Chapter 3 The Wounded Man

• The person calling her was Aaron Cuomo, her senior who graduated from the same medical college as she did, though he graduated two years before her. Having furthered his studies abroad, he had already made a name for himself in the country. Furthermore, he had always looked after her, so they were pretty good friends.
• "Tell me what it is about," she said without hesitation.
• "I've got a patient, but I can't get there because of an emergency. Could you stand in for me instead?"
• Samantha checked the time. She had two surgeries to perform this afternoon, but she didn't have to provide outpatient service today, so she was free in the morning. So, she replied, "Okay."
• "The address is No. 306, Area A, Rose Garden. Just say you're looking for Mr. Hopton, and the guards will notify him."
• "Uh-huh."
• "Make sure not to tell anyone about this or ask any questions. All you have to do is treat the patient," said Aaron on the other end of the line.
• "Got it," Samantha replied. After hanging up the phone, she took a taxi to her destination.
• Rose Garden was an upscale neighborhood with top-level security and privacy. When she was stopped at the gatehouse, she said she was looking for Mr. Hopton. The guards made a phone call to confirm her story and gained permission before letting her in.
• She found House No. 306 and rang the doorbell. Soon after that, the door opened.
• Xavier frowned when he saw that it wasn't Aaron. "You're…"
• Samantha could tell from Aaron's words that this patient seemed to care very much about his privacy. She didn't want to bring trouble upon herself because of this either, so she wore a face mask and replied, "Dr. Cuomo sent me here."
• Xavier glanced at the medical bag she was carrying. "You know what to do?"
• "Yes. Dr. Cuomo has told me about it, so I won't tell anyone about this."
• Thinking that Aaron wouldn't have sent a random person here, Xavier let her in and led her through the spacious living room. Then, they went upstairs and headed for a bedroom.
• Seeing that lights were off in the room, Samantha asked, "How am I supposed to treat the patient in such darkness?"
• Hearing a female voice, Henry grabbed the jacket that had been tossed aside and pulled it over his face. He said coldly, "Switch on the lights."
• Xavier switched on the lights, illuminating the room instantly.
• Samantha detected a hint of familiarity in the man's voice, but she didn't get to the bottom of it. She looked at the man lying in bed, the bloodstain on whose white shirt had dried to a dark maroon. Even so, she didn't eye the man more than necessary. After all, she was only here to treat the patient. Since it was obvious that the man wanted to keep his identity hidden, she had to know her place, too.
• She put her medical bag on the table and opened it. After taking out her surgical scissors, she cut the fabric where the man bled. Soon, she saw the wounds, which had been simply dressed with gauze bandages. She cut the gauze to reveal two stab wounds below the man's right ribs.
• Tossing the scissors aside, she cleaned the wound quickly and expertly with cool imperturbability. "Are you allergic to anesthetics?" she asked. She found that the wounds weren't deep enough to damage the man's vital organs, but they needed stitching, which would require local anesthesia.
• Her voice was so imperturbable, it sounded totally different from when she was panic-stricken last night, so Henry didn't notice anything even when he listened to it. Inwardly, he approved of her medical skills, which were deft enough. "No," he replied indifferently.
• Samantha mixed the drugs before injecting the anesthetic where the stitches were needed. When the anesthetic began to take effect two minutes later, she started to stitch the wounds. Everything was done in an hour, which was considered quick enough.
• "I need to use the washroom," she said as she had blood on her hands.
• "You may use the one downstairs," Xavier replied.
• Samantha left the room.
• After making sure that she'd gone downstairs, Xavier closed the door and came over. "We've found out that the men last night were sent by Hannah Miller. Perhaps she wanted to kill you because she was driven to desperation after you rooted out the spies she planted in the company."
• Henry got up and sat on the edge of the bed. Looking a sorry sight in disheveled clothes, he should've appeared weak and frail, but he emanated an astonishingly commanding aura through every pore. He raised his eyes, which were as dark as a pair of bottomless pools. "Does she have anything to do with me marrying that woman?"
• Xavier paused for a moment. Then, he replied in a low voice, "She does. I found out that she'd come into contact with Richard Yeager before. Speaking of it, there's something odd about this. Richard specifically requested that you be the one who marries his daughter, not Timothy. It's obvious that she must have a hand in this."
• Henry replied, "She's presented me with such a generous gift several times in a row, no? If I don't give her anything in return, it'll seem like I don't know to reciprocate her courtesy." All I did was go abroad to deal with some matters, and yet someone just had to cause so much trouble while I was away. The indifferent look in his eyes did nothing to conceal the chilling frostiness in them. "I hear that Timothy is running a nightclub called Lust at Center Avenue."
• Xavier instantly understood what he meant. "There's no place for them in the company anymore, so they're relying on that nightclub to make money. If the nightclub is taken down, they'll surely have a hard time in the future."
• "Just go," Henry replied in a whisper.
• When Xavier came downstairs, Samantha was just about to go upstairs.
• Xavier knew that Aaron must've told her about it, so he warned her, "If word gets out about what happened today, I'll personally see to it that you die a horrible death." If Hannah and Timothy were to hear of Henry's injuries, they'd definitely seize the opportunity to do something.
• "I won't tell anyone about it." Samantha lowered her head. "I'm leaving after collecting my medical bag."
• When she came upstairs, she saw the man with his back to the door. His bloodstained shirt had been taken off, revealing his lean and broad back. He had no spare tire around his slender waist, and his hips were firm; his upright and well-proportioned stature gave a vague sense of power. "Aren't you leaving yet?" He didn't look back, but he seemed to sense her steady gaze upon him, as his voice was languid with a hint of mockery to it.
• Samantha quickly lowered her head. To think that I was mesmerized by what I saw just now!