Chapter 423 Selfish
Charlotte’s emotions ran high, her eyes blazing with fury as she lunged at Meryl, throwing punches and clawing wildly.
Chandler shielded Meryl, using his height advantage to keep Charlotte at bay.
“Charlotte, for God’s sake, calm down! We’re in a hospital!” Chandler warned in a stern voice.
“To hell with that! My son almost died, and you’re worried about making a scene?” Charlotte snapped back.
The commotion drew curious glances from passersby, their public spectacle attracting unwanted attention.
Meryl stepped out from behind Chandler, her brow furrowed as she faced Charlotte.
“You keep blaming me for what happened to your son,” Meryl said coldly, “but conveniently forget to mention how he kidnapped me and stripped away my freedom. Care to explain that?”
“That’s bullshit! Dalton would never do such a thing!” Charlotte exclaimed in disbelief, convinced Meryl was spinning lies.
“Why don’t you ask him yourself when he wakes up?” Meryl challenged.
Charlotte froze, momentarily stunned into silence.
She wondered if Dalton really kidnapped Meryl. Lately, Dalton had been acting pretty weirdly. Charlotte had tried calling him several times, but he’d kept dodging her calls. When he finally picked up once, she’d invited him back to the Aniston Villa for dinner, but Dalton had brushed her off with some excuse about being busy.
But he clearly wasn’t tied up with anything. The kicker was that Charlotte had asked around, and Dalton hadn’t even been showing up to hang out with his friends. It felt like he was being all hush-hush, impossible to track down.
If Dalton had actually kidnapped Meryl, though, it would explain everything.
Charlotte’s confidence visibly deflated. If Meryl was telling the truth, Charlotte realized she might be in the wrong here.
Chandler chimed in. “Since you’re here, I’ve got to ask. What kind of parenting led your son to pull such a messed-up stunt? You know better than I do how ugly this could get if word gets out.”
Chandler hadn’t even had a chance to confront Dalton about this yet. If they really dug into it, Dalton could kiss his place in the Aniston family goodbye.
Charlotte fell silent, suddenly becoming much more compliant, her previous arrogance nowhere to be seen.
After a few seconds, she finally spoke up. “I don’t know anything about this. Dalton’s still unconscious. You can’t just say whatever you want and expect us to believe it. We’ll talk when he wakes up!”
With that, Charlotte stormed off without looking back.
Dalton’s surgery lasted well into the night, leaving him in a deep sleep afterward. It wasn’t until the following day that he finally began to stir, slowly regaining consciousness.
By then, members from all branches of the Aniston family had arrived, cramming the hospital room to capacity. Usually, patients wake up two or three hours after surgery, but Dalton’s prolonged unconsciousness was unusual. Charlotte was beside herself with worry, rushing back and forth between the hospital and the Aniston Villa, embellishing the story along the way. She even managed to rouse Dylan, who usually stayed out of family affairs.
The Aniston family wasn’t about to be outdone by Dylan’s personal hospital visit. As soon as Dalton’s eyes fluttered open, Lydia rushed to his side.
She cried out, “Dalton, I’ve been up all night worrying sick! How could you risk your life to protect Meryl? And Meryl, she’s so selfish! Did she push you in front of her to shield herself from those thugs?”
Her words revealed two crucial pieces of information: First, Dalton was with Meryl when the incident occurred, and second, Meryl played some role in Dalton getting stabbed.