Chapter 762

Elsewhere, Lydia hesitated for a moment before answering Althea’s call in the middle of everything happening tonight. But ever since earlier, an uneasy feeling had been clawing at her chest nonstop. She couldn’t shake the fear that something terrible had happened.

Outside, the rain still hadn’t stopped. It continued pounding against the tall windows of the Chen family’s old fortress-like residence, creating a cold, suffocating atmosphere throughout the room.

Naomi still looked pale after what had happened in the hall earlier. The girl sat on the bed with her knees pulled tightly to her chest, occasionally glancing toward the bedroom door as though terrified something else might happen again.

Lydia stared at her phone screen for several seconds before finally answering the call.

“Yes, Althea?”

“Lydia, oh my God.” Althea’s voice came through immediately, filled with both pressure and overwhelming relief. “You finally answered. Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you this whole time.”

Lydia closed her eyes briefly. Even without seeing her, she could already picture the panic on Althea’s face right now.

“Sorry,” Lydia replied softly, trying hard to keep her voice steady. “Things are a little complicated here.”

“What do you mean complicated?” Althea asked quickly. “I was starting to think something happened to all of you.”

Those words made Lydia instinctively glance at Naomi.

The girl was still quiet, but her hands were clenched tightly together on top of the blanket. It was painfully obvious Naomi still hadn’t recovered from the attempted kidnapping earlier.

“Don’t worry about me.” Lydia took a slow breath before focusing on the call again. “What’s going on? Why have you been looking for me nonstop?”

A heavy sigh came from the other end of the line.

“Dad’s in the hospital.”

Lydia’s entire body instantly stiffened.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Just moments ago, she had been sitting on the sofa near the window, but now she was already on her feet, her back rigid from shock.

Naomi, who had been staring down quietly, slowly lifted her head the moment she noticed the drastic change in Lydia’s expression.

“What?” Lydia’s voice trembled. “What happened?”

“His blood pressure suddenly spiked tonight,” Althea answered quickly. “The doctor said his condition dropped because he’s been pushing himself too hard these past few days.”

Lydia’s brows pulled together deeply.

Her father-in-law had always been stubborn ever since she first met him. Even at his age, Nathan still insisted on handling too many things himself and rarely allowed himself proper rest. Especially after everything terrible that had recently hit both the Miller and Callister families.

And then… God.

She couldn’t even imagine what would happen if Nathan and Riana found out about what they had just gone through here tonight.

“How is he now?” Lydia asked more quietly.

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“He’s more stable after the doctors treated him.” Althea’s voice weakened slightly, exhaustion bleeding through every word.” But earlier… it really scared all of us.”

Lydia slowly rubbed her temple. Her head felt heavier by the second tonight.

On one side, the situation in Hong Kong was already a disaster. Naomi had nearly been kidnapped. Cale was injured.

And now Nathan had been hospitalized too.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Lydia murmured softly.

“I’ve been trying to contact you this whole time.” There was a mixture of worry and complaint in Althea’s voice now. “That’s why I started getting suspicious. You didn’t reply to a single message.”

Lydia fell silent for a moment.

She genuinely felt guilty about that. And unfortunately, she knew Althea was perceptive enough to realize something was wrong. But there was no way Lydia could explain everything right now.

“I’m fine,” she finally answered as calmly as possible. “There’s just a small problem here.”

“A small problem?” Althea sounded unconvinced. “Listening to you sigh every few seconds makes me pretty sure your problem isn’t small.”

A soft laugh escaped Lydia despite her exhaustion. “Looks like you know me too well.”

“Of course I do.” Althea’s voice softened slightly. “We’re family, Lydia. So don’t try to sound calm when your life is obviously falling apart.”

Those words made Lydia’s chest feel warm and painfully tight at the same time.

She had always loved the way that family worried about one another, even over the smallest things.

Lydia sat down again, settling herself back onto the sofa. Her eyes drifted toward the rainwater streaking down the

windowpane. In the distance, she could vaguely make out members of the Chen family’s security team stationed around various corners of the fortress grounds.