Beneath The Servant's Apron

Chp 3

A sob tore from Lucas’s throat as he writhed on the floor. The agonizing impact against the metal bed frame had shattered his already fractured leg, sending fresh waves of searing fire shooting straight up his body. Blood quickly soaked through his white cotton bandages, pooling out on the floor around his trembling frame. 

"Mother... Mother..." Lucas gasped out, his bloody fingers clawing frantically against the slippery floor tiles as he tried to drag his shattered body toward the door. "Hold on... please hold on... I'm coming..."

"Chairman! Stop! You're going to destroy your leg completely!" Natalie shrieked, her voice cracking with terror. She dropped her phone onto the mattress, dropped to her knees in the pool of blood, and wrapped her arms gently around his chest. "Please, Sir, lie still! I beg of you!"

"Let me go, Natalie!" Lucas screamed.

"I am checking on her right now, Sir! Please let me help you back onto the bed first!" Natalie pleaded, her own tears spilling down her cheeks as she supported his back. With care, she used every ounce of her strength to guide his body back up onto the mattress. Lucas collapsed on the pillows, his chest heaving with ragged, choking gasps.  

Without wasting a single second, Natalie snatched up her mobile phone from the bedsheets and pressed it tightly against her ear. 

"Dr. Adam! Speak to me right now! What is the current status?"

On the other end of the line, the chief physician’s trembling voice came through loud enough for Lucas to hear over the speakerphone. 

"Miss... Please calm down! Miraculously, she is alive! A vigilant nurse noticed the sudden drop in the cardiac monitor readings within seconds and alerted our emergency team."

Dr. Adam took a quick, deep breath before continuing.

"Our senior doctors rushed into the room immediately and performed manual CPR while reconnecting the backup power supply. We managed to restore her heartbeat and stabilize her oxygen levels. She suffered a temporary drop in vitals, but she is currently breathing and stabilized. However, her condition remains extremely critical, and she requires continuous, round-the-clock monitoring."

Hearing those words, the suffocating knot of terror in Lucas's chest loosened just enough for him to draw in a trembling breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, a fresh wave of tears spilling down his pale, bruised cheeks as he let out a choked gasp of relief. 

"Dr. Adam, listen to me very carefully," Natalie instructed. "The security at your facility has been completely compromised. I am authorizing an immediate emergency transfer to St. Jude’s VIP Medical Center right now."

"St. Jude’s VIP Medical Center?" Dr. Adam asked, his tone filled with deep respect. "The private, top-tier facility owned directly by Sterling Group?"

"Yes," Natalie stated firmly. "Prepare a critical-care mobile intensive unit immediately. I want a full team of specialists and armed security personnel to escort the ambulance throughout the entire journey. Her life-support equipment must remain fully powered and operational without a single second of interruption during transit. If anything happens to her during this transfer, every single person on duty will answer to the highest authority in this city. Do you understand me?"

"Understood, Miss Natalie!" Dr. Adam answered without a moment of hesitation. "We are preparing the specialized transport vehicle and medical escort right this second. She will be safely moved within ten minutes."

Natalie ended the call and immediately dialed the chief of security at St. Jude’s Medical Center. She ordered the entire top floor of the VIP intensive care unit to be completely cleared and locked down. She instructed that a team of twelve elite, armed security guards be stationed at every entrance, elevator, and stairwell leading to the floor, with strict orders to deny entry to anyone who did not possess direct clearance signed by her own hand.

Within minutes, Natalie’s phone rang again. She answered quickly, listening intently as the head of security at St. Jude’s confirmed that the critical-care ambulance had arrived safely and that the patient had been moved. 

Natalie lowered her phone and turned toward Lucas. She walked over to the side of his bed and looked down at him gently. 

"Chairman... it is done," Natalie reported softly. "Your mother is now safely resting in the maximum-security VIP suite at St. Jude’s Medical Center. The top medical minds in the state are personally overseeing her care, and armed guards are posted outside her room around the clock. No one will ever be able to touch her or threaten her again."

A long, shaky breath escaped Lucas’s lips, looking reliefed.  

Natalie immediately stepped out into the hallway and summoned a team of senior surgeons and trauma specialists to examine his re-injured body. Within seconds, three doctors rushed into the private room with an emergency medical tray.

The chief trauma surgeon quickly assessed the damage, his brow furrowed with deep concern as he saw the blood-soaked bandages and blistering coffee marks covering Lucas’s skin.

The nurses carefully cut away the stained, blood-crusted gauze wrapped around Lucas’s legs and torso. The surgeon examined the severe fractures in his right leg, checking the alignment. He carefully cleaned the deep lacerations, applied antibiotic salve to the raw, blistered burns caused by the hot coffee, and wrapped his body in fresh, sterile dressings.

"Sir," the chief surgeon said, turning to Lucas with a serious, respectful tone. "The impact from your fall tore open your fresh wounds and aggravated the bone fractures in your lower leg. Fortunately, the structural bones remain in alignment, but you must avoid putting any weight on this leg whatsoever. Any unnecessary movement could cause severe, permanent damage to your joints."

The surgeon adjusted the IV drip hanging beside the bed, adding a strong painkiller and antibiotic solution to the line.

"Your body has undergone immense stress, but your vital signs are showing remarkable resilience and steady improvement. As long as you remain strictly off your feet and avoid moving that leg, your condition will stabilize rapidly. In fact, if you remain resting comfortably over the next few hours, you will be in stable enough condition to be discharged into private home care later this evening."

"Thank you, Doctor," Lucas murmured weakly.

The doctor bowed respectfully to Natalie and Lucas before gathering his medical team and stepping out of the room, closing the door softly behind them.

Once the room was quiet again, Natalie picked up her leather briefcase from the floor, set it on the bedside table, and opened it. She pulled out a document folder embossed with the golden emblem of Sterling Group and presented it neatly to Lucas.

"Chairman," Natalie began. "Now that your mother is completely safe, there is an urgent matter that requires your direct authorization."

Lucas shifted his gaze toward the documents, his expression turning cold and serious. 

"The $2 billion contract?"

"Yes, Sir," Natalie confirmed, nodding slightly. "This is the final agreement for the proposed $2 billion contract that Sterling Group was preparing to award to Elena Corporation. Over the past several months, under your explicit instructions, our board prepared this deal to elevate her business into an elite corporate empire. The paperwork was finalized yesterday, and Elena Corporation is currently expecting to execute the formal contract signing tomorrow morning."

Natalie paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

"However, Sir... that arrangement was made under the assumption that Elena was your loving wife and that her success would bring you joy. Now that she has served you with divorce papers, insulted your dignity, and allowed her family to physically abuse you and threaten your mother's life... I must ask for your official directive. Do you still wish for Sterling Group to proceed with awarding this $2 billion contract to Elena Corporation?"

Lucas stared down at the pages of the contract folder lying across his lap and a cold smile touched Lucas’s lips. 

"Natalie," Lucas said.

"Yes, Chairman?"

"Revoke it," Lucas ordered coldly, his eyes gleaming with absolute authority. "Cancel the $2 billion contract immediately. Issue an official termination notice from the Chairman’s Office and pull every single offer, proposal, and deal tied to Elena Corporation. Effective this very second, Elena Corporation is completely blacklisted from Sterling Group and all of its global subsidiaries."

A fierce, triumphant smile broke across Natalie’s face and she bowed her head deeply. 

"Understood, Chairman. I will process the official revocation through the Contract Office right now."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, inside a grand, sprawling penthouse suite overlooking the sparkling city skyline, a loud, wild celebration was underway.

Elena, dressed in a stunning designer silk gown, sat comfortably on the plush leather sofa, sipping vintage champagne. Sitting beside her was Julian, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist, looking arrogant in his tailored Italian suit. Across from them sat Raymond, Mrs. Raymond, and Chloe, all grinning from ear to ear as they drank freely from the bottle.

"A toast!" Chloe cheered loudly, raising her glass high into the air. "To my brilliant sister Elena for finally cutting off that pathetic, useless leech! And to Julian, the true gentleman who rescued our family!"

"Hear, hear!" Mrs. Raymond cackled, taking a heavy gulp of her champagne. "Good riddance to bad rubbish! For eight long years, I had to look at that penniless loser sitting in our house like a stray dog. I felt sick every time he tried to call me 'Mother'!"

Raymond snorted in agreement, swirling the liquid in his glass. 

"The nerve of that beggar! Did you hear him in the hospital room? He actually tried to guilt-trip us about saving our lives! As if a useless nobody like him has the right to demand anything from my family. We owe him absolutely nothing!"

Chloe burst into a fit of cruel laughter, resting her elbows on her knees as she recalled the scene. 

"Oh, the best part was when Elena poured that boiling coffee straight over his head! Did you see the way he squirmed and screamed on the bed like a crushed worm?! It was absolute perfection!"

Elena let out a soft, elegant laugh, leaning her head against Julian's broad shoulder as a proud, triumphant smile spread across her face. 

"Honestly, I don't have a single regret," Elena declared arrogantly, taking a sip of her champagne. "I wasted eight whole years living with a man who had no money, no status, and no ambition. I spent years slaving away to push my company into the city's top ten while he sat at home doing housework like a lowly maid. He was nothing more than dead weight dragging me down."

Julian chuckled smoothly, tightening his grip on her waist and kissing her cheek lightly. 

"You made the right choice, my love," Julian bragged smoothly. "A woman of your beauty, talent, and status belongs to a real man—someone with international connections and power. A penniless house-husband like Lucas could never provide the lifestyle you deserve."

Julian turned to face Raymond and Mrs. Raymond with a boastful smirk. "Once the proposed $2 billion contract with Sterling Group is officially signed tomorrow morning, Elena Corporation will undergo an unprecedented expansion. With my position as General Manager, I will personally guarantee that your business dominates the entire province. You will be competing with global conglomerates within six months!"

"Two billion dollars!" Mrs. Raymond gasped in pure delight, her eyes sparkling with greed. "Elena, darling, you will officially be the richest, most powerful woman in the entire province!"

"That's right, Mother," Elena boasted. "Tomorrow morning, once I put my signature on that Sterling Group contract, I will stand at the absolute pinnacle of high society! When Lucas sees me on the news, standing alongside the elite billionaires of this city, he will finally realize what a worthless worm he is for losing me!"

Chloe raised her glass again, her eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement. 

"I still can't get over the look on his face when he signed those divorce papers," Chloe mocked loudly. "He was sobbing like a child, trembling like a beaten dog! He knew right then and there that his freeloading days were officially over!"

The entire room erupted into loud, cruel laughter, their voices echoing off the marble walls of the penthouse as they poured another round of champagne.

Right at that exact moment, while Elena was raising her glass to take another sip, her mobile phone sitting on the glass coffee table began to vibrate violently.

The sharp, loud ringtone cut right through the sound of their laughter.

Elena glanced down at the glowing screen. Her eyes widened instantly, and a bright, radiant smile broke across her face. 

"It's Sterling Group!" Elena announced excitedly, jumping up from the sofa. "They are calling to confirm our signing appointment for tomorrow morning!"

Julian sat up straight, adjusting his tie proudly, while Raymond, Mrs. Raymond, and Chloe leaned forward in eager anticipation, holding their breath.

Elena cleared her throat, smoothed down her gown, and answered the call with an exceedingly polite, sweet tone. 

"Hello! This is Elena, CEO of Elena Corporation."

On the other end of the line, a cold, formal voice of a male representative from Sterling Group responded. 

"Good evening, Miss Elena. This is the Executive Administration Department of Sterling Group Headquarters."

"Yes, good evening!" Elena said excitedly, her heart pounding with joy. "I assume you are calling to confirm the time for our $2 billion contract signing tomorrow morning?"

The caller’s voice remained cold, flat, and completely emotionless. 

"Miss Elena, I am calling to issue an official notification directly from the Chairman's Office of Sterling office. Effective immediately, the proposed $2 billion contract between Sterling Group and Elena Corporation has been officially revoked and canceled!. All pending negotiations and agreements are terminated with immediate effect!."