Chapter 109

They hadn’t expected Ralph to already be in the hospital room with a lawyer, no less.

As soon as he saw Abigail, his expression softened and he called out gently, “Abby…” But the moment he noticed James walking in behind her, the warmth in his face disappeared.

James Warren and Sebastian were widely known as a tight-knit trio in their social circle. Wherever Sebastian showed up, the other two usually weren’t far behind.

James, in particular, was the youngest and most spoiled heir of the Manning family. With several older sisters doting on him and parents who adored him, he had basically been raised like royalty.

This little tyrant had grown up running wild through high society. The elite families constantly tried to curry favor with the Manning family and often flattered James in hopes of getting close.

Too bad he didn’t care for any of them. He only had eyes for Sebastian, whose reputation in their circle was far from stellar.

James flashed a mocking smile. “What’s the matter, Mr. Fletcher? Happy to see Abby but not so thrilled to see me?”

Ralph ignored him and turned to Abigail instead. “Why did you come here with him? This is the Gibson family’s business. The Fletcher family can help you too, you know?”

Abigail shot back with a biting tone, “Help me? How is this helping me? Am I the one who hit the guy?”

That shut Ralph up on the spot.

Abigail then pulled out her phone and dialed Bianca. As soon as the call connected, she coldly said, “Stop staying at Halden Group. I’m at the hospital now. Come over.”

She was about to hang up, but something Bianca had said earlier came back to her. She added, “Bring Daniella with you. I want her to apologize to me.”

When Ralph heard what Abigail said, he didn’t try to talk her out of it.

Once Abigail finished speaking, the injured boy’s mother, who had been listening from the side, snapped with tearful eyes, “What else is there to talk about? Let me make this clear, okay? We’re not settling this privately!”

James let out a sigh, stepped forward, and quickly poured a glass of water, handing it to her. “What did the doctors say about your son’s condition?”

Abigail’s eyes drifted to the young man lying in bed, an oxygen mask still on his face. Her brows furrowed slightly.

The woman clutched the glass, eyeing James with open suspicion. “Who are you? Why are you asking?”

James pulled out a chair for himself, sat down, and gently said, “I have nothing to do with the Gibson family or that guy. I just want to know how your kid is doing.

“If there’s a chance, maybe we can move him to a different hospital. It doesn’t make sense to keep him here if he’s not getting better and it’s just wasting money, right?”

The woman’s eyes were red as she replied, “The doctor said he can wake up, but it depends on his own will. It’s just that… he was already struggling with serious mental health issues before the accident.

“You know how tough it has been for new graduates these past couple of years. He had top grades, but still couldn’t land a job…”

Her voice cracked, and she was already in tears before she managed to finish her sentence.

James, who came from a business family, knew exactly how brutal things had been lately. Even foreign-educated grads were struggling to find decent jobs, let alone local top students.

Abigail stood quietly off to the side, listening to James talk with the woman about her troubles. “So what you’re saying is that even if treatment could help, he probably won’t wake up. Is that right?” she said.

The woman nodded. “Exactly. What do I need money for now, with my child like this? Even if I got more, it wouldn’t matter. If the Gibsons hadn't run him over, he would still be fine.” Her voice wavered as she started crying again.

James leaned forward and said, “Here, drink some water. Look, here’s what you do. Take the compensation and transfer him to a better hospital–”

“Then stay by his side every day and tell him that you’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars now, so he won’t have to struggle anymore. If he wakes up, he can just relax, live it up, and travel wherever he wants.”

Abigail stared at him, stunned. The woman, too, froze in disbelief and she murmured, “Hundreds of thousands of dollars?”

James nodded. “Yeah. How much is the Gibson family offering to pay you?” His expression grew noticeably colder as he spoke. Ralph couldn’t help chiming in, “No matter what the court decides, there’s no way it’ll be hundreds of thousands of dollars."

James shot him an impatient look. “We’re talking about someone’s life here. What’s wrong with asking for that much money? Once the Gibson family shows up, I’ll make sure she gets what she deserves.”

He thought irritably, ‘If they don’t have the money, what are they even doing talking about settling?’

Abigail finally understood it now. He was trying to solve the problem, but not without making the Gibson family suffer for it. She thought, ‘Yeah, hundreds of thousands of dollars should be enough to teach them a lesson.’