Glamour and Sass: A Rejected Bride's Revenge-Chapter 42: Surgery

Cecilia snapped out of her daze when she heard Alex’s shout, looking up to find everyone staring at her.

Nathan had a look of disbelief on his face, as if he had swallowed a fly.

He pointed incredulously at Cecilia. "You... are his mom?"

Cecilia looked at the little boy with mask in front of her, whose eyes were still wet with tears, feeling a sense of familiarity. She stared at him, trying hard to remember.

Before she could respond, Steven picked Alex up. "You can’t go around calling people Mommy."

He then turned to Cecilia. "I’m sorry, Miss Morrison, but this is a family matter. Please excuse us."

Steven typically didn’t care much about appearances or reputation, but he didn’t want Cecilia to see his family’s disputes as she stood here. This odd feeling made him uncomfortable.

Moreover, if she got involved, Nathan would likely investigate and target her next.

He did not want to see her getting dragged into his own family’s troubles because of him.

Nathan secretly breathed a sigh of relief at Steven’s words.

Cecilia had no intention of meddling in the Lawrence family’s affairs, shrugging to show her understanding before preparing to leave.

Alex started to cry harder as his ’Mommy’ was about to walk away.

Seeing the sadness in his eyes, she recalled him calling her ’Mommy’ earlier and felt sympathetic. She turned and looked towards Evan.

They had already had a discussion earlier; from a Western medical perspective, surgical treatment for throat cancer would come with risks and uncertainties, but there was still a 20% chance of success if they tried their best.

Evan was ready to talk to Steven about this.

He paused for a moment and said, "I have a way to save her through surgery, but there’s only a 20% success rate, and we can’t guarantee she will be able to speak afterward."

Steven’s eyes flickered with a hint of hope followed by disappointment.

A 20% probability was risky.

Even if the surgery turned out successful, if Marianne woke up and found out she couldn’t speak...

A woman who had loved beauty all her life might find that result hard to accept.

Nathan was quick to make his decision.

He angrily raised his voice, "20%? Aren’t you just trying to speed up her death? We don’t agree!"

Tony echoed his sentiment.

"Exactly! Even if the surgery’s successful and Grandma turns mute, where does that leave our family’s reputation?"

Just seconds ago, Nathan had received information from a private detective. Before Marianne fell into a coma, she had written a will and entrusted it to Amy Lawrence.

Amy is the adopted daughter of Steven’s aunt. After her mother, Niki Lawrence, went through a failed marriage and subsequent divorce, they had been living abroad for nearly a decade, rarely returning home. They barely got involved in any family issues.

Who would have thought Marianne would make such a move?

Nathan had asked the detective for details of the will, only to be told they couldn’t obtain them.

Now, the best solution for him was for Marianne to die quickly. Then he will try hard to prevent Amy from returning to the country with Marianne’s will and take over the inheritance as the eldest son as soon as possible. Once his own grandson was born, he would find an excuse to get rid of Alex. Also, he already had a dirty plan to deal with Ethan regarding the shares.

Until then, whether it was the Lawrence Group or the family itself, everything would ultimately fall into his hands.

So, although he claimed he didn’t want Marianne to die, he was more afraid of that 20%

success rate. He would much rather she lay there, with only a few days left to live.

"Shut up!"

Steven’s brows furrowed as he tentatively asked, "Is there really no other way?"

He should have felt hopeful. Since discovering Marianne’s throat cancer, he had searched worldwide for specialists to treat her, all of whom said they couldn’t help.

And now that Evan was offering a 20% chance, it gave him a glimpse of hope.

Naturally, it made him a little greedy.

Evan shook his head. "The biggest risk of this surgery isn’t the cancer cells but the risk of blood infection during the process." He suddenly remembered something.

"However, there is a way to reduce that risk—using that traditional Chinese method..."

He scratched his head, trying to recall. "What is that needle treatment called again?"

"Acupuncture. I know a technique that can solve your issue." Cecilia’s voice rang out just at that moment.

Only when Evan mentioned blood infection did she recall the acupuncture technique she knew of.

After her mom passed away, she suffered from a speech disorder. For years, she had locked herself in her room, not out of despair but to search ancient texts for ways to save her mother.

Because her mother also died from a blood infection during treatment.

That was why Cecilia had mastered this particular technique.

With Evan’s medical skills and the acupuncture method’s assistance, the surgery’s success rate could greatly increase.

"I can help you."

Steven looked into Cecilia’s eyes and decided to put his trust in her.

Nathan still tried to intervene. "Steven, you’re basically sending your grandmother to her death! You’re nothing but an unfilial grandson!"

Steven’s eyes were icy cold.

"I will save Grandmother, and don’t think I’m unaware of your schemes. We’ll settle the scores later!"

Soon, Marianne was wheeled into the operating room.

Hours later, Cecilia emerged, looking exhausted.

She had stayed up all night, and the lingering effects from the medicine made it difficult for her to stand any longer.

She stumbled toward Steven, wanting to tell him that the surgery turned out successful.

But before she could reach him, her body could not hold up anymore, and she suddenly collapsed.

Seeing Cecilia approaching him, Steven stood up to greet her. However, he noticed something was wrong as he hurried forward to catch her falling figure.

"Miss Morrison!"

Cecilia shook her head to indicate she was fine, but in her haze, she saw a stunning woman in high heels approaching Steven from behind.

"Steven."

Her voice was soft and melodious, her gaze tender as she looked at him.

"I’m back."