Rupert barked at the guards again, "Are you deaf?! I said, make them eat those! Have they eaten yet?! Shove it down their throats! Especially Mr. Shaw's dear mother. She's allergic to lobster, isn't she? Well, as a nutrition expert, I'd like to see what kind of allergy can't be cured by force-feeding!"

The guards followed orders and began stuffing the lobster rolls into Richard and Leona's mouths mercilessly. Before they could even swallow what was in their mouths, more was crammed in.

Saliva, lobster filling, and bits of bread smeared all over their faces.

Richard's face turned bright red with rage, while Leona's breathing was clearly becoming labored.

Seeing Leona about to pass out, Richard somehow found the strength to break free from the guard restraining him and tried to reach her. Yet, the next moment, another guard kicked him hard and sent him crashing to the floor.

Rupert looked down at Richard as if he were trash. "I was kind enough to offer you food, and not only are you ungrateful, but you dare to resist, so don't blame me for being ruthless!"

He turned to the guards and shouted, "Beat this old fool senseless! I want to see if he's really as tough as he's acting!"

The guards immediately began punching and kicking Richard. Within moments, he fell silent and stopped moving.

Leona's breathing grew weaker. Yet, as she stared at Richard's motionless body, tears streamed from her clouded eyes.

I struggled desperately against the guards holding me back and screamed, "Rupert! Stop this! Are you trying to kill someone?!"

Rupert looked down at me calmly, almost smugly. "Mr. Shaw, so what if someone dies? Do you really think Ms. Prescott would send me to prison over your two hick parents?"

My heart raced with panic, but I knew deep down that Rupert was right. He was Jaclyn's most trusted butler, while my marriage to her was nothing more than an arranged engagement made by our grandparents decades ago.

After we got married, she treated me with complete indifference. For ten years straight, she let Rupert humiliate me at every turn.

Seeing Richard and Leona on the verge of death, I suddenly noticed a fruit knife in the bowl on the dining table. I broke free from the guards restraining me and lunged for it.

Before anyone could react, I grabbed the knife and pressed it against Rupert's throat, yelling to the guards, "Pull the car up to the front door, and get the two elders into it. None of you is allowed to follow!"

Rupert's face immediately turned pale with fear, and he quickly told the guards, "Do as he says!"

At the same time, he did not forget to threaten me through gritted teeth. "Ivan, if Ms. Prescott finds out what you've done to me, you're dead!"

With lives on the line, I ignored him completely.

Once the guards followed my instructions and got the two elders into the car, I dragged Rupert to the door, shoved him aside, and immediately drove off toward Jaclyn's hospital.

The Prescott family was one of Oakville's most prominent families. Richard and Leona adored Jaclyn so much that they did not force her to inherit the company. Instead, they allowed her to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor and even invested a fortune to build her a large private hospital.

I drove at breakneck speed, racing against time to reach the hospital. I told myself that as long as I could get them there, everything would be fine. After all, Jaclyn would not refuse to save her own parents.

At the same time, I called Jaclyn over and over while driving. Unsurprisingly, every call was rejected.

I did not expect anything different. Over all these years, I was only ever able to contact Jaclyn through Rupert, and she never once answered my calls or replied to my messages.

Finally, I pulled up to the hospital's emergency entrance and grabbed a passing nurse by the arm. "I'm Ms. Jaclyn Prescott's husband! Her parents need medical attention immediately! One was beaten unconscious, and the other is having a severe allergic reaction. Get someone to take them to the ER now!"

However, the young nurse just rolled her eyes at me. "Sir, you've got to be kidding me. Everyone at this hospital knows Ms. Prescott's boyfriend is Mr. Rupert Williams. If you want to skip the line, at least come up with a better story!"

I froze for a moment, but the situation was far too critical to waste time explaining.

I gripped the nurse's arm tighter and said, "Go find Jaclyn right now and tell her that Ivan Shaw sent you. Tell her everything I just said; she'll handle it!"

Seeing the urgency in my expression, the nurse did not dare delay any longer and hurried upstairs to find Jaclyn.

Before long, Jaclyn came down with her.

The moment she saw me, she snapped coldly, "What is wrong with you?! Rupert just called me. He was kind enough to offer your parents dinner, and instead of being grateful, you lied about your mother having an allergy and even attacked Rupert with a knife. You're getting more out of control by the day!"

I was stunned speechless by these false accusations, but there was no time to argue.

I pointed frantically at the car I drove. "They're not my parents; they're your parents! They're both unconscious in the car right now. You need to get them to the ER immediately!"

Jaclyn did not even glance at the car. She yanked her hand away from me and turned to leave.

She simply replied, "My parents? My parents settled abroad years ago and never came back. You'll say anything just to skip the line! Rupert has a PhD in nutrition, and he said your mother just overate. She's fine. I'm the hospital director, and you're my family, so I have to avoid any conflict of interest. I can't let you cut the line."

She added, "Go register and wait your turn like everyone else. Stop trying to use the Prescott family name to take shortcuts."

Realizing I could not count on Jaclyn, and knowing that waiting in line could take forever, I decided to drive Richard and Leona to the nearest public hospital instead.

Just then, hospital security suddenly set up barriers around the car.

I stared in disbelief. "What are you doing?!"

The guard looked at me with contempt. "Mr. Williams just called and said the car you drove here belongs to him. You took it without his permission, which makes it stolen property. Until Mr. Williams arrives at the hospital, I can't let you drive this car away!"

My face burned with anger. "This is my family's car! How can Rupert claim it's stolen property?!"

The guard remained unmoved. "I'm sorry, but Ms. Prescott has made it clear to all of us that Mr. Williams' orders are equivalent to her orders. Please don't cause a scene."

My vision blurred just thinking about the two elderly people lying unconscious in the car.

Rupert was basically committing murder!

I tried calling Jaclyn, but this time the call showed I was blocked. With no other option, I called the police and briefly explained how Rupert caused Richard and Leona to fall unconscious and how the hospital security was unlawfully detaining my car.

Before long, a police car arrived at the hospital. Just when I thought things might finally take a turn for the better, Jaclyn stepped in as the hospital director and spoke to the officers before I could.

"My husband, Ivan, had a little disagreement with our butler. The two elderly people just overate; he's lying about an allergic reaction to frame the butler. And that car at the emergency entrance isn't our family car. Although it used to be registered under my name, it was transferred to Mr. Williams a long time ago. Ivan did, in fact, steal someone else's car. I apologize on his behalf for wasting your time. I'm truly sorry."

I was about to argue back when Jaclyn suddenly grabbed me and pulled me aside. She lowered her voice so only I could hear, her tone cold and threatening.

"I'll deal with you later for falsely reporting Rupert to the police! But if you dare say another word of nonsense right now, your parents won't get any treatment at my hospital!"

I did not care about her threats. As long as she saw who was actually in the car, I was sure she would not ignore them.

Just then, another car suddenly pulled into the hospital.

Jaclyn answered a phone call, and her expression immediately changed. She rushed to the car and anxiously ordered the medical staff to lift Rupert onto a stretcher.

"Get Rupert to the ER right now! He was cut on the neck earlier! What if he gets tetanus?!"

Rupert shot me a smug look, then pretended to say weakly, "Ms. Prescott, I know you're worried about me, but I can't break the hospital's rules. I should just wait in line like everyone else."

Jaclyn froze for a moment. As if realizing something, she glanced at me before saying, "How can Ivan even compare to you?! He's my family, so I can't show favoritism. But he injured you earlier, and as his wife, I should make it up to you, so this is not cutting the line, this is completely justified!"

Everything happened so fast that before I could react, the stretcher had wheeled Rupert into the emergency room.

In the meantime, the police left.

Furious, I grabbed Jaclyn's arm. "Jaclyn! Do you have any conscience at all?! Those people in the car are your parents! You won't save your own parents, but you're saving the person who hurt them. Are you even human?!"

Yet, Jaclyn simply shoved me to the ground and spat, "Ivan, those are your parents, not mine. And they just have indigestion. What's there to save?! I told you when we got married not to think that marrying me meant you could use the Prescott family resources however you wanted.

"Luckily, Rupert's been keeping an eye on you all these years. Otherwise, you'd even try to pull strings for something as simple as waiting in line at a hospital. As expected, someone from the countryside has such limited awareness!"

With that, she ignored me lying on the ground and followed Rupert directly into the ER.

A chill spread through my entire body. With no other choice, I tried to call the police again, but after fumbling for my phone, I realized it was gone.

It suddenly hit me that Jaclyn must have taken it while she was talking to me earlier.

I was about to ask other patients waiting nearby if I could borrow their phones, but a circle of tall security guards surrounded me.

The lead guard said, "Ms. Prescott just instructed us not to let you cut the line, not to let you leave, and not to let you file another false police report. Just stay here and wait for your turn!"

With all hope slipping away, I leaned weakly against the hospital wall and could only accept reality.

However, Leona's breathing was getting weaker, and Richard was in no better condition.

After what felt like forever, it was finally my turn. I hurriedly asked the medical staff to move Richard and Leona onto stretchers, but at that moment, the doctor stopped me.

He explained, "Our hospital has a policy. The family must make a payment first before the patient can receive treatment, so Mr. Shaw, please go pay 2000 dollars first."

I froze, then said urgently, "Lives are at stake! Treat them first! I'll get the money together right away!"