A Replacement Bride

Chapter 120
"How dare you!" Hera snapped angrily with a surly expression.
Just as she was about to speak again, she heard a chilly voice thundering, "That's enough! Do you think you haven't
embarrassed yourself enough already? Come over now!"
The voice belonged to none other than John, Joaquin's father. The man had stern features. After finishing his sentence, he let
his frosty eyes settle upon Katherine.
Katherine met his gaze for a few seconds without humbling herself. Then, she greeted sweetly, "Dad."
John's face darkened. Despite his inner displeasure, he didn't say anything in the end. Instead, he merely responded, "Uh-huh,"
by way of greeting.
On the other hand, Hera eyed Katherine with even greater hostility after being humbled by the latter. Those who were present
today were not only the relatives of the Levisay Family but also many prestigious figures out there. Therefore, one could say that
Katherine had made her look very bad in front of everyone.
She turned around and left with John, whereas Katherine found a seat on her own. As soon as she sat down, she heard a
mellow voice speaking over her head. "Hi, are you my sister-in-law?"
Katherine looked up to see a young man who looked about 24 years old standing before her. Dressed in a tailor-made suit, he
had kindly features and oozed gentleness and geniality through every pore. At a glance, he seemed to be a good-tempered
person with a nice personality.
She merely took a glance at the man before withdrawing her gaze. After sitting down on the couch on her own, she replied, "If
you're John's brother, then I suppose I'm indeed your sister-in-law."
A hint of amazement flickered across Jaycee's eyes when he saw Katherine's exquisite features, but his face gave nothing away.
"Is my brother delayed by something?"
Going along with him, Katherine replied, "Uh-huh. He does have something important to deal with, so he can't make it." She
didn't elaborate on what Joaquin was busy doing. After all, Area Seven wasn't a simple place; it was a secret department even in
Cechirus. It was obvious from the fact that no one in the Levisay Family was aware of Joaquin's identity that he didn't trust them,
and she wasn't fond of betraying someone else's privacy either.

Jaycee looked very disappointed. "Is that so? Well, that's regrettable. I've always heard that my brother has outstanding
capabilities and has made a name for himself at a young age. I thought I'd have the opportunity to meet him today."
Katherine merely smiled at the man before her without speaking. She could tell at a glance what Jaycee was up to; even though
he could hide it from others, he couldn't hide it from her. Jaycee was an illegitimate son who had lived outside before suddenly
returning to a wealthy family. Not only that, but he emerged as the heir to a distinguished family like the Levisays. How could
such a man not be proud of himself?
She could see that Jaycee was well-cultured and measured in his speech. John probably devoted a great deal of attention to this
son of his, or he wouldn't have spent so much effort on the latter's upbringing.
Jaycee just wanted to provoke Joaquin by showing off in front of his paralytic eldest brother.
"Katherine, could you give me Joaquin's phone number? I'd like to call him later to connect with him. We're brothers, after all."
Jaycee had sincerity written all over his face as though he truly meant what he said.
He was the star of today's party, so it was only natural that countless people were paying close attention to him. Because of that,
people had been watching him since he went to Katherine. At this moment, seeing how he asked her for Joaquin's phone
number so politely, many praised him inwardly, thinking that he was polite and well-mannered.
However, Katherine blinked her eyes with an innocent expression. "You want Joaquin's phone number? Why? Didn't you get it
from Dad and Mom? Since they're not willing to give it to you, they probably don't want you to come into contact with him. I think
you'd better forget about it."
Jaycee didn't expect her to say this. His expression froze slightly for an instant, but he regained his composure soon afterward.
"Seems like I've gotten the wrong idea. I'll ask Dad about it later, then."
"Uh-huh." Katherine nodded nonchalantly.
Jaycee couldn't help but take another look at her. The woman before him was gorgeous in appearance. Despite her seemingly
innocent demeanor, she rendered him speechless at every turn. Moreover, she had made Hera look bad with only a few words
just a while ago. Now that I think about it, she isn't as simple as she appears to be. I reckon she's not easy to deal with. Having
formed his opinion of her in his mind, he exchanged a few words with her out of courtesy. Then, without saying anything else, he
took his leave and left.
Looking at him from behind, Katherine gave a snort while continuing to stay in the corner to laze around.

The party was loaded with cumbersome procedures, especially when it included the process of acknowledging Jaycee as a
member of the family, which took a lot of time.
Sitting in the corner, Katherine yawned repeatedly while showing no interest in what was going on.
It wasn't until past 9:00PM that her phone suddenly rang. Taking out the phone, she took a look at the caller ID before raising her
eyebrows in surprise. It was actually a phone call from Ben.
After darting a look at the still uproarious party, she left for the garden with the phone in hand before answering it. "What's up?"
Ben's distressed voice sounded through the phone. "Boss, help me!"
Katherine frowned. "What happened?"
"Mr. Levisay got into an accident and is severely injured. Can you come to my clinic right now?" Ben asked worriedly.
Katherine's heart skipped a beat. "Tell me more about it." Ben was skilled in medicine, but even he was at his wits' end. And
besides, it was evident from how anxious he sounded that Joaquin's injuries were severe. She talked on the phone while
standing up and walking outside. As for the party inside, she couldn't care less about it.
Explaining the overall situation to her in one breath, Ben said, "Mr. Levisay was on a mission today, but his cover was blown
somehow, and he got discovered and was shot twice. As you know, his nociceptive nerves are impaired. He couldn't feel any
pain, so he didn't realize at first that he had been shot. It wasn't until the mission was over that he went into shock from
excessive loss of blood. Moreover, the bullets are in such dangerous positions that I dare not remove them at all." The next
instant, he asked anxiously, "Can you come over right now? How long will it take?"
Katherine frowned while estimating the distance from the Levisay Residence to Ben's clinic with a grave expression. "I'll be there
as soon as possible, but it'll take me 40 minutes at the fastest." With that, she hung up the phone and got into her car right away.
The car sped off from the Levisay Residence like a bat out of hell. Flooring the gas pedal, she ran a few red lights in a row while
speeding along the way. As a result, it took her less than half an hour to complete the journey that would've taken an hour.
When the car stopped in front of Ben's clinic, its tires squealed, leaving a pair of visible skid marks on the ground.
Ben was already waiting at the entrance when Katherine opened the car door and stepped out of the car. The instant he saw her,
he quickly walked up to her. "Boss."

"How is he now?" Katherine asked with a sullen face.
"He's still unconscious. His blood type is special, so I..." Ben replied while looking frustrated.
Katherine entered the clinic and saw a pale-faced Joaquin, who was barely breathing as he lay on his sickbed.