Chapter 5 Even If Your Teacher Comes, They Must Respect Me

Jasmine's nails dug into her palms.

She'd only just started enjoying this life of luxury! The West family would all be hers someday! She absolutely couldn't let herself get thrown out!

Wendy rushed over too. Seeing the angry red handprint swelling on her daughter's face, her eyes filled with tears. "She's our own child! How could she possibly hurt us?"

She pulled Jasmine into her arms, her face full of distress.

Jasmine collapsed against her, tears streaming down like broken pearls, sobbing pitifully.

"Mom, I don't know what I did wrong. Dad just came in with that video and hit me, but I never said those things. Elara must have used some kind of technology to fake it."

"Don't cry. I believe you."

Gordon's rage drained away, and rationality quickly returned.

His suspicious gaze landed on the two of them. "This really wasn't you?"

Jasmine immediately dropped to her knees, raising her hand to swear, her fragile body trembling.

"Dad, I swear—if I'm lying, let me be punished for it!"

Gordon studied her. Jasmine's eyes were firm yet wounded, her face so pale she looked like she might faint any second.

He narrowed his eyes, fingers drumming thoughtfully.

Had he really been manipulated? Maybe he'd acted too rashly.

"Stop all this crying. Fine. I'll investigate this myself."

Gordon turned and left without a word of apology, still the commanding authority figure he'd always been.

Jasmine's body went limp, collapsing into Wendy's arms.

Wendy's heart ached as she murmured reassurances. "Come on, let's get some ointment on that. You can't have scars on your face—it could affect your marriage prospects. You still need to secure a match with the Robinson family."

Jasmine nodded weakly, her expression perfectly capturing fragility and dependence. "I'll do whatever you say, Mom."

The moment she lowered her head, disgust and hatred flashed in her eyes.

These people just wanted to use her!

These old fools!

Once she and Brandon took over the West family, she wouldn't spare either of them!

At the same time, panic crept in.

When had that bitch Elara secretly recorded that video? How much more did she have?

Damn it!

Meanwhile, Elara was staring at her phone, watching every moment of their little family drama unfold.

The surveillance feed was surprisingly clear.

She took a delicate sip of her coffee.

The image froze on Jasmine's resentful expression.

Elara zoomed in, catching the hatred in those eyes and the handprint blazing across that face. She let out a soft laugh.

Can't handle this already?

Too bad. This was only the beginning. The real despair waiting for them was still to come.

Ethan appeared behind her at some point, bracing his hands on the armrests and leaning forward. "Want them dead? I'll handle it."

"No. Letting them die easily would be too kind."

Elara darkened the screen, her gaze drifting to the nearby medical kit, her fingers brushing it lightly.

"I want them to suffer worse than death itself. I want them 'begging' to die..."

"That's our sister." Ethan laughed heartily, his expression turning deadly serious. "Aiden's death probably wasn't that simple. Do you need the family to help investigate—"

"No." Elara caught that word again—"our."

Instinctive resistance and wariness rose in her chest. When it came to the truth behind Aiden's death, she trusted no one!

Something flickered in Ethan's eyes, and they dimmed with sadness.

He sighed. "Speaking of grandfathers... he is in the hospital too. His condition keeps relapsing, but we still can't find the real cause. We've already brought in the best medical teams."

From what she'd observed so far, the Shaw family was no ordinary household.

What kind of illness could stump even them?

Elara's curiosity stirred.

"Come on, let's go see Grandpa."

Elara quickly gathered her things and followed Ethan to the car. They took the VIP entrance straight to Downtown General Hospital.

Elara gained a deeper understanding of the Shaw family's power. Anyone with access to a VIP room at Downtown General was either filthy rich or incredibly influential.

Ethan stood beside her, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "Oh, by the way—you probably don't know this yet, but you're engaged to the head of the Ford family."

Elara's eyes widened in confusion. She was about to ask more when—

The elevator doors opened.

Elara's attention was immediately drawn to the nearby consultation room.

She stood outside the window, watching several medical luminaries inside as they conducted a consultation on Michael Shaw's condition.

When Ethan didn't hear a response, he turned back to find Elara's focus completely captured by the doctors.

He didn't rush her.

The longer Elara listened, the deeper her frown became.

One wrong medical judgment could cost someone their life!

Couldn't these doctors see their entire diagnostic approach was completely off?

Elara strode forward and kicked the consultation room door open, her voice cutting through the air. "If you keep treating him like this, you'll kill the patient in a few days!"

The loud crash interrupted the two experts and their observing assistant.

Seeing such a young woman, the assistant waved dismissively, like shooing away a fly.

"Get out! What mental ward did you escape from? My professors are specially appointed experts from Apex Pharma! If they can't save this patient, no one in the world can!"

Ethan's expression darkened as he moved to step forward, but Elara stopped him with a single look.

He took a step back, crossed his arms, and watched the show with obvious amusement.

Elara laughed coldly to herself. Apex Pharma? Wasn't that 'her' company?

Elara walked over to the CT scans and ultrasound images, pointing at the abnormal data. "He frequently traveled to jungle regions when he was younger and contracted a latent fungal infection from there."

The assistant's expression turned mocking, dripping with contempt.

"Everyone in this hospital knows the cause. You think you can treat it? Stop talking nonsense!"

The two experts exchanged puzzled glances. "Miss, this is a consultation room, not a place for you to cause a scene. And I already said—I'm not taking on students! You don't need to use this kind of stunt to get my attention."

"Leo, why waste your breath on her? This woman isn't even qualified to be our assistant."

Elara let out a cold laugh.

"You want me as your student? Are you even worthy? Even if your teacher were standing here, he wouldn't dare speak to me like that!"

The assistant lost his temper completely, his face flushing bright red with rage.

"Crazy woman! Security! Get security to drag this lunatic out of here!"

Elara raised her hand, pointing at the abnormal fluctuating values, her voice cool and unhurried.

"This shows intermittent elevation in LDH. Based on dynamic monitoring, it only presents mild fluctuations during episodes. You've classified it as an inflammatory marker. How foolish."

The assistant spat in disgust. "These two are the most renowned experts around! Countless people have been brought back from death's door by them. Who the hell do you think you are to criticize them?"

Elara rolled her wrists, her gaze landing lightly on them—yet somehow carrying invisible pressure.

"Is that so? Apex Pharma experts? Then why don't you call Apex Pharma's CEO, Pierre Johnson, and see what he has to say."

At that name, both experts immediately straightened.

How did she know Pierre's name?

Pierre had been living under an alias for years. When serving as the corporation's president, he never used his real name. How did this young woman know it?

"You... how do you know my teacher's name? Who are you?"