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

Jasmine dug her nails into her palm.

She had just started enjoying the good life! The West family would all be hers someday! There was no way she was getting kicked out!

Wendy had followed them in. When she saw the red handprint on her daughter's face, her eyes filled with tears. "This is our own flesh and blood! How could she possibly want to hurt us?"

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

Jasmine leaned into her, tears streaming down her face, crying like she'd been deeply wronged.

"Mom, I don't know what I did wrong. Dad just came in with that video and hit me, but I never said any of those things. Elara must have faked it with some editing software."

"Okay, stop crying. I believe you."

Gordon's anger faded, and his head cleared.

He looked at the two of them with suspicious eyes. "You're sure you had nothing to do with this?"

Jasmine immediately dropped to her knees and swore, her frail body barely holding her up.

"Dad, I swear it. If I'm lying about a single word, may I pay for it dearly?"

Gordon studied her. Jasmine's eyes were steady and full of hurt, her face so pale she looked like she might pass out any second.

He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his fingers together, lost in thought.

Had he really been played? He had acted too rashly.

"Stop all this crying — it's embarrassing. Fine, I'll look into it."

Gordon turned and walked out without a word of apology, still the same cold, untouchable man in control of everything.

Jasmine's legs gave out and she collapsed into Wendy's arms.

Wendy fussed over her, saying soothingly, "Come on, let's get something on that face. A girl can't have scars, or she'll have trouble finding a good husband. You need to keep a firm hold on that cash cow from the Robinson family."

Jasmine nodded weakly, letting just the right amount of vulnerability and dependence show on her face. "Whatever you say, Mom."

The moment she looked down, pure hatred and disgust flashed in her eyes.

These people only wanted to use her!

These two old fools!

Once she and Brandon took over the West family, she would make them pay!

She was also furious.

When had that little witch Elara secretly recorded that video? And how much more did she have?

She was dead meat!

At that very moment, Elara was watching everything they'd just done through her phone.

The security camera footage was pretty clear.

She took a quiet sip of her coffee.

The screen froze on Jasmine's hateful glare.

Elara zoomed in slowly, getting a clear look at the hatred in her eyes and the handprint on her face, then let out a soft laugh.

Already at your limit?

Too bad. This was just the beginning. The real despair was still coming for them.

Ethan had come up behind her at some point, leaning forward with both hands on the armrests of her chair. "Want them dead?"

"No. Letting them die easily would be letting them off too lightly."

Elara turned off the screen, her eyes drifting to the medical kit nearby, fingers brushing over it gently.

"I want them to wish they were dead, to beg for it..."

"That's our little sister." Ethan laughed, his expression turning dead serious. "Aiden's death... I don't think it was that simple."

"I know." It was the second time she'd heard him say 'our.'

But she didn't mind it. It actually felt kind of right.

Something crossed Ethan's mind, and his eyes grew distant.

He let out a long sigh.

"Speaking of Aiden — our grandfather is in the hospital too. His condition keeps coming back, and they still can't figure out what's actually causing it. We've already brought in the best medical team available."

From what she'd seen so far, the Shaw family had serious power.

What kind of illness could even they not handle?

Elara was curious.

"Let's go. I want to see Grandfather."

Elara quickly pulled herself together and got in the car with Ethan. They came through the VIP entrance straight to Downtown General Hospital.

It gave her a whole new level of respect for what the Shaw family was capable of. Only the seriously rich and powerful got rooms in the VIP ward of a top hospital.

Ethan stood beside her, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. "By the way — you probably don't know this yet, but you're engaged to the head of the Ford family."

Elara looked at him, full of questions, just about to ask.

Then the elevator doors opened.

Her attention was drawn to the nearby consultation room.

She stood outside the window, watching several top medical specialists inside. They were in the middle of a consultation about Michael Shaw's condition.

Ethan noticed she hadn't answered and turned to find her already focused on the doctors across the hall.

He didn't rush her.

Elara stood outside and listened, her frown deepening with every word.

One wrong call in medicine could cost someone their life.

How could these doctors not see that their whole diagnosis was off?

Elara pushed the door open with a kick and said coldly, "Keep treating him this way and the patient will be dead in a few days."

The loud bang cut off the two specialists and the assistant sitting in on the consultation.

The assistant took one look at this young woman and waved her off with contempt.

"Get out. Who let you up here, you crazy woman? If my teachers can't save this patient, nobody in the world can."

Ethan's face darkened and he started to step forward, but one look from Elara stopped him.

He stepped back, crossed his arms, and watched with an amused expression.

Elara walked up to the CT and ultrasound scans and pointed to the abnormal readings. "He spent a lot of time in jungle regions when he was young. He picked up a latent fungal infection from there."

The assistant's sneer deepened, his disdain growing.

"Everyone in this hospital knows what the illness is. Are you saying you can actually treat it? Stop talking nonsense."

The two specialists exchanged a puzzled look. "Ma'am, this is a consultation room, not a place for you to act out. And as I've said, I'm not taking students. You don't need to pull something like this just to get my attention."

"Leo, why are you even wasting your breath? A woman like her isn't fit to be our assistant."

Elara let out a cold laugh.

"You want me as your student? Are you even worthy of that? Even if your own teachers were standing here, they'd have to show me some respect."

The assistant couldn't hold it together anymore, his face flushing red with anger.

"Lunatic! Security! Get security up here and take this lunatic away!"

Elara raised her hand and pointed to the abnormal fluctuating value, her voice calm and unhurried.

"The LDH here shows intermittent elevation. Looking at the dynamic monitoring data, it shows only minor fluctuations during active episodes. You're reading it as an inflammation marker. That's a spectacular mistake."

The assistant spat in disgust. "These two are the most respected specialists around. People have come back from the brink under their care. Who the hell are you to stand there and point fingers at them?"

Elara rolled her wrist and let her gaze drift over them — light and casual, yet it pressed down on them like a weight they couldn't shake.

"Is that so? Specialists — call Pierre. See what he has to say."

The moment that name came out, both specialists went rigid.

How did she know their teacher's name?

Pierre Johnson had been living under a false name for years and never used his real name. How did this woman know who he was?

"You... how do you know Professor Johnson's name? Who are you?"