Chapter 172 Jessica's

After Richard left, Mu Xin sat alone in the office for a while.

He erased the content about the election on the whiteboard and rewrote the construction progress and timeline for the theme park.

Before Jessica left, she brewed a fresh cup of coffee for Mu Xin.

"How is your father doing lately?" Mu Xin asked casually.

"The same as always. He changed to new medication last week, and his appetite is a little better, but he still can't eat very much."

"The caregiver said—"

Her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. "Hello? Mom?"

Urgent speaking came from the other end of the line. Mu Xin couldn't make out the content, only hearing Jessica's breathing becoming faster and faster.

"I'm coming back right away. Have the caregiver turn him on his side, don't let anything block his throat, I'll be there in five minutes."

She hung up and stood where she was, her entire state looking very poor, then she looked at Mu Xin with red-rimmed eyes.

"My dad choked while eating. He's having trouble breathing, and the caregiver said his lips are turning purple..."

Mu Xin stood up without saying any words of comfort. He took his phone out of his pocket and made the first call to Acton.

"Mr. Mu, what—"

"Jessica's father has suspected acute respiratory distress caused by food aspiration into the trachea. He is currently at Jessica's home address in Oxford Town—"

Mu Xin glanced at Jessica. Jessica immediately recited the address and house number, and Mu Xin repeated it into the phone.

However, he quickly realized that an ambulance wouldn't make it in time, and giving Acton the address was meaningless.

"I need you to contact the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and have them prepare an ICU bed in the respiratory department right now."

"My Black Hawk will take off from Oxford Town in about ten minutes and land on the helicopter pad at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center within twenty minutes."

"I'm making the call now. Once you arrive, just give my name, and the emergency access will be opened in advance." Acton's response sounded very efficient.

The second call was to John. "John, is the Black Hawk in Oxford Town right now?"

"Yes, it's parked on the helicopter pad at the east warehouse. Sergei just finished routine maintenance on it yesterday," John replied.

"No matter what method you use, I need the Black Hawk to be parked downstairs from me within ten minutes."

"Also, send someone to Jessica's house to pick up her father."

"Two cars. One to carry the patient and family, one to clear the path. Bring them directly to the bottom of the Morris Building."

"Arrange four people. Two to be responsible for the transport, two to be responsible for clearing the path."

"Understood." John hung up the phone without asking another word.

Mu Xin shoved his phone back into his pocket and took Jessica's hand, walking outside.

Jessica's tears swirled in her eyes several times, but she didn't let them fall.

On the helicopter pad at the east warehouse in Oxford Town, the rotors of that Black Hawk had already started turning.

John sat in the cockpit, and in the co-pilot seat was a former Army aviator newly recruited by the security company.

The Black Hawk's cargo hold had already been cleared out, and two layers of military stretcher pads and an oxygen tank had been laid down; this was something John had added based on his own judgment after hearing the mission details.

The cadillac escalade only took eight minutes to transport Jessica's father from his doorstep to the lawn in front of the Morris Building.

Two security team members used a folding stretcher to lift the old man out of the car, with the caregiver following alongside.

Jessica's mother followed behind, a frail old lady whose hands were curled into shapes like withered tree branches due to rheumatoid arthritis.

Her whole body was shaking while she walked, but she insisted on following.

Jessica ran over to support her, half-carrying and half-guiding her onto the helicopter.

Mu Xin was the last one to board.

When he climbed into the cargo hold, Jessica was kneeling beside her father, staring at his face, her lips moving as if she were saying something.

The Black Hawk's rotors accelerated, the fuselage swayed slightly, and then it lifted off steadily.

From Oxford Town to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the Black Hawk only flew for eighteen minutes.

There were already people waiting on the helipad, two emergency doctors and three nurses pushing a portable ventilator.

As soon as the Black Hawk's landing gear touched the ground, they took the stretcher out of the cargo hold.

An emergency doctor crouched beside the stretcher, used a flashlight to check the old man's pupils, and listened to his breath sounds.

"Acute respiratory distress caused by aspiration pneumonia, blood oxygen saturation is dropping." He quickly instructed the nurse beside him while pushing the stretcher toward the emergency access.

Jessica ran after the stretcher, then was stopped by a nurse at the entrance of the emergency access.

She stood where she was, watching her father being pushed through the door, and then her knees went weak.

Mu Xin walked up from behind and supported her.

She leaned against him, her face buried next to Mu Xin's shoulder, her hands gripping the front of his clothes very tightly.

She finally cried; tears flowed down silently, her body shaking, but her throat couldn't make a sound.

"He will be fine, don't worry." Mu Xin's voice was very soft. "Acton has already made the arrangements. He is going into the best respiratory ICU in Cincinnati."

"Your dad survived falling off such a high ladder; choking on a mouthful of food won't do anything to him."

Jessica moved her face away from his shoulder and looked up at him. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and teardrops still hung on her eyelashes.

"Mu Xin." She didn't call him Mr. Mu.

"Hmm."

"You arranged everything. If I had to handle this myself... I don't know what would have happened..."

Mu Xin patted her back and didn't say anything.

Time passed very quickly, yet also very slowly. The emergency room door opened, and Jessica sprang up immediately.

"Where is the patient's family? You sent him just in time. Half an hour later, the drop in blood oxygen caused by the lung infection would have started to affect the brain."

"He's now on antibiotics and a supportive ventilator, and his consciousness is clear."

"You can go in to see him, but don't stay too long. He needs to rest."

When Jessica went in, her father was lying on the hospital bed with a transparent oxygen mask over his mouth. His left hand still couldn't move, but his eyes were open, looking at her, his lips moving slightly.

Jessica's mother was sitting on a chair by the bed, her two hands, curled into the shape of withered branches, tightly gripping her husband's right hand, the one he could move.

When she saw Jessica, she looked up and said: "Your boss's people... arrived so quickly... I don't know how to thank him..."

Jessica didn't speak, just pulled over a chair, sat between her parents, and held her father's hand with one hand and her mother's hand with the other.

Mu Xin didn't enter the ward. He waited in the hallway. About ten minutes later, the sound of high heels came from the other end of the hallway.

Acton was wearing a dark blue suit jacket, carrying a folder in her hand, her pace as fast as ever.