uncertain if she’ll recover..."

General Taylor asked, "Is it that severe?"

"Yes!" Alton Young spoke gravely.

General Taylor continued, "Go, go, invite Doctor Murphy over... Yes, find an Air Force pilot to fly the helicopter."

"Yes, General."

Doctor Murphy was a nationally renowned expert who retired this year, no longer seeing patients, only General Taylor’s close relationship could move him.

Alton Young dared not delay a moment, immediately arranging a military helicopter to fetch Doctor Murphy.

...

After a night of turmoil, Claire finally awoke the next afternoon.

"Claire?" Adrian Desmond was ecstatic to see his daughter open her eyes, and his heart finally found relief.

Sally, too full of joy, cried out, "Claire, are you hungry? How about I make some formula for you?"

Claire stared blankly, not like her usual self, causing Adrian’s concern to rise again. Looking at his daughter’s face, he told Sally, "Go fetch Doctor Murphy over."

"I’ll go right away." Sally immediately went to find Doctor Murphy.

Doctor Murphy, aged and having been through the night’s ordeal, had just managed to catnap on the hospital bed in between before being dragged directly to Claire’s room by Sally.

"Doctor Murphy, look at my daughter, she seems off."

Doctor Murphy glanced at Claire, seeing her dazed and expressionless, he also began to worry.

"Claire, you woke up?" Doctor Murphy spoke gently.

Claire didn’t respond, just lay there, staring at Doctor Murphy.

Adrian worriedly asked, "Does she have any aftereffects?"

Doctor Murphy candidly admitted, "It cannot be ruled out..."

"What should we do?"

Doctor Murphy glanced at the beautiful Claire and reassured Adrian, "Don’t worry, she’s so young, her recovery ability is extraordinary. Even if there are any aftereffects, I believe they can be treated."

"..."

"Claire, won’t you say something? ... Claire, your dad is very worried about you, can you smile for him?"

Claire continued to stare without blinking, and Adrian recalled seeing a similar expression on children with developmental disabilities, leading to a very unpleasant thought: could his dear daughter’s mind be damaged?

"Claire, come, let grandpa see if you’re feeling better." Doctor Murphy examined Claire, who neither cried nor fussed, letting him do as he pleased.

There were things Doctor Murphy couldn’t explain clearly to Adrian; it involved the Taylor family’s interests. If the girl was truly impaired, Kevin would have to take responsibility.

Privately, Doctor Murphy sided more with the Taylor family.

"Her body shows no issues; she might just be frightened, it’ll pass in a few days." Doctor Murphy said.

"Is it really just fear?"

"Well..." Doctor Murphy hesitated, not daring to be too definitive.

Adrian’s sharp gaze scoured Doctor Murphy’s face, staring straight into his eyes, rendering Doctor Murphy uneasy.