I Read Their Tragic Fates, and My Family Reads My Mind?

The great tragedy of a life-and-death separation between family finally came to a somewhat farcical end.

A few minutes later, all four members of the Yates Family, along with Arabella Donovan and the others, crowded into the hospital room, making the once-comfortable private room feel cramped.

"Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Lynch, what are you two doing here...?"

Unlike the Yates siblings, Mr. Yates almost instantly recognized Caspian Rhodes and Zane Lynch standing behind the Donovan sisters.

The Yates and Lynch Families were acquainted, and Zane Lynch was of a younger generation than Mr. Yates.

"We were there when Melanie called Miss Donovan. When we heard Ivan had been in a car accident, we came along to see how he was."

Melanie Yates, however, wasn’t thinking about any of that. The shock of nearly losing him had left her in a daze, and now that she’d come to her senses, her first priority was her brother’s condition.

"Are you really okay?"

Ivan Yates was both annoyed and amused. "What, were you hoping something was wrong with me? Relax, it’s just some superficial wounds. The doctor said I was lucky there was no damage to my internal organs. The worst of it is just my leg. It got pinned during the crash and fractured, but it’ll heal with some rest."

Only then did Melanie Yates completely relax, clutching her chest in relief. "Thank goodness, thank goodness."

Mrs. Yates squeezed her daughter’s hand and sighed as well. "It really is a relief. Your father had someone check the scene of the accident. There’s a massive ravine right there. It’s a good thing Rachel reacted so quickly, otherwise that truck might have pulled them right over the edge."

When Mrs. Yates learned of her son’s car accident last night, she was so frightened she nearly fainted on the spot. She only calmed down after hearing his life wasn’t in danger and that he’d only suffered a broken leg and some cuts and scrapes.

But her relief was mixed with terror. The people who helped manage the situation reported back that the truck driver who’d nearly hit them had plunged over the cliff, truck and all, and died on impact. The news made her break out in a cold sweat, a mixture of gratitude for her son’s survival and lingering fear.

Melanie Yates only knew that her brother had been in a car accident, not the specific details, so she was shocked by her mother’s account.

"The accident was because a truck hit you?"

"It didn’t hit them. It would’ve been a catastrophe if it had," Mrs. Yates sighed. "They said the truck driver was driving while exhausted. He was on a mountain road late at night with a full load of cargo, and he came upon your brother’s car as he was rounding a bend."

"Your brother had been drinking, so he was in the passenger seat; Rachel was the one driving. When Rachel saw the truck losing control and hurtling toward them, he quickly yanked the steering wheel to avoid it, but in doing so, he crashed into the mountainside."

Mr. Yates couldn’t help but chime in. "It’s a good thing he wasn’t driving very fast to begin with, otherwise it would’ve been much worse than the front end getting crushed and trapping them inside. They were also lucky a car behind them noticed the situation, called for help, and got them to the hospital. Otherwise, who knows how long they would’ve been stuck on that mountain in the middle of the night."

Although Ivan Yates’s car accident was a freak disaster, after seeing the horrific scene, everyone had to admit that for the two of them to have escaped with such light injuries was a blessing in the midst of misfortune.

This, however, made Melanie Yates think of something else. "Mom, you said Rachel was driving when the accident happened? My brother didn’t go out alone?"

The "Seventh Brother" Melanie mentioned was a relative from Mrs. Yates’s side of the family named Rachel. Because his name included a character meaning "seven" and he was close in age to Ivan Yates, Melanie had always called him Seventh Brother.

"Yes." Mrs. Yates clasped her hands to her chest. "It was truly a blessing from the heavens that your brother asked Rachel to go with him. Otherwise, I don’t even dare to imagine what would’ve happened if he’d been alone. He’d been drinking; how would he have ever been able to react in time in a situation like that?"

Melanie Yates froze, then turned stiffly to look at Arabella Donovan. "This wasn’t a blessing from the heavens. It was help from a benefactor."

"A benefactor? What benefactor?" Mr. and Mrs. Yates exchanged a surprised look.

Ivan Yates wasn’t slow, either. He was the first to put it together, realization dawning on him. "So that’s why you’ve been calling me every day, telling me not to go out much. It’s because someone told you beforehand that something was going to happen to me?"

Mrs. Yates gasped. "Melanie, is that true?"

"...Yeah."

"What in the world happened?"

"I’ll explain." Seeing Melanie Yates’s awkward expression and her uncertainty about where to begin, Eloise Donovan stepped forward to help her out.

It was only then that the Yates family members properly noticed the two young women standing with Caspian Rhodes and his companion.

Mr. Yates sized the two of them up, but unable to recall who they were, he could only ask tentatively, "And you young ladies are...?"

"I’m... ahem, I’m one of Melanie’s old college classmates. Half a month ago, my sister and I ran into Melanie at a restaurant. My sister grew up in a Sacred Temple and can see things that ordinary people can’t. She could tell at the time that Melanie’s brother’s luck was running out and that he would very likely suffer a disaster involving bloodshed. At best, he’d be injured; at worst, his life would be in danger."

"To avoid this bloody fate, my sister advised Melanie to have her brother go out as little as possible for the next two weeks, and that if he absolutely had to leave the house for something important, he must be accompanied by someone."

This was the first Mr. and Mrs. Yates were hearing of this. They turned to their daughter and son and asked, "Is that so?"

Melanie Yates let out a small sigh of relief, grateful that Eloise Donovan hadn’t mentioned their conflict at the restaurant.

"It’s true. I didn’t really believe it when I first heard it, but it was about my brother, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry..."

Ivan Yates rubbed his nose and chimed in, "Melanie really has been calling me about this every day. Yesterday morning, something came up and I had to go out. I was planning to go by myself, but just as I was about to leave, I thought of all her nagging these past days and, on some strange impulse, I called Rachel to come with me."

After hearing her children’s explanations, Mrs. Yates was mostly convinced. She turned to Eloise. "And your sister is...?"

"Uh... that’s me." The words had barely left Arabella Donovan’s mouth before her hand was seized.

Mrs. Yates’s eyes were red-rimmed and brimming with tears. She grasped Arabella’s hand, which felt smooth and soft, yet was cool to the touch and trembling slightly.

"Thank you. I mean it, thank you. If it weren’t for your kind warning, Ivan would have been in grave danger today. I only have one son and one daughter. If anything had happened to him, I don’t think I could go on living."

Though the words were similar, they felt completely different coming from different people.

Arabella Donovan was terrible at handling such direct, sincere warmth from her elders. She said awkwardly, "Ma’am, please don’t say that. Miss Yates and my sister are friends, and my sister’s friends are my friends. It was no trouble at all, really."

Melanie Yates and Eloise Donovan, who had just been declared friends without warning: "..."

Mrs. Yates grew even more emotional, her eyes welling up as she squeezed Arabella’s hand tighter. "You’re a good child. But even if that’s the case, I still have to thank you properly..."

Arabella Donovan: "..." ’Uh, help me! Somebody, anybody, save me?!’

Caspian Rhodes took in Arabella Donovan’s pitiful expression, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. He decided to help her out.

"I am a bit curious, though. What urgent matter did Mr. Yates have that he absolutely had to go out for yesterday?"