Gordon was taken aback, surprised that Christian knew about Doctor Athena. However, he quickly remembered that when Christian arrived, he and Tiffany were discussing Doctor Athena, so he suppressed his surprise.
The little one must have overheard their conversation.
Gordon smiled wryly and didn't hide it. "You're right. Only Doctor Athena can ensure the recovery of your grandma."
Christian bit her lip, glanced again at Alessia, and whispered, "Grandpa, I will help Grandma figure something out."
Gordon hesitated for a moment, then smiled. What kind of solution could a child under five think of? Could he even know Doctor Athena?
Obviously not, but the child's sincerity was touching.
Gordon couldn't bear to refuse and, to amuse Christian, said, "Okay, Grandpa will thank you for Grandma, and I'll be waiting for your good news."
"Yeah! Grandpa, I won't let you down." Christian clenched his little fist, determined to go back and coax her mommy.
...
Hospital elevator.
The elevator door opened, and William and Tiffany walked out.
William escorted Tiffany all the way to the hospital entrance before preparing to return to the ward.
At that moment, Tiffany stopped William. "William."
"What's up, Tiffany?" William turned back, smiling.
Tiffany made a conflicted expression, as if she couldn't hold back any longer, and said, "William, when did you meet Miss La Rosa?"
"Miss La Rosa?" William paused, obviously not recognizing the name.
Tiffany breathed a sigh of relief when she saw William's expression, realizing that Alessia and the Laroux family were not acquainted.
But she couldn't allow Alessia to get closer to the Laroux family. Alessia already had Riley as a backer, and having more backers would be detrimental to her future marriage to Dominic and her share of the family fortune.
Although these things were still far away, she had to plan ahead.
Tiffany reminded, "Alessia La Rosa is the woman who brought her son here to meet Auntie just now. Didn't you even know her name? How can we let her go to see Aunt Evelyn alone?"
William blinked, sensing something amiss from Tiffany's tone, and realized that things were probably not simple. He asked, "Is there a problem? Tiffany, do you know something? If there's anything, just tell me. With your friendship with Silvanna, you're like a family."
Tiffany pretended to be hesitant and pursed her lips before saying, "It's nothing, really. It's just that I heard this Miss La Rosa is not simple. She's divorced and has two children, and she's close to many men. What's more, the recent troubles in the Ramirez family are related to her."
What Tiffany said wasn't made up; it was all gossip about Alessia found online.
She wanted to discredit Alessia, naturally not mentioning that those two children were Dominic's.
Dominic didn't mingle in the same circles as William, and with his character, he wouldn't disclose his family affairs. So she wasn't worried that her lies would be exposed.
"The Ramirez family's affairs?" William narrowed his eyes.
He rarely paid attention to gossip news, and he had been busy with his mother's illness recently.
But he vaguely heard some rumors; Ava Ramirez had made a big mistake by mistaking an unrelated woman as her daughter, causing Ramirez family's stocks to plummet, and the company shareholders had changed drastically, even the one in power had changed.
William thought of these things and raised his head. "You mean Alessia is the fake daughter recognized by Ava?"
"Yeah." Tiffany nodded. "I went to the Ramirez family to treat Aunt Ramirez on the day I returned to the country. Aunt Ramirez was so angry that she lay on the bed, and I heard that Nolan's death that night was also related to her. William, I'm not gossiping behind people's backs. It's true that Miss La Rosa has only recently become involved with us, and nothing bad has happened. But such a person is likely to have ulterior motives."
William's eyes showed a hint of disdain. "Thank you, Tiffany, for telling me this. My mom really likes Alessia's son. I'll remind my parents."
"It's nothing. After all, these are just my guesses. I'm glad you trust me." Tiffany cunningly didn't make her words definitive.
William hardly gave it much thought. Seeing the affection in Tiffany's eyes, after bidding farewell to her, he hurried back to the ward.
As soon as William entered the ward and saw Alessia and Christian, his expression turned cold.
Christian and Gordon chatted happily, oblivious to William's change in attitude. As for Alessia, she was lost in thought, staring out the window, paying even less attention to William.
It wasn't until Evelyn woke up and Christian started talking to her that William didn't intervene.
At six-thirty, Alessia glanced at the time and decided to excuse herself for the dinner gathering at the lab later that evening.
Evelyn lay on the bed, reluctant to let go of Christian's hand.
Christian's little chubby hand gently patted Evelyn's back to comfort her.
"Grandma, whenever I have time, I'll come to see you. And if you miss me, you can call me. I'll ask my teacher if I can bring my phone to school from now on."
Christian's sensible words were heartwarming.
Evelyn smiled, feeling a bit more spirited. "Okay, I will call you whenever I miss you. Don't find me annoying."
"How could that be? I'm very noisy. Grandma, don't find me annoying instead." Christian's words were as sweet as honey.
Gordon watched his wife's happy expression and couldn't help but feel happy too. He personally escorted Alessia to the ward door, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to instruct his son.
"William, you take Miss La Rosa and Christian downstairs first."
William reluctantly stood up from the sofa, seeing Evelyn still lying on the bed with a smile in her eyes.
His mother was still ill, so he couldn't expose Alessia in front of her, as it might upset her.
With a disdainful look, William escorted Alessia and Christian to the elevator door. After Christian entered the elevator, William whispered to Alessia.
"Miss La Rosa, I hope this is the last time we meet. Our Laroux family is not like the Ramirez family, and you can't make decisions here at will."
The Ramirez family?
Alessia frowned. William had found out.
Who told him?
He was the one who opened the door for her when she entered Evelyn's ward... it was Tiffany. William's attitude changed after he escorted Tiffany downstairs.
Tiffany must have slandered her in front of William, all for Dominic!
Dominic was nothing but trouble.
Alessia sighed. But judging from William's tone, he probably didn't know they were half-siblings.
Thinking of this, Alessia said indifferently, "Okay."
She really didn't want to have anything to do with the Laroux family. This half-brother of hers, who could be deceived by Tiffany, might not be very clever. It's better to keep a distance.
William was stunned. He had spoken so harshly, and most people would either explain themselves or retort angrily. But this woman in front of him accepted it so calmly?
Just as William found Alessia's attitude strange, the elevator arrived, and Alessia pressed the button. The elevator doors closed.
Watching the elevator numbers change continuously until they turned into a single digit, William took a deep breath and turned back to the ward.
As soon as he entered the ward, Gordon pulled him aside. "Did you seem to have some issues with Miss La Rosa just now?"
Gordon is smart. Even though William had not spoken during their previous conversation, the change in his attitude was obvious, and as a father, Gordon could easily tell.
William frowned, glanced at Evelyn, who was still resting with a smile on her face, and lowered his voice. "Dad, do you know about the Ramirez family's situation?"
Gordon's expression changed, his face turned cold, and he asked sternly, "What does the Ramirez family have to do with me? Why would I care about the Ramirez family?"
William sensed Gordon's change in attitude but didn't think much of it. He simply thought his father was unhappy with his attitude towards Alessia.
William frowned, thinking that explaining it would be too complicated, so he took out his phone, pulled up the news about Alessia and the Ramirez family, and handed it to Gordon.
After Gordon finished reading, he finally spoke. "You're right, William. Don't let your mom contact that child anymore. Go."
Gordon waved his hand to William.
After William left, Gordon lit up his phone screen again. He pulled up the photo of Alessia's DNA test results that she had announced at the Ramirez family banquet and examined it closely.
The more he looked, the darker his expression became.
***