Though she didn't have much contact with Reed, she had always viewed him as a man who exuded both the warmth of an elder and the authoritative aura of a leader. Aside from his face, she couldn’t see a trace of Reed in Rex. But then again, maybe Rex was so blinded by his feelings for Raven that it clouded his judgment. Rex hadn’t expected her to bring up his father. Her tone made it seem as though she knew Reed personally. But how could she possibly know his father?

His expression darkened. “What do you mean by that?”

Freya didn’t answer, instead saying, “You want Matteo to warn me? Fine, I’ll wait.” With that, she turned and left without a glance.

As soon as Matteo and Isabella returned to the villa, Matteo’s phone rang. He answered the call, and after a moment, he put the phone away, put on his coat again, and turned to Isabella, who was walking upstairs with him.

“Your great-grandmother accidentally fell and got injured. She’s in the hospital, so I’m going to visit her. You should rest early.”

Isabella looked worried. “I also want to visit great-grandmother—”

“You still have school tomorrow. Let’s visit her after school tomorrow.”

“Alright…”

Matteo turned and left the house. At that moment, Isabella’s phone rang. She quickly grabbed it and checked. Seeing that it was just spam, she pouted in disappointment. Earlier on their way back, she had called her mom, hoping to find out if the person she had seen in the mall was really her mom. But her mom hadn’t answered. Now, seeing the message, she thought it might be from her mom. But it wasn’t…

Then again, if her mom really had time to go shopping on Christmas Eve, she would definitely have invited her to come along. She must have mistaken someone else for her.

An Hour Later.

Orthopedic Hospital, City Center.

Matteo had already spoken with the doctor. Old Madam Wilson’s thigh bone on one side had fractured badly and required surgery to replace the bone. However, the surgery couldn’t be performed immediately; they had to wait and monitor her condition before they could schedule it. The rest of the Wilson family was still out of town. The only people at the hospital with Matteo were the housekeeper and the caretaker, Aunt Garner, who usually took care of the old lady. The housekeeper had informed everyone else. Seeing Matteo arrive, the housekeeper quickly got up to greet him.

Old Madam Wilson was lying on her side. When she saw him, she closed her eyes and ignored him. Matteo pulled over a chair and sat next to her. “Still angry?”

He was referring to the project he had arranged for the Brown and Green families at Wilson Group some time ago. Since then, Old Madam Wilson had refused to even answer his calls. Old Madam Wilson remained silent. Matteo fell silent for a moment before speaking again, “What do you want me to do?”

Old Madam Wilson finally opened her eyes and said, “Don’t you know?”

Matteo did know. He replied calmly, “I know. I’ll have it handled tomorrow.”

What he meant by “handled” was that he would make sure to have the Brown and Green families removed from the project at Wilson Group and take back the project that had been allocated to them.

“And what else?”

Matteo knew exactly what she was asking for. His brows furrowed slightly. “Grandmother…”

Old Madam Wilson closed her eyes again. Matteo didn’t say anything more. A moment later, Old Madam Wilson spoke again. “You can go now.”

Matteo didn’t leave. He tucked the blanket around her. A while later, the doctor came in to check on Old Madam Wilson and briefed Matteo on her condition. He informed him that her surgery could be scheduled the day after tomorrow. The surgery to replace the bone wasn’t highly risky, and if all went well, she would be able to walk with the help of a walker in about a month.

After the doctor left, the housekeeper spoke up in the hallway, glancing at Old Madam Wilson’s room. “The old madam really wants to see Mrs. Green, but she won’t let me call her.”

What she meant was that Old Madam Wilson felt guilty toward Freya. She thought that with her injury, she couldn’t bring herself to ask her to visit her.

Matteo nodded. “I understand.”

The housekeeper didn’t say anything more and went back inside the room. That evening, Matteo stayed at the hospital overnight.

The next morning, Matteo’s mother, Stella, and Matteo’s sister, Matteo, arrived one by one. When they learned that Matteo had stayed at the hospital all night, they urged him to go home and rest.

Matteo told Old Madam Wilson, “I’ll come back to see you in the evening,”

Old Madam Wilson didn’t respond. Matteo left the hospital and made a phone call.

An Hour Later:

The Brown and Green families were notified that they had been removed from the project by the project team. They immediately contacted Raven. Raven answered, “It’s Old Madam Wilson’s request. She fell last night…”

The Brown and Green families were shocked by this turn of events. Miles asked, “So… Old Madam Wilson won’t use this opportunity to ask Matteo to break up with you and forbid him from divorcing Freya, will she?”

Raven pursed her lips tightly.