The thought of Aaron fills Katrina with unspeakable emotion.After chatting with Farrah for a while, Katrina hangs up the phone. She gets out of bed and takes her pajamas to the bathroom to take a bath.
In the President"s office of the Anderson Real Estate Enterprise the next morning, Carl suddenly feels a sharp pain in his chest when he stands up to get a file. He starts coughing uncontrollably as if his heart is being torn apart.
He clutches his chest with a frown as he slowly sits back down in his chair.
Recently, he"s been getting chest pains from time to time. He has a feeling that there may be something wrong with his body.
Finally, when the pain subsides a bit, Carl picks up the phone on the desk and calls his secretary. "I"m going out. Arrange a car to pick me up downstairs."
After hanging up the phone, Carl gets up and puts on his coat. He holds back the pain in his chest as he goes downstairs.
As soon as he reaches the entrance of the company, the driver immediately opens the door of the car and greets him politely, "Mr. Anderson."
Carl gets inside and tells the driver to go to the hospital.
An hour later, Carl is sitting in the doctor"s office with a lab result in his hands. "You"re in the advanced stage of lung cancer. The proliferation of the cancer cells is very serious, and the situation is not optimistic," the chief physician says with a solemn face.
Carl is stunned to hear the news.
Advanced stage of lung cancer?
The doctor"s diagnosis is like the death penalty to him.
After a few minutes of silence, Carl asks hoa.r.s.ely, "Doctor, how long do I have?"
No one knows what kind of psychological struggle Carl went through in the last few minutes. No one knows how agonizing these moments have been for him.
The doctor sighs, "Maybe three months, maybe three years. No one can say for sure. Either way, it"s best to get treatment as soon as possible."
"I see."
Carl pauses for a moment before standing up from his chair. "Thank you, Doctor."
With that, he turns around and leaves the doctor"s office with the lab result.
From exiting the doctor"s office to leaving the hospital, the short twenty minutes feels like a long torment that lasts two centuries.
As the President of the Anderson Real Estate Enterprise, Carl is still in his prime. He may be old, but he is still strong. But right now, he seems much older. The wrinkles on his face become more and more evident.
A helpless smile suddenly appears on Carl"s face. He whispers to himself, "Karma is inescapable."
The driver waiting outside sees Carl coming out of the hospital, and hurriedly opens the door for him. "Mr. Anderson."
The driver"s tone becomes cautious when he notices that Carl seems to be in a bad mood. "Mr. Anderson, are you all right?"
Carl shakes his head gently. "I"m all right."
After he gets into the car, he says, "Back to the company."
The driver breathes a sigh of relief upon hearing Carl"s words. If he wants to go back to the company, there is probably nothing wrong with him.
Once he is back in the office, Carl sits on his chair and feels his palms sweat.
The doctor"s diagnosis rings in his mind over and over again.
"Advanced stage of lung cancer."
"The proliferation of cancer cells is very serious."
"Your situation is not optimistic."
"Maybe three months, maybe three years."
Every word is like a curse, another nail in his coffin. Like a sickle in the hands of Death, each word slices through him with all its might.
Carl is only in his fifties, struggling to keep his business alive. How could this happen?
Cancer?
What a sudden misfortune!
Since the company is still in its developing stage, it will take a few years to flourish.
At present, Samuel has not yet been trained. He has zero ambition, and he continually indulges in debauchery all day long. How could he trust the company to Samuel?
Carl struggled for so many years to build the company from nothing.
How could he let it go at this crucial time to receive treatment?
No way! Absolutely not!
He has to teach Samuel personally so he can take his place.
Not only can he not be hospitalized at this time, but he also has to conceal the news. If his family finds out that he has cancer, they will collapse.
He has to hold on.
Now that he thinks about it...
Death is nothing to be afraid of. Sooner or later, the day will come.
Besides, he has already lived for another ten years. If someone hadn"t saved him on that fateful day, he would have died much earlier. And the Anderson Real Estate Enterprise wouldn"t even exist.
Although Carl is not afraid of Death, he has to take care of the division of his property before he dies. If he suddenly dies without preparing anything beforehand, his whole family will be in a mess.
And Katrina…
After all these years, how could he feel nothing?
If he dies, there will be no place for Katrina in the Anderson family. His family would probably cut all ties with her and leave her with nothing.
After going through his property, Carl eventually drafts a will.
The will states that in the event of his Death, 30 percent of his wealth will go to his wife Winnie, 30 percent to his son Samuel, 30 percent to his daughter Sophie, and 10 percent to Katrina.
On the day Carl finishes the will, he goes to a lawyer to have it notarized.
In the afternoon, Winnie goes to the company with Sophie, carrying a thermos bucket in her hand.
"Your father has been coughing a lot recently. I prepared some sweet snow pear soup for him. He should feel better after drinking it."
"Mom, dad is so lucky to have a wife like you!"
They chat as they enter the elevator, making their way to the President"s office on the top floor.
As soon as they get to the door of the office, the secretary approaches them courteously and says, "Madam, Miss, Mr. Anderson, and his son are both at a meeting in the conference room right now. Please make yourself comfortable and wait inside for a while."
Winnie nods and walks into the office with Sophie.
After sitting on the sofa for a while, Sophie begins to get bored.
Looking at the office filled with dull company doc.u.ments, she sighs. "Sitting in an office all day is boring. No wonder Samuel doesn"t want to work in the company."
Winnie shoots her a serious look. "Do you think it"s easy for us to live our present life? Your father and brother work hard and are busy with social engagements every day to make a living."
"Thank them for working so hard! I"ll observe what Dad does every day and learn from him," Sophie says as she sits in Carl"s chair.
With nothing to do, she opens a few files to read but is unable to understand anything. Before she closes everything, she suddenly sees a doc.u.ment on property distribution.
Sophie"s eyes widened in shock.