Chapter 49 A Life Under Watch

• Richard had collapsed from high blood pressure and was now lying in a VIP hospital bed. After a lifetime of being decisive and commanding in the business world, he had unexpectedly been laid low by family matters. The shock of learning so many big secrets at once had overwhelmed him. Now, with tubes and monitors tracking his vitals, he seemed both fragile and furious, though he was currently unconscious.
• Diana sat at his bedside, gazing at the stark white walls around them, her brow creased in worry. Ever since Richard had stepped down from his position as chairman, his health had deteriorated, and his temper had grown worse. Perhaps it was the fear that, without him at the helm, the Norman family empire could crack under pressure from uncles and cousins all eyeing the vast inheritance. Richard had always relied on the authority he radiated, but now he felt that authority slipping through his fingers. And while Layson had proven himself adept at steering the Norman conglomerate, the prospect of fully handing over power still left Richard uneasy.
• It was partly to calm those anxieties that Diana had tried nudging Layson into a marriage arrangement—hoping a stable family image would reassure Richard. But Layson had brushed aside any talk of weddings, claiming he had no time for such personal matters. He’d insisted it was enough to find a surrogate or some other means to have a child, thereby satisfying Richard’s demand for the Norman family line to continue.