My Heart Keeps Him Alive 1 Chapter 07
The next morning, the parking lot outside Blackwood Institute was full of cars.
Harrison Sheffield walked into the atrium with lawyers, board members, and several regulatory representatives.
He was Margot’s father, the chairman of Sheffield Medical Group, and a longtime partner of Croftfield Industries.
The first thing he did was look at Margot, whom guards were watching.
Margot’s eyes were swollen. She looked at him like he was her last hope.
“Dad…”
Harrison didn’t answer her. He turned to Eleanor instead.
“Chairwoman Croftfield,” he said. “I heard Nathaniel is critical.”
His voice was heavy with sorrow, but his stance was unmistakably confrontational.
“The Sheffield and Croftfield families are about to become one through marriage. I can’t stand by and do
nothing.”
Eleanor sat at the head of the table, exhausted from a sleepless night. Her face looked drawn.
“What do you want?”
Harrison placed a document on the table.
“I want Blackwood Institute to hand over Ivy Brennan immediately.”
“She has no verifiable background. She has been involved in core Croftfield medical projects for years, and
now she has caused Nathaniel’s collapse.”
“This is no longer just an internal Croftfield matter. This is a serious medical safety incident.”
Several board members immediately agreed.
“Chairwoman, the institute’s program should be suspended.”
“Nathaniel is unconscious. Croftfield needs an interim leader.”
“The board believes Sheffield should help manage Blackwood Institute to stabilize the situation.”
Margot also spoke up, crying. “Chairwoman, I was just trying to investigate Ivy’s situation yesterday. I didn’t
know she would actually affect Nathaniel. If it weren’t for her, Nathaniel wouldn’t be like this.”
She spoke through tears, as if I were the villain.
Eleanor’s fingers dug into the armrest.
She knew the truth. But she couldn’t just announce it.
If Nathaniel’s artificial heart secret got out, Croftfield stock would collapse, hostile investors would swarm,
and even regulators would get involved.
Harrison had counted on that, which was why he dared to attack.
“Chairwoman Croftfield.” Harrison’s tone grew heavier. “If you insist on protecting Ivy Brennan, we will have
no choice but to file a request with regulators for a full investigation of Blackwood Institute.”
The atmosphere in the room was suffocating.
Then the side door opened.
Everyone turned.
Nathaniel stood in the doorway, gripping the doorframe.
He wore only a black dress shirt, electrodes still stuck to his chest. His face was pale, almost translucent.
But his eyes were cold, cold enough to silence the entire room.
His assistant tried to help him. He waved him off.
Nathaniel walked to the head of the table, one slow step at a time.
No one dared to rush him.
Harrison’s expression shifted. “Nathaniel, you’re awake?”
Nathaniel didn’t look at him.
He sat down, picked up the glass of water on the table, and took a sip.
Slow. Deliberate.
Margot’s tears came back. “Nathaniel, I really didn’t mean to, I just-”
“Are you done?”
Nathaniel finally looked up.
Margot’s voice died.
Nathaniel turned to Harrison. “Mr. Sheffield. You were saying you want to take over Blackwood Institute?”
Harrison forced a smile. “I’m worried about your health.”
“Worried about me?” Nathaniel’s voice was flat. “So you had your daughter rip off Ivy’s biosensor patches, shut down the servers, inject her with a stimulant, and cut open her collarbone for the sync chip?”
The room went dead silent.
Harrison’s face shifted. “There must be some misunderstanding…”
Nathaniel raised his hand.
His assistant immediately placed a tablet in front of him.
Nathaniel pulled up the institute’s main control system.
Every surveillance video and medical record from the past day appeared on the screen.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
“Lock down the institute.”
The front gates of Blackwood Institute slowly closed.
The security system went into full lockdown.
Nathaniel swept his gaze across the board members, the lawyers, and the Sheffield family.
“Everyone who hurt Ivy today…”
“None of you are leaving.”