Chapter 498

Teresa crossed her arms, lowered her head, and closed her eyes. The room was so quiet, it felt as if their breaths were tangled.

After a while, Vaughn called out, “She’s awake.” His words snapped Jonathan and Teresa from their daze. Fiona slowly opened her eyes, but her breathing was shallow. Vaughn sat by her side.

Vaughn turned to Jonathan and said, “I’m really sorry about last time. My wife was out of line and caused you trouble.” He looked at Teresa too, but neither seemed to mind.

“I’ll go get my grandpa. Wait here for me,” Jonathan said, gently patting Teresa’s arm. Teresa nodded. After Jonathan left, Vaughn turned to her and asked, “Is he really your boyfriend?”

Teresa nodded. Since Jonathan had already said so, there was no point denying it, especially since she barely knew these people.

Vaughn asked, “He seems to treat you well. Haven’t you two thought about getting married? Or having kids?”

“Why do you want to know?” Teresa was confused.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m just saying it’s better to have kids, like us,” Vaughn said.

Then Teresa learned that Fiona had never had biological children; her daughter was adopted. Teresa thought, No wonder Betty is so obsessed with money!

A weak, raspy voice broke the silence. “Water.”

“Fiona, you’re thirsty? I’ll get you some water.” Vaughn left the room, and Teresa looked at Fiona lying in the bed. If she didn’t have any biological children, that would mean Irene wasn’t her daughter.

Teresa softly asked Fiona, “Are you Fiona?”

Fiona took a few seconds to react, then nodded. Teresa’s eyes dimmed. “Do you have any children?”

Fiona nodded, then suddenly shook her head. Teresa couldn’t quite understand what she meant.

She asked, “Fiona, do you have a daughter named Irene?”

Fiona stared blankly at Teresa, as if she didn’t understand. Teresa didn’t ask any more questions. Feeling disappointed, she walked to the window and saw a car pulling in. Irene and Heidi got out. Teresa looked away and left the room.

By the time Vaughn returned with the water, Teresa was already gone. Jonathan stepped into the elevator, about to text her, when her message arrived first: Teresa: [I’m heading back.] Jonathan saw the message and pressed his lips together.

Irene and Heidi rushed into the hospital room. They saw the old lady in the bed, the name “Fiona” on the bedside, and her features matching the photo. Heidi quickly said, “That’s Mom, isn’t it?”

Irene didn’t doubt it for a second. The name was right there, and she looked just like the woman in the photo. “It has to be her.”

“Mom!” Heidi called out.

Irene bit her lip. She wanted to call out too, but couldn’t as easily as her sister. Fiona just looked around in confusion, not reacting to either of them at all.

Gordon, trembling and leaning on his cane, appeared. Fiona took a few seconds to process, then looked at Gordon, trembling as if she were seeing an old friend. Gordon opened his mouth, staring at Fiona. She tried to speak but failed.

Fiona was gasping for air through the ventilator. Heidi and Irene anxiously asked, “What happened? Weren’t you saying she was fine?”

“She’s already old, and after the car accident, it’s a miracle she’s still conscious. We’ve done everything we can,” Vaughn explained.

Heidi asked, “How did it come to this?”

Heidi leaned over the bed, crying, “Mom, we’ve been looking for you for so many years. We finally found you. Look, it’s me and Irene—we’re your daughters!”

Fiona was still struggling to breathe. Irene came over and patted Heidi’s shoulder. “Come on, get up. Don’t lean on Mom,” she said.

“Dad’s been searching for you for so long. Please, look at Dad. It’s been so hard for him,” Heidi sobbed harder.

Irene used all her strength to pull Heidi up. A sigh caught their attention. Vaughn introduced himself, “I’m Vaughn, her son-in-law.”

“Did Mom have any other daughters besides me and my sister?” Heidi asked, noticing Vaughn.

Vaughn answered honestly, “Fiona couldn’t have kids. My wife was her adopted daughter. Betty isn’t here today; she’s away on a work trip.”

“This has to be Mom,” Heidi said again. “She must’ve thought we were dead. She was heartbroken and never had kids of her own. Then she adopted a child for comfort.”

Heidi grabbed Irene’s hand, her voice trembling. “Sis, I thought Mom was gone. I can’t believe she’s still alive. It’s a miracle.”

Irene didn’t doubt it for a second. After decades apart, she believed she had met her mother again.

Irene turned to Gordon. “Dad, look. This is Fiona—the one you’ve been searching for.”

Gordon just stood there in silence, staring blankly at the woman on the bed. It wasn’t until Irene and Heidi called out several times that Gordon’s cloudy eyes finally moved. “This isn’t Fiona,” he said, his voice low.

“Dad, how could that be? This is Fiona. Look, her name’s right here,” Heidi insisted.

“This isn’t Fiona.” Gordon’s voice was full of despair.

Jonathan came in a few minutes later. Gordon immediately grabbed him, complaining, “This isn’t Fiona!”

Jonathan frowned, and Irene said, “Dad, stop making things hard for Jonathan. This is Mom.”

Heidi looked helpless. “Dad, we’ve found her for you. Just accept it, okay? Jonathan brought in the best doctors. Trust me, Mom will wake up soon.”

Gordon shook his head, still looking at Jonathan with that stubborn, childlike face. “This isn’t Fiona.”

Irene and Heidi were tired, trying over and over to convince Gordon. They even showed him old photos to compare. They also showed the photos to Vaughn, asking if the woman in the picture looked like Fiona. Vaughn nodded. “Yeah, she looks a lot like Fiona.”

Irene said, “Dad, you see? All these years, because you misunderstood her, Mom refused to have kids. She ended up adopting a child. And now, she had a car accident.”

As soon as Irene finished, Fiona started breathing fast again. The doctors rushed in for more emergency help, and she slipped back into a coma. No one knew when she would wake up.

It was getting late. Irene and Heidi tried to help Gordon leave the hospital, planning to talk about what to do next. But Gordon pushed his daughters away and sat down on the floor. “That’s not Fiona! Why won’t anyone believe me?”