Chapter 304: Chapter 304: "Grandma, Hello, I Am Leo Linden.

The moment she saw the message, Rory Linden finally understood why Sean Harrison’s phone had been buzzing with so many notifications.

With Evan Hollis’s arrest, Sean Harrison was Charlotte Rhodes’s only emergency contact.

If something happened to her, the hospital would naturally try to contact Sean immediately.

They had just been on the plane with their phones off, so the hospital could only call again and again.

Just then, the airplane cabin door opened.

After the three of them deplaned, Rory Linden immediately called Jason Stone.

"Director Stone, how is Charlotte Rhodes doing?"

The moment the call connected, Rory Linden asked about Charlotte Rhodes’s condition.

No matter what, Charlotte Rhodes was Sean Harrison’s mother.

"The patient just went into ventricular fibrillation and tachycardia, but we’ve successfully resuscitated her." Jason Stone paused. "However, her condition isn’t good. Combined with the artificial heart, she must remain hospitalized for observation for now."

"Understood. We’re back in Veridia now, and we’re on our way."

As Rory Linden spoke, she glanced at Sean Harrison.

He was on the phone with someone else and wasn’t paying attention to her at the moment.

Outside the airport, a driver was waiting for them.

After getting in the car, Rory Linden said seriously, "Let’s go to the hospital."

"I’ll take you and Leo home to rest first. I can go to the hospital by myself," Sean Harrison said.

His relationship with Charlotte Rhodes was complicated.

He had to handle her affairs, but he didn’t want Rory Linden to witness their strained relationship.

"Let’s go together." Rory Linden reached out and took Leo Linden’s hand. "Leo can stay in my office."

"Okay! I’ll be super good!"

Leo Linden was a very considerate child.

He could clearly tell his parents had other things to attend to and didn’t want to be a bother.

Rory Linden’s office always had some of her son’s toys in it.

There was a Rubik’s Cube and some children’s picture books.

Leo Linden was learning some Celestria characters in kindergarten, so reading picture books was a form of studying for him.

Sean Harrison didn’t insist any further.

The car drove straight to Celestria University Affiliated Hospital.

Rory Linden first took her son to her office. After putting on her white coat, she didn’t go to Charlotte Rhodes’s room right away. Instead, she went to the nurses’ station to ask for Charlotte’s test results.

Charlotte Rhodes was older, and she needed time to adapt to the artificial heart.

Plus, the impact of Evan Hollis’s imprisonment had worsened her mood, which in turn affected her physical health.

After reviewing the file, she went to the door of Charlotte Rhodes’s room.

The nanny and caregiver responsible for her were both standing by the door.

"Is Sean Harrison inside?"

Rory Linden walked over and asked.

The nanny nodded.

Seeing the two of them talking through the glass on the room’s door, Rory Linden then asked the nanny, "How has Auntie Rhodes been lately?"

The nanny briefly described her recent condition to Rory Linden.

Ever since Evan Hollis was imprisoned, Charlotte Rhodes had barely spoken a word in the past two weeks.

She clutched her phone tightly wherever she went.

No matter who spoke to her, she would usually just nod or shake her head.

Rory Linden was silent for a moment before saying, "If she’s determined to be this way, no one can help her."

She was very unhappy about the things Charlotte Rhodes had done in the past.

But the old woman was weak now. As a doctor, she couldn’t possibly do anything to agitate her.

Rory Linden glanced at the situation in the room again, then pushed the door open and went inside.

Charlotte Rhodes was lying on the hospital bed, even thinner than before. The flesh of her face was sunken, and her wrinkles were much more pronounced.

She was clearly only in her sixties, yet she looked frailer and older than many people in their eighties or nineties.

"Auntie Rhodes, how are you feeling now?"

Rory Linden positioned herself as a doctor as she questioned Charlotte Rhodes.

The old woman’s gaze was clouded. Her pupils slowly shifted toward Rory, and she murmured, "I’m okay."

Rory Linden frowned slightly, not knowing what else to say.

KNOCK KNOCK.

There was a knock on the hospital room door.

When Rory Linden turned around, the nanny outside had already opened the door.

Standing next to the nanny was Leo Linden.

Leo Linden looked a little nervous. He spoke cautiously, "Mommy, I accidentally knocked over a cup and got my pants wet..."

The little boy’s voice was soft and childlike.

In the lifeless room, it was like a tender sprout emerging in a desert.

Charlotte Rhodes’s gaze shifted to Leo Linden.

Leo Linden had been eating and sleeping well for the past two weeks. He had put on some weight, making his cheeks chubby. His hair was a little longer than before, covering his eyebrows.

When Charlotte Rhodes saw that little face, her expression froze for a moment.

’He looks so much like him.’

Leo Linden looked so much like Sean Harrison as a child.

Just as Rory Linden was about to walk over, she noticed Charlotte Rhodes’s hand lift slightly at her side.

Leo Linden didn’t recognize the old woman on the bed.

He thought he had come at a bad time and subconsciously took a step back.

Rory Linden and Sean Harrison exchanged a look. She waved her son over. "Leo, come here."

Leo Linden hesitated but walked over anyway.

The little boy took small steps, needing several to reach the bedside.

Charlotte Rhodes could now see Leo Linden’s face more clearly.

The little munchkin in front of her—his cheeks, his eyes, even the look in them—seemed to be cast from the very same mold as the young Sean Harrison.

Leo Linden reached out to hold Rory Linden’s hand, a look of uncertainty on his face.

He didn’t know why his mother had called him over.

"Leo, this is your grandma."

Rory Linden introduced them.

"Grandma?"

Leo Linden’s eyes moved to the old woman on the bed. In a sweet, childish voice, he said, "Hello, Grandma. I’m Leo Linden."

"L-Leo Linden..."

Charlotte Rhodes’s gaze swept up and down, sizing up Leo Linden.

She knew this was Sean Harrison’s son—her grandson.

"Mhm, you can call me Leo, Grandma."

Leo Linden gave a sweet smile, his eyes shining like bright black pearls.

Charlotte Rhodes just stared at Leo Linden and suddenly felt...

’...he wasn’t like Sean at all.’

In her memory, Sean Harrison had already stopped smiling like that by this age.

Perhaps it was the power of blood ties, or perhaps it was this face, so similar to her son’s in the past.

Charlotte Rhodes couldn’t help but want Leo Linden to stay a little longer.

She asked, "Leo, how old are you?"

"Grandma, I’m four. I just had my fourth birthday last month." Leo Linden replied with a beaming smile. "For my birthday, Mommy took me to the aquarium. It was so much fun."

"Is that so..."

Charlotte Rhodes looked at Leo Linden’s smiling face, but she couldn’t stop it from overlapping with the face of Sean Harrison from her memories.

’How did Sean celebrate his fourth birthday?’

She found she couldn’t quite remember.

In her memories, it seemed she had never liked this son of hers, nor had she ever celebrated his birthday.

The phone in Sean Harrison’s pocket rang.

He turned and stepped out to take the call.

Rory Linden was about to stay a little longer when a nurse ran in and said, "Dr. Linden, are you free right now? Director Thorne needs your help."

"I’m free."

Rory Linden agreed immediately.

She put her arm around Leo Linden’s shoulder, about to take her son back to her office...

...when Charlotte Rhodes spoke slowly, "If you’re busy, you can leave him here for a while."