Chapter 374
Yannis strode purposefully toward the ward.
“Hi, Yannis,” Spotting the man at the door, Mike, who was being scolded by Devin, looked up and spoke in his soft, sweet voice.
Devin shook his head and said, “Calling for Yannis won’t help you now. He’s not here to bail you out.”
“Hi, Devin, Millicent,” Yannis greeted as he pushed the door open.
Devin stiffened and explained, “Yannis, Mike wouldn’t listen. Despite his poor health, he insisted on going out to play and ended up with a fever. What’s worse, he told the butler to keep it from us.”
In his adorable baby voice, Mike said, “Yannis, the weather was nice today. I–I only played in the garden for a little while.”
At just three years old, Mike sometimes struggled to string words together, though his pronunciation was remarkably clear for his age. The Perkins family had hired private tutors for him since infancy.
Millicent gently pinched his chubby cheek and teased, “So now that Yannis is here, you’ve got your protector, huh?”
Mike had known how to latch onto the strongest support since birth.
“Devin, Mike’s just a kid. It’s only natural for him to be curious,” Yannis said, his voice hoarse behind his mask as he stood in the doorway. He didn’t dare go in, not wanting to risk spreading his cold.
Yannis frowned at Mike and said sternly, “Mike, how could you hide this from Mom and Dad? That was wrong. Understand? They’d be really worried about you.”
Mike was born premature and had always been frail and sickly. Being so young and with a weak immune system, even a slight breeze or chill could easily make him ill.
“Yannis, I’m sorry.” Hearing Yannis’ voice, Mike lowered his head and said in his tiny voice, “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry.”
Devin’s face was stern. “This won’t happen again.”
With a gentle smile, Millicent looked at Devin and Mike, then turned to Yannis. “Yannis, do come in.”
Yannis stood at the doorway and said, “I’ve caught a bit of a cold, so I’d better not come in.”
“Is your cold bad? Have you seen a doctor?” Millicent asked. At his words, both Devin and Millicent’s eyes welled up with worry.
“When did you catch this cold? Have you taken anything for it? Since we’re already at the hospital, I’ll take you to get checked out,” Devin said, walking toward Yannis.
Mike’s wide, round eyes brimmed with concern as he looked at Yannis and called softly, “Yannis-”
Yannis shook his head reassuringly. “It’s nothing serious. I’ll be fine if I just go home and get some rest.”
Millicent said, very concerned, “Yannis, let Devin take you to see a doctor since we’re already at the hospital.”
“No need, Millicent. I’ll just go home and have water.” Yannis looked at Mike and gently reminded him, “Mike, focus on getting better while you’re in the hospital. Once I’m well again, I’ll come visit you, okay?”
Mike cooed in his soft, adorable voice, “Yannis, get better first. Take care of yourself. No need to hurry to see me.”
“Alright,” Yannis said, his voice softening.
Devin walked over to Yannis. “Let me walk you out,” he offered.
The two of them headed out together, side by side. Devin asked, “Did you find Zinnia?”
Devin knew Yannis had resumed his search for her just days earlier.
Yannis’ gaze was empty. “No.”
Devin’s eyes filled with pity. “Yannis, after all those false leads, what if Zinnia’s already-”
Over the past four years, Yannis had probably been deceived more times than he could count in his search for Zinnia.
In the early days after Zinnia went missing, Yannis was constantly falling for false leads. Sometimes, he’d race between over a dozen places in a single day without a moment’s rest.
He searched relentlessly, his eyes bloodshot, his cheeks raw, and he lost nearly fifteen pounds in just one week.
Given Zinnia’s condition back then, even if she hadn’t gone missing, her survival odds were slim at best, let alone that she disappeared. Her fate was likely sealed.
But Devin would never voice that thought.
Yannis’ search for Zinnia had become an obsession, the only thing keeping him alive.
If it weren’t for Zinnia’s wish for Yannis to live on, Devin and the others couldn’t even imagine what he would have turned into.
Four years ago, after they left that island, the emptiness in Yannis’ eyes still haunted Devin to this day. It was as if Yannis’ entire world had crumbled into ruins. Yannis drifted in a haze, utterly lost.
Everyone needed something to hold on to.
Yannis’ voice was calm but carried an unmistakable stubbornness. “Devin, Zinnia is alive. She’s out there, waiting for me to find her.”
‘Zinnia must be alive,’ Yannis told himself firmly. ‘I will find her–no matter what. As long as she’s alive, I’ll never stop searching.’
The Perkins family was nothing if not stubborn. Once they had set their minds on something, they would charge ahead without ever turning back, even if it meant getting battered and bruised.
Devin knew it was pointless to talk Yannis out of it, so he said earnestly, “Yannis, I know you won’t listen, but next time you go looking for her, at least have someone vet things first.
“What if it’s our enemies? Dad isn’t getting any younger. He can’t bear another scare like this.”
Yannis nearly got himself killed twice, which so enraged James that he was hospitalized. Afterward, James flew into a fury and pulled strings with the higher-ups to purge those responsible.
Yannis’ life was the Perkins family’s red line. Business rivalries were one thing, but laying hands on Yannis’ life was absolutely forbidden.
The Perkins family wouldn’t stop Yannis from searching for Zinnia, but risking his life was absolutely out of the question.
They had saved Yannis twice, but if it happened a third time, their hearts simply couldn’t bear it. Yannis’ worst injury landed him in the ICU for seven days.
Yannis lowered his eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to me before I find Zinnia.”
‘If I did, she’d never forgive me,’ he thought. He dreamed of Zinnia crying. Her last words were for him to stay safe.
At the elevator, Yannis turned to Devin and said, “Go back. My assistant’s waiting downstairs. I’ll visit Mike when I’m better. And try not to scold him so much.”
Devin said, “All of you spoil him rotten. If I don’t scold him once in a while, he’d be running wild by now. Don’t worry. I know how to handle him.”
Devin patted him on the shoulder and added, “If you need anything, just give me a call.”
The elevator arrived, and Yannis stepped inside. There were two doctors already inside the elevator.
“Hey, did you hear? That top cardiologist is coming to our hospital tomorrow for a surgery.”
“Dr. Hanover is a medical prodigy. He’s only 28, and he’s never lost a patient on the table. Four years ago, he took on a complicated cardiac surgery with a success rate of less than five percent. Even top cardiologists said it was impossible.”
“Most doctors wouldn’t even dare to try, but he stepped up. And get this–he was just 24 at the time. Truly a prodigy among prodigies. I really admire him.”
“Exactly. We’ll finally get to see him in action when he arrives tomorrow. I have to convince the director to let me observe the surgery."
“If I could even assist, that’d be amazing. I’m dying to see what sets a real genius apart from the rest of us.”
Yannis listened to their conversation, lowering his gaze. ‘A cardiologist?’ Yannis felt a dull ache in his chest as he wondered, ‘If Zinnia were still here, she’d be the one needing that surgery.”
Four years ago, he’d searched everywhere for the best heart specialists. But she never even got the chance for surgery.
Only the best of the best made it into this hospital. Each doctor had survived cutthroat competition from thousands of applicants. Anyone who could earn the admiration of doctors like them must be truly extraordinary.
‘Dr. Hanover?’ Yannis thought to himself. ‘This must be the second son of the Hanover Group, Edward.’
Edward was a prodigy in cardiology. Even Perry had praised him.