The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

“The baby has a weak constitution, which | believe is a congenital disorder. On top of that, I've also detected premature ventricular contractions in his heart. The condition may develop into severe myocarditis if not treated properly,” the doctor said as he looked at the medical report and sighed.

“The older Benny gets, the more obvious and serious his ‘symptoms of physical weakness will be.” A heavy silence instantly befell the examination room.

Gwendolyn could feel her eyes welling up with tears and her chest tightening as she took Benedict from the nurse and soothed him.

The doe-eyed little boy had no idea he was sick, so all he did was flutter his eyelashes and stare at his mother, his lips curled into an adorable smile.

Upon seeing the mother-son interaction, Cedrick clenched his fists, unable to stop blaming himself.

Charles, too, wasn't feeling any better.

“Has Benny's blood been tested for viral infections? Could viruses cause these congenital disorders?” he piped up.

For a moment, the doctor was stunned. “Typically speaking, the chances of that happening are slim to none. Since it's such a rare occurrence, our hospital doesn't have the facilities to carry out targeted testing. If need be, we'll have to send the samples to the laboratory for a detailed evaluation.” With that, the doctor turned to Cedrick and Gwendolyn. “Mr. and Mrs.

Jenson, do you know what virus might have infected your son? If that's really the cause of his congenital disorders, it means Mrs. Jenson’s the carrier.” “No. It's nothing serious,” Cedrick replied, his voice deep and hoarse as he glanced at Gwendolyn. “Gwenny went for a checkup before, and there weren't any viruses in her blood.” There's no way I'll tell this doctor from Grand Valley Hospital the whole truth... It's not like they can carry out the necessary blood tests anyway. As much as we want to rule out the cause, we won't be able to find our answers here, so what's the point in saying more? Cedrick calmly walked to his wife and put an arm around her shoulder. “Darling, let's proceed with the treatment for Benny's

heart condition first,” he said with a gentle, reassuring pat. “As for the diagnostic tests to determine his viral infection, we can look into those when he's a little older.” After all, the laboratory would require several blood samples to run their various tests, and given Benedict's young age and weak constitution, drawing too much blood would be detrimental to him.

Gwendolyn understood and nodded in agreement. “| just feel sorry for Benny. Not only does he have to start taking medication from an early age, but he'd probably have to stay on it for years to come... What a poor thing.” Cedrick instantly leaned in and kissed his wife's forehead. “No matter how sickly Benny is, | promise to make him the happiest baby in this world.” Charles felt his heart aching when he saw the worry and anxiety etched on the couple's faces. Alas, there was nothing he could do to help.

Since Benedict's condition wasn't serious for the time being, the doctor recommended keeping him in the hospital for

observation. At the same time, he'd be prescribed mild medication as part of his conservative treatment.

Just like that, the three-month-old baby who couldn't even utter a word had no choice but to stay in the hospital.

Needless to say, Gwendolyn was devastated. She wished she could suffer in her son's place instead.

Being the supportive husband that he was, Cedrick stayed by her side the entire time.

Charles, on the other hand, felt utterly helpless. After all, Benedict had his parents with him, so what could he do as a godfather? Whether Benedict's condition was a result of the virus or not remained to be confirmed, but neither Cedrick nor Gwendolyn blamed Charles for it. Gwendolyn even thanked him for his help and for tirelessly splitting his time between work and Harrick Villa.

After getting into his car in the underground parking lot of the hospital, Charles sat in a daze for a long while without starting the engine.

In the past, | was incited to Kill Cedrick with the S404 RNA

virus and win Gwendolyn back. Now that | think of it, | must admit my behavior was ridiculous. That said, | regret nothing...

What's done is done, and | can't right the wrongs. Other than doing my best now to make up for my past mistakes, | don’t know what else | can do.

With that thought in mind, he fished out his phone to contact several well-known foreign doctors and inquired about the possible treatment options for Benedict's case.

Since Cedrick and Gwendolyn were in the hospital, leaving Zoey alone in Harrick Villa to take care of Zendaya, Charles started the engine shortly after and left for the house.

Back in Harrick Villa, Zoey was preparing a formula feed for Zendaya.

It was a task she did four to five times daily, and after three months of experience, she had become familiar with the color, taste, and smell of the milk powder Cedrick specifically imported.

This time, however, she realized something was different after opening a new can of milk powder. The brand and packaging

were the same, but the texture of the powder granules seemed to have changed.

She prepared the formula as usual, only to grow increasingly alarmed as she observed the fragrance and color of the milk.

Knock! Knock! Knock! A sudden knock on the door startled Zoey so much that she accidentally tipped the can of milk powder over and spilled it all over the floor.

Alas, the knocking continued, so Zoey set the mess aside reluctantly and opened the door.

“How's Zendy?” Charles instantly asked when he saw Zoey. “Is she being a good girl even though her brother isn't with her?” “Ms. Zendy still has a bottle of milk to drink, and I'm preparing it now. How's Mr. Benny doing?”

Charles sighed as he strode into the villa.

“It's not the worst-case scenario, but it isn’t looking good either.

Anyway, Mr. Jenson and Gwen are accompanying him in the hospital. I'm worried about Zendy, so | decided to drop by.” For a while, Zoey was speechless. My goodness. He's talking alot, but he’s also not saying anything...

Seconds later, she let out a small sigh. “In all honesty, Mr.

Benedict and Ms. Zendaya are very blessed. Not only were they born into a wealthy family, but they also have you as their godfather to dote on them. Their uncles, too, love them with all their hearts.” To that, Charles said nothing.

There was no denying that the main advantage of children born with a silver spoon was not having to worry about making ends meet. However, there were many things beyond their control, and the likelihood of them running into danger was also higher.

The business world, especially, was challenging and harsh, and it was easy to make enemies.

To make matters worse, Cedrick had control of a formidable military force, which meant he’d have even more targets on his back.

“Wealthy families are way more complicated than you can ever imagine,” Charles finally commented. “Some are so crafty and malicious that they'll take their hatred out on the children if they can't deal with the adults.” Upon hearing that, Zoey recalled the issue with the milk powder and turned ashen-faced.

Meanwhile, Charles couldn't help but notice the milk powder scattered all over the floor as he walked past the kitchen.

“What happened?” A panic-stricken Zoey immediately shared her suspicions with the man. “Mr. Newton, Mr. Jenson has been buying the same brand of milk powder for the babies, and I've been feeding them with it for over three months now. However, | found something odd with the batch that just arrived today. The packaging is the same, but the smell and texture of the powder seem different.”

Charles immediately furrowed his brows and stepped into the kitchen. “Do you still have the milk powder can from the previous batches? Bring them to me.” “No, but Mr. and Mrs. Jenson let me take the empty cans home to sell for extra money. | collected a few but haven't had time to take them home. Let me grab those for you. We might be able to gather enough powder from what's left at the bottom.” “Sure.” Zoey ran into the housekeeper’s room in the backyard.

Charles’ gaze was dark and solemn as he crouched to check the spilled milk powder. Even though it had been a year since he left the Central Intelligence Agency, he quickly began his investigation out of force of habit.

After rubbing the milk powder between his fingers and taking a whiff of it, he glanced at the bottle of formula Zoey had made.

Unfortunately, he had zero knowledge about baby formulas, so there was no way he could tell the difference.

Charles got up and directed his gaze toward the newly opened

carton of milk powders.

The milk powders are from PureVita, huh? Isn't Jenson Group one of its shareholders? Besides, the CEO has close ties to Cedrick and is trustworthy. There's no way the company would tamper with the product. What on earth went wrong? Wait a minute... Does this have something to do with Benny's declining health?