Crystal found her father's room at the hospital quickly. She knocked twice, and when no one answered, she pushed the door open and allowed herself in. The old man had been asleep, but the door squeaked, and his tired eyes slowly opened.
Todd Henry's skin was pale, his hair was white, on oxygen, and looked almost ancient under the hospital's fluorescent lights. Despite his past cruelties, seeing him like this made Crystal feel guilty. This wasn't what she'd wanted for him.
"Crystal," Todd whispered. "Is that you?"
Crystal hadn't moved past the entry, and she was at a loss for words.
Todd: "Crystal, are you still unwilling to forgive?"
Crystal shook her head as she pushed her empathy out of her mind. She said, "Mr. Henry, you must be kidding."
Todd sighed. When Crystal had been an infant, she'd called him Daddy. Now, whenever she called him Mr. Henry, it felt like a tiny needle inserting into his heart. He said, "Crystal, I'm an old man, and I am not proud of everything I've done in my life, and not being a Father to you is one of my greatest regrets. I don't want to leave this world without having made amends for my mistakes. I originally wanted to leave 50% of the shares to you. After all, neither of your half-siblings are half as smart as you. But you know your aunt Green.... She put a lot of pressure on me."
Crystal took a deep breath and said, "You know, despite our estrangement, I never would have treated you the way you treated me. It was never my intention to put you in the hospital, though. So, try not to think about the business now. Focus on getting healthy. I just came to check on you, so I can't stay long, but I will think about what you said."
"Thank you," Todd said. He smiled, closed his eyes, and within a matter of seconds, he was fast asleep. Crystal said goodbye to her sleeping father, and she walked back into the corridor.
As Crystal made her way towards the elevator, she began to feel like she was being watched. She turned around, but no one was there. This is spooky - she thought, and she began to walk faster.
The elevator opened as soon as she pressed the button, and it was empty. She stepped inside, and when she got off on the ground floor, the feeling of being watched was stronger than ever. She looked all around her, though, and saw nothing suspicious. Then, as she passed through the main entrance, a woman in her thirties approached her. She punched her in the gut, and then she ran into the street.
Crystal bent over and clutched her stomach. "What the fuck was that about?" she groaned. Gradually, she straightened up, and when she looked around, she was disturbed to discover that everyone was staring at her. And that wasn't the worst part. They were looking at her. with contemptuous disgusted expressions on their faces, and several people were filming her on their cell phones. What is going on? - she wondered.
Suddenly, a child ran up to Crystal with an egg in his hand. And then he threw the egg, and it smashed against her forehead and bled down her face. The child ran back to his grinning mother, who was laughing. And before she knew it, the boy had returned with a second egg. This one hit her shoulder and splattered across her neck and chest.
Crystal stormed over to the boy's mother. "Do we know each other?" she shouted. "Why is your son throwing eggs at me?"
The woman smirked and showed Crystal her open hands. "What eggs?" She chuckled and said, "I don't see any eggs. And I don't even have a son."
Crystal's brow furrowed. She looked around, and the boy was nowhere to be seen. She asked the lady, "What is your game?" Her anger had been replaced by confusion. She wiped the yolk from her face with her hand. Then she showed the goop to the lady and said, "So, are you trying to say that you don't know anything about this?"
"That's what I'm saying," the woman replied.
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Crystal hissed. "I saw you give the eggs to the boy that did this to me." Without warning, Crystal grabbed the lady's hair and twisted it in her fist. The lady shrieked in pain. "Who are you? And what do you want?"
Suddenly, Jessica came around the corner. She pointed to Crystal and shouted, "Oh my God! Look at what that cruel girl is doing to that innocent woman. She is a monster. But this isn't her worst offense. She caused her own father to have a heart attack, and she doesn't care if he lives or if he dies. Luckily, I have a video, and you are all witnesses to what she's done here today!"
Crystal was stunned, and her hand opened. She turned to Jessica. "What video?"
Jessica pulled out her phone for everyone to see and played a video recording of her father begging for mercy at her and Nathan's feet. Her father's voice sounded miserable and pathetic, but Crystal's expression was harsh, cold, and unshakable.
After watching the video, the people started whispering. An elderly man turned to his wife and said, "Isn't the man in the video. the chairman of the Henry Group?"
"If he is," his wife replied, "then this woman must be his daughter. We are lucky that our children are nothing like her!"
"She must have known her father had a heart condition," a younger lady said. "Maybe she was trying to kill him..."
"If she were my daughter," the elderly man said, "I would slap her next week!"
As the talk continued, the incident escalated. Voices rose in volume and tone. Those among them that were parents were particularly offended by what they'd seen. And the lady who'd had the eggs was the first to attack Crystal physically.