Chapter 1306

Ill Tidings

After all, that was his daughter.

“What about me, Daddy? What about me?” With his hand held by Natalie, Connor raised his head to
regard his father.

Shane lowered his head and smiled. “I’ll always protect you too.”

And Anders as well.

Aside from Natalie, his children were the ones who were most near and dear to him in this world.

Hence, he would stake everything in their care and protection.

Delighted at what Shane said, the two children reacted boisterously and filled the entire dining room with
the sound of their joyous laughter.

Mrs. Wilson felt comforted just observing by the side.

“All right. That’s enough. Connor, Sharon, stop pestering your father and get started on your food
already. Your father hasn’t gotten to eat yet,” Natalie hastened to say in response to the trio’s tomfoolery.



Connor obediently relinquished his hold on Shane’s legs. Sharon, too, allowed Shane to set her down.

After he patted Sharon on the head, Shane put her on her feet. Then, taking each child by the hand on
either side, he made his way toward the dining table.

Meanwhile, Jackson was at the hospital. He had just completed an operation and was walking out of the
operating theater when a nurse came up to him with his cell phone. “Your phone rang earlier, Dr. Baker. It



was a call from someone named Silas.”

With that, the nurse passed the phone along to Jackson who received it gratefully. “Thank you. You
should go on ahead and get back to your work.”

The nurse responded with an affirmative nod before turning to depart.

Once he had gathered himself, Jackson’s expression grew solemn.

Why did Silas suddenly call me, and at night, at that? Could it be that something has happened to
Jacqueline?

Shane surely would not have gotten Silas to reach out to me if it did not concern Jacqueline, because
apart from that, there’s nothing else left to be said between us.

That thought drove Jackson to pull up Silas’ number and dial it.

Silas picked up promptly the moment the call connected as he had been waiting for his counterpart to get
back to him. “Dr. Baker.”

“Do you have something for me?” Jackson asked while he made his way back to his own consultation
room.

On the other end of the line, there was a lengthy pause before Silas spoke up, “There is something you
need to know, Dr. Baker, and please prepare yourself mentally for what I’m about to say.”

Jackson stopped in his tracks when he heard that as he felt turbulent inside. “Prepare myself mentally?
What exactly are you trying to tell me?”

Silas took in a deep breath before he replied, “Mr. Shane wanted me to inform you that Ms. Graham is
dead.”



The entire world seemed to have gone completely silent for Jackson when he heard that.

His expression froze in place as though he had his own soul drained away. The fingers he had around
the phone loosened involuntarily, causing the device in his hand to slip and fall to the floor with a clatter.

Picking up on that sound, Silas called out swiftly, “Dr. Baker? Dr. Baker?”

That elicited no response from Jackson, who continued to stand rooted to the spot, looking shocked and
discombobulated.

Jacqueline… is dead…

It took Jackson a while to process what Silas had just told him. Jacqueline… Jacqueline is dead!

His body wobbled before his knees buckled beneath him. Jackson kneeled on the floor with his head in
his hands, howling in gut-wrenching agony, “Ahhh!”

Evidently, that was not an outcome he was able to come to terms with.

Although he understood that a tragic end was inevitable for Jacqueline and had worked on psyching
himself up for the eventuality, he had not expected that day to arrive that soon. It came so abruptly that
he had yet to let go of his feelings for her—he was not ready for this.

Quivering all over, Jackson’s tears came in torrents.

Concerned, the nurses close by hurried over to check on him. “What’s the matter, Dr. Baker? Are you all
right?”

Jackson did not respond to any of their queries but reached out to grope for the phone on the floor. After
he got his trembling hands on it, he put it to his ear and asked in a shaky voice, “Tell me that this isn’t
true, Silas. You must be lying to me, am I right? Jacqueline’s not really dead, is she?”






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