Chapter 298

"What's wrong? Just hand it over right here," Nathan commanded, his piercing gaze locked onto Evelyn.

"Nathan! Nathan! My love!" A desperate wail echoed through the sterile hospital hallway. The shrill cry sent chills down Julian's spine.

Nathan's expression darkened instantly, his body tensing at the sound of Victoria's voice.

Startled awake by the commotion, Eleanor clutched Evelyn's sleeve, her wide eyes filled with panic. "What's happening? Is Grandpa okay?"

Evelyn soothed her with a gentle touch. "Everything's fine. With me here, nothing bad will happen to Grandpa."

She shot a frosty glance at the disheveled Victoria before guiding Eleanor away. "Come, sweetheart. Let's get you somewhere quiet to rest. You can see Grandpa as soon as he wakes up."

The way she walked away without so much as a backward glance struck Nathan like a bullet to the chest, leaving him breathless.

"Nathan!" Victoria sobbed, her eyes puffy from crying. She tried to rush toward him, but Julian blocked her path with an outstretched arm.

"Ms. Sterling, this isn't the time. You should be at your father's bedside or hiring a competent lawyer for your mother. That's what a devoted daughter would do," Julian reprimanded coldly.

Ignoring him, Victoria turned her tear-streaked face toward Nathan. "I've been set up! I'm the victim here! Nathan, you have to believe me—how could I ever betray you when I love you more than anything?"

Nathan's back remained rigidly turned, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. The word "love" from her lips filled him with nothing but revulsion.

He finally spoke, his voice dripping with disdain. "The child is already walking. You've made a complete mockery of everything. If you had even an ounce of shame, you wouldn't dare speak of love. Just hearing you makes me sick."

Julian added with a sneer, "You should thank Nathan for his mercy. If it were up to me, your cheating husband wouldn't get a proper burial, and your entire family would be banished from Crestview—permanently."

His brutal words shattered Victoria's composure, reducing her to hysterical sobs.

After a long silence, Nathan finally turned, his icy stare freezing her in place. "Leave. Now."

"No! I won't go!" Victoria protested with a pitiful whimper, still clinging to the delusion that playing the victim would sway him. She didn't realize Nathan had already sent a discreet text to Oliver.

Within moments, Oliver arrived with two imposing bodyguards in tow.

Nathan's voice was glacial. "Remove her. Don't let her disturb the other patients."

"Right away, Mr. Blackwood," Oliver replied crisply. Rolling up his sleeves in irritation, he and the other guard seized Victoria's arms, dragging her toward the exit.

"I never slept with Dominic! He—he forced himself on me when I rejected him! That's how I got pregnant with that... that monster!"

In a last-ditch effort to regain Nathan's sympathy, Victoria spun a grotesque lie, her voice trembling with fake anguish. "He blackmailed me! When I refused to comply, he decided to destroy me completely! Nathan, I'm a victim too! Why won't you believe me?"

"Victoria." Nathan's eyes burned with a cold fury that extinguished any remaining hope in her. "Our breakup has nothing to do with that man or the child."

Her mouth fell open in stunned silence, her mind scrambling to process his words.