Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 192 every night." Alden choked, struggling to find the right words. Whether his brother would truly abandon Eveleen was anyone's guess. But he managed to say, "I think he can pull through, Natalia. You gotta have sfaith in him. The guy's practically close to crying himself to sleep Natalia gave him a look that screamed 'seriously?". "Alden, do you really think I don't know your brother?" He was about to protest when Natalia cut in, "Besides, there's more going on between your brother andthan just this one thing. Go talk ssense into him, Alden. Coming tois pointless." She went back to her business after speaking her mind.

Moments later, her phone lit up with a new message. Alden had sent a photo. Hamilton lay on the bed, his complexion ghostly pale, the image of sheer exhaustion. Natalia's fingers paused over the screen. She hit exit. But no sooner had she closed the photo than Alden sent another one-Hamilton slumped in a deck chair on the balcony, looking half-dead. And then cone photo after another. Natalia couldn't take it anymore and dialed Alden. "Alden, stop sendingthis stuff." He muttered an acknowledgment before hanging up. However, within moments, Natalia's Twitter was bombarded with a barrage of tweets from Alden. None of the captions made any sense.

My bro might really check out this time.

Looks like my bro's totally broken, huh? Ah, the lonely souls with no one to fuss over them end up like this. Who else would freeze out there night after night if not him? Would anyone even shed a tear if he died? Natalia took a deep breath and opened her chat with Alden. Stop it or I'm blocking you too. After sending the message, she went back to work. Yet after a while, she couldn't resist and called him. The phone rang for an eternity before a hoarse voice answered. "Natalia?" She was curt. "Hamilton, if you don't want to kick the bucket, get your meds and shots. If you really want to die, go quietly. And stay away from my place." She was about to hang up when Hamilton's voice stopped her. "Wait, don't hang up." Natalia paused, "What now?" There was a brief silence. "Natalia, I miss you." Natalia was silent for a long moment before responding with a scoff, "You're sick." "Yeah, I am sick. You always took care ofwhen I was ill before. Can you do it this time?" She snorted and hung up. After the call, she texted Alden one more time. "Get your brother to a doctor. Stop him from going nuts." Natalia was swamped all morning, and just before lunch, her assistant knocked. "Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Schafer from Schafer Pharma would like a word with you." Natalia's movements halted abruptly, and after a moment, she scoffed. Patrick showing up wasn't the least bit surprising to her. With the trial looming and Hamilton's sudden change of heart, Patrick was probably desperate and back to make threats. She considered briefly before replying, "Tell him I'm busy." The assistant nodded and left, but soon returned, "Mr. Schafer says he means no harm and is willing to wait as long as it takes." Natalia let out a cold laugh. "Have security escort him out." The assistant nodded again and left. Natalia was gathering her things for lunch when she stepped out of the elevator and saw Patrick standing nearby, face grim. He appeared a decade older than the last tshe'd seen him. At the sight of Natalia, his expression softened slightly, a hint of concern breaking through.

"You've been doing okay, haven't you?" Natalia met his gaze head-on, her eyes flashing with scorn. "Cut to the chase, Patrick. Sparethe nauseating small talk." Patrick's face faltered. "Natalia, no matter what, I'm still your father!" "Don't insult the word 'father'. You're nothing more than a sperm donor!" "Natalia!" Patrick, despite not expanding the Schafer legacy, had never been humiliated due to Eveleen's and Hamilton's influence in their circles. Yet Natalia consistently showed him no respect. Patrick felt a knot of anger in his chest, but he knew he couldn't afford to clash with Natalia again. He swallowed his pride, trying to appear congenial.

"I heard your mother's showing signs of waking up?" Mentioning Tatiana instantly put Natalia on edge. She glared at Patrick with full wariness. "Patrick, my mother's got nothing to do with you anymore!" He chuckled softly. "Natalia, I'm still your father, no matter what. You don't need to be so defensive." He paused before continuing, "You and Eveleen are sisters. It shouldn't have cto this. Let Eveleen go this time, and I'll make it up to you and your mother. Or nyour price-any amount as long as you're willing to forgive your sister." Natalia laughed as if she had heard the joke of the century. "Patrick, if you're sleepwalking, you can go back to bed. Don't stand here dreaming!" With that, she walked past him. Patrick turned crimson with rage, "Natalia! Eveleen is your sister! Are you really going to turn on her over sguy?" Natalia glanced towards the nearby security guards. "Throw him out. He's not welcat Ron Group's doors again!" Patrick's face contorted with anger. "You wouldn't dare, Natalia!"

But Natalia didn't spare him another glance. Watching the security guard make his way over, Patrick felt a surge of defiance. No way was he going to be escorted out by srent-a-cop He shot the guard a glare. "I can walk myself out!" Stepping out of Ron Group's sleek downtown offices, Patrick's gaze followed the direction where Natalia had vanished, a malicious glint dancing in his eyes. Moments later, he whipped out his phone and made a call. "The task. you've given us, we'll handle it. We're counting on you for Eveleen's situation."

As Patrick ended the call, car pulled up right in front of him. Hamilton pushed the door open and stepped out, his eyes landing on Patrick. Patrick's heart skipped a beat. "Mr. Fowler, what brings you here?" Hamilton's gaze was icy. "I should be asking you that." Patrick's face stiffened. "I, uh, I was just trying to plead Eveleen's case to Ms. Jenkins. Mr. Fowler, Eveleen's really in dire straits. If she goes down for this, her life's over."

Hamilton's piercing eyes seemed to see right through him. "Patrick, don't you dare mess with Natalia. I won't touch Eveleen, but that doesn't mean I won't cafter you and the Schafer family!" Patrick's face turned ghostly pale. He managed a stiff smile. "You've got it all wrong, Mr.

Fowler. I was just here to beg for mercy on her behalf." "You better be." Hamilton watched Patrick slink away before pulling out his phone to make a call. "Keep an eye on Patrick these next few days. Don't let him get any ideas about Natalia." After hanging up, Hamilton turned and walked into a nearby bistro. Natalia spotted him and immediately tried to leave. Hamilton caught her wrist in a firm grip. "Natalia, would you dothe honor of sharing a meal with me?"