Chapter 167: The Truth Unravels
“Mom.” Seeing Ravenna sitting on the floor, Orion rushed upstairs to help her up. “Why aren’t you lying in bed? What are you doing out here?”
After Galatea left, Ravenna felt a surge of strength and decided to take a walk downstairs. But as fate would have it, she overheard the conversation between Griffon and Orion. Her voice trembled as she asked, “Is everything you just said true?”
Orion glanced at Griffon, who then stepped forward to support Ravenna back to the bedroom. “What you need to do now is focus on your health. Don’t worry about anything else,” Griffon said, trying to deflect.
They helped Ravenna back to bed, but her mind was racing, and she couldn’t contain her emotions. “So, you admit it then?” she demanded, her voice shaking with anger.
Orion and Griffon both fell silent, not daring to speak.
“Tell me!” Ravenna’s voice grew stern, now fully aware that Griffon would say nothing. She turned to Orion. “Orion, tell me. Is what I heard true?”
Orion lowered his gaze, guilt washing over him. “Mom, I know I was wrong,” he admitted, his voice filled with regret. “When I found out Marigold had arranged for a woman to have a child with Alaric, I lost it. And when the doctor said Alaric showed signs of waking up, I panicked. I thought if Alaric found out he had a son, and that the child’s mother wasn’t me, he would go to her and never want me again. I didn’t know what else to do, so I asked Dad for help.”
Ravenna’s shock deepened as she processed his words. “So, you bribed the doctor and tampered with the DNA results?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I didn’t know what else to do, Mom! It was all Marigold’s fault!” Orion pushed the blame onto the Knight family. “Marigold was the one who went behind our backs and arranged all of this. She started it first, so we couldn’t be blamed.”
Ravenna’s anger flared at the audacity of Orion’s words. “How can you say that, Orion?!” she demanded, her face flushing with fury. “Do you really think it’s all Marigold’s fault? What about Galatea? Her accident—”
She stopped herself, her eyes widening in disbelief. She looked at Griffon, stunned by the weight of his betrayal. “It wasn’t an accident, was it? You were behind it, Griffon! You did this to her!”
“Enough, Ravenna,” Griffon snapped, his patience wearing thin. “Your health isn’t good. Stop dwelling on the past. Forget what happened today.”
Ravenna’s eyes filled with tears, her heart breaking under the weight of his words. “Forget it? How can I just forget? You’ve caused so much harm. How could you do this?”
Griffon turned away, refusing to engage. He gave no further response, leaving Ravenna to cry silently. Orion, caught in the middle, was unsure of how to comfort her.
“I’ve already told Galatea she doesn’t need to come anymore. I’ll find you a new doctor,” Griffon said flatly.
Ravenna’s pain was now mixed with guilt and regret. “You think we can just move on from this? You think it’ll all be fine?” she asked, her voice trembling. “What if Mr. Knight Senior finds out what we did? How will we explain this?”
Griffon’s expression hardened. “I told you, forget about it. You’re not well. Focus on getting better.”
But Ravenna wasn’t willing to let it go. She grabbed her phone, her hands shaking as she dialed Alaric’s number. “I’ll call Alaric,” she said, determination in her voice. “We’ll apologize properly. He’ll forgive us.”
“Mom!” Orion reacted quickly, yanking the phone from her hand. “No! You can’t call Alaric!”
“Orion, if we’ve made a mistake, we shouldn’t keep going down this path,” Ravenna pleaded, tears streaming down her face as she tried to retrieve her phone. But before she could, Griffon, now visibly enraged, snatched the phone from her hands and threw it onto the floor with a crash.
“No!” Griffon barked. “Focus on your recovery. You’re not to worry about anything else!”
He stormed out of the room, leaving Ravenna to sob in despair. She pointed at him, her voice shaking with anger. “Griffon, you’re ruining Orion, not helping him!”
Suddenly, Ravenna gasped for air, clutching her chest. She felt as though she couldn’t breathe, and the words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat. Panic surged within her.
“Dad, come quickly! Dad!” Orion was now genuinely frightened. He rushed to Griffon, shouting for help.
Griffon, hearing the panic in his son’s voice, rushed back to Ravenna’s side. Seeing her in such a state, he immediately called for an ambulance.
At the Hospital
Cormac was on his way back to the Nash family home when he received the call about Ravenna’s condition. Without hesitation, he turned around and drove straight to the hospital. Upon arriving, he rushed into the emergency room, where he found Griffon and Orion anxiously waiting outside.
“Where’s Mom?” Cormac asked, his voice filled with worry.
“She’s still in treatment,” Orion answered, tears welling up in his eyes. “She was fine earlier, but after Galatea left, she suddenly collapsed.”
Cormac’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Her condition had been stable. Why was she suddenly taken to the emergency room?”
Orion glanced at Griffon, unsure of how to explain the situation. He knew Cormac had a good relationship with Alaric, and if Cormac found out about the DNA tampering, it would likely provoke the same reaction as Ravenna’s.
“It was Galatea,” Griffon answered coldly. “Ravenna was fine until Galatea came in for her chemotherapy. After Galatea left, Ravenna suddenly became ill.”
Orion nodded, hesitantly echoing Griffon’s words. “Yes, it was right after Galatea treated her that this happened.”
Cormac stood still for a moment, processing the information. Something didn’t sit right with him, but he said nothing. He could only pray that Ravenna would pull through and that the truth would come to light soon.