Chapter 499 The Will to Live
That’s right, she must be jealous. I can sense her jealousy from the way she worded her text. More importantly, she deleted the text almost immediately after sending it to me. It shows that she realized how she was in no position to ask me such a question, and it shows that she feels too self-conscious to leave the text there for me to read it. Does that mean that she’s starting to care about me? Toby wondered.
When Toby realized that Sonia might be developing feelings for him, he didn’t feel very happy about it. Instead, he furrowed his brows and tensed his facial muscles. There seemed to be a dark, gloomy cloud above his figure. Logically speaking, I should be happy to find out that Sonia cares about me, but fate is a cruel thing—I can’t believe she’s only developing feelings for me when I’m at the end of my life.
His gaze darkened as he tilted his head downward to look at his chest, where his heart was beating weakly. I was starting to lose all hope in life before this, but I have to admit that I’m starting to regain my fighting spirit now that Sonia seems to be developing feelings for me. Just the thought of this possibility gives me a reason to live—it makes me think about spending the rest of my life with Sonia.
Previously, Toby had decided to go with the flow as he searched for a heart donor. A part of him knew that he wouldn’t be able to find a suitable one, and a part of him knew that he was going to die in the end. Since he thought that Sonia had no feelings for him, he had decided to let go of Sonia and accept his eventual death. However, now that Sonia seemed to have feelings for him, he no longer wanted to die. He wanted to find a donor, and he wanted to live! But it was simply too hard to find a suitable match…
Toby’s phone started ringing then. He quickly regained control over his emotions before he picked the call up. “Yes?”
“The false articles have been dealt with, President Fuller. Our company’s legal department will go to court with those media companies in three days,” Tom reported.
“Okay.” Toby nodded.
“Also, I found the paparazzi who snapped the photos of you and Lily. He isn’t under any media company—he works alone,” Tom uttered as he adjusted his glasses.
Toby narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. “Which media company did he sell those photos to, then?”
“He didn’t sell the photos to a media company. He sold it to Lily,” Tom said in a serious tone.
“Lily?” Toby pursed his lips. “Why did the paparazzi sell it to her?”
“Because Lily was the one who ordered the paparazzi to snap photos of both of you!” Tom explained in a stern voice. “According to what the paparazzi said, Lily contacted him before the social event and ordered him to wait around outside the hotel. She wanted him to snap photos of both of you interacting intimately, and she offered him a payment of 100,000 just for the photos. Last night, he sent the photos to Lily, and Lily passed them over to the media. She was the one who told the media that you guys were getting engaged.”
Toby gripped his mobile phone so tightly that it looked like he was about to crush his phone into pieces. “I see,” he hissed. His eyes were burning with rage. Previously, Toby had assumed that it was a coincidence to have the photos taken in such a manner. However, he hadn’t expected someone to have planned it all out behind his back. That’s great! Good job, McRae Family!
Tom continued, “I believe that Lily’s just using this opportunity to go viral with you, President Fuller. Perhaps she wanted to boost the McRae Group’s stocks. Since you don’t read entertainment news, you wouldn’t have found out about the ‘engagement’ if no one told you about all the gossip online. If that were the case, then you wouldn’t make an official statement, and the Internet would continue to believe that you guys were getting engaged. That way, the McRae group would leech on Fuller Group’s reputation and grow along with us. They probably thought that they would be able to get more partnerships once their reputation improved.”
Tom let out a frustrated laugh before he continued. “Now that you’ve clarified yourself and stated that you do not have plans for an engagement, the McRae Group’s stocks might not increase in value, but they still wouldn’t drop drastically. You were the one who brought Lily to the social event, and there are photos to prove it. You may have clarified the rumors about the engagement, but netizens will now start to mock and ridicule Lily’s actions. Then, Vincent can claim that you brought harm to Lily’s reputation, and he can ask you to compensate for her losses.”
“I know,” Toby muttered. He lifted his head to reveal the grim look on his face. “Vincent’s plan would have been a total success if I hadn’t gotten you to do a full investigation on this matter.”
“That’s right,” Tom nodded. “If we didn’t know that the McRaes were the ones who staged this whole thing, you would have given Lily the compensation, and you would have agreed to a partnership when Vincent brings it up again. I think the McRaes made a smart move this time—they found a way that would maximize their benefits regardless of the outcome. It’s a shame that they’re dealing with someone like you, President Fuller.”
Since President Fuller found out about the truth, Vincent’s plan is about to go down the drain. Conversely, if President Fuller hadn’t found out about this, Vincent might have succeeded. However, President Fuller is no easy target as he’s always aware of the things going on around him. He always digs deep into all the matters and looks beyond the surface of things. So, one way or another, Vincent will never win regardless of what he tries to do.
“I’ll let you deal with the McRae Family, okay? Do you think you can handle it on your own?” Toby asked as he tapped a finger against the tabletop. He was tapping at a slow pace, but the sound was enhanced as it bounced off the walls of the large study that he was in. The tapping noises seemed to echo even within his heart, and it made his chest tighten.
Tom fixed his glasses once more as he beamed. “Of course. I’ll come back to you with a report that you’ll be satisfied with.”
“That’s great.” Toby nodded. “Also, I want you to go to the hotel I visited yesterday, and I want you to get a copy of the CCTV footage of the entrance. With this, you’ll be able to show how the paparazzi used a different angle to make it seem as if Lily and I were being intimate.” Toby wanted Sonia to know that he hadn’t gotten close to Lily at all, and that the photo was nothing but a misunderstanding.
“I got it, President Fuller.” Tom nodded. He was about to end the call when Toby seemed to have realized something. “Hold on!” Toby called.
“What is it, President Fuller?” Tom pressed the phone against his ear once more.
“Do you have any updates on the heart donor?” Toby pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I’m sorry, President Fuller. There’s no news about that at all.” Tom looked down as he responded in a guilty tone. Toby wasn’t disappointed by Tom’s update—he had expected such a response, after all. “You can get someone to expand the search to a few other countries. There are more than a few organ donors in this world.”
Tom’s eyes lit up, and he spread his lips into a grin when he heard his boss. “Have you found… the will to live, President Fuller?” President Fuller told me to look for a donor a while ago, but he has never asked me for an update. He doesn’t seem worried about himself at all. Previously, I could tell that he didn’t seem too desperate to stay alive—it looked more like he was just going with the flow. I’ve always felt troubled by this, and I’ve always wanted to talk to President Fuller about it, but I never knew how. I can’t believe he’s initiating a conversation about the heart donor right now! I’m so glad this is happening.
However, Toby didn’t provide a concrete answer to Tom’s question. “Give them the relevant orders, alright?”
“Okay!” Tom replied excitedly. “I’ll tell them to go to a few other countries. Don’t worry, President Fuller; I’ll definitely find you the right donor.” As long as President Fuller is willing to stay alive, I can go to more than just a few countries—I’d travel the whole world to visit hospitals if he wanted me to do that! I can even go to the most rural areas in the world just to find a donor for him.
After ending the call, Toby put his phone down before he stood up to pour himself a glass of wine. Then, he walked over to the balcony in his study as he glanced thoughtfully at the night skies. No one could tell what was going on in his mind.
Soon enough, Fuller Group’s official Facebook page made another post. This time, it didn’t consist of any words—the post was just a video without any captions. The netizens were suspicious when they first played the video, but they quickly understood the reason Fuller Group made this post.
The video was posted to show that Toby and Lily weren’t as close as they had appeared in the picture—it was all due to the angle at which the image was captured.
The angle at which this CCTV was placed provided a clearer view of the situation, and it was obvious that Lily had been desperately attempting to grab Toby’s arm. The video even showed Toby’s disdainful glare at her.
