Rise of Marcus Reid: Betrayal to Dominance

Chapter 4

The officers had already secured his wrists with restraints and were preparing to transport him when a melodic voice pierced through the crowd. Everyone’s attention shifted toward a young woman sprinting through the masses toward Marcus and the police.

Gasps rippled outward. It was the mayor’s daughter. Victoria Hart, the billionaire hospitality entrepreneur. Compared to Sophie, Victoria was incomparable. Golden hair cascading down, luminous skin with an almost supernatural radiance, eyes that seemed almost otherworldly, sharp cheekbones. Her figure surpassed any runway model Marcus had ever seen. His breath caught involuntarily.

His thoughts raced. He mentally sifted through the countless individuals he’d rescued from dangerous circumstances. This face, it registered somewhere in his memory.

“You’re…” Marcus struggled to form words, his gaze locked on Victoria.

“Yes, it’s me. I apologize for the delay in finding you. It appears you’ve been in some altercation?” Concern shadowed her expression. “I’m terribly sorry. Were you injured?” She reached toward him, running her fingers across his arm, searching his face with such intensity that everyone around them fell silent in astonishment.

“You demonstrated exceptional character when you assisted me. Whoever you engaged in conflict must bear responsibility.” Her eyes shifted toward Alan with unmistakable judgment.

“Who exactly is he?” Alan demanded sharply. Sophie rushed forward, attempting to silence him with her hand, disrupting his words. But Marcus pushed her away forcefully.

“Allow me to speak!”

The police officers began advancing on Alan, but Victoria halted them with a cunning smile. “Never mind. Violence isn’t my objective. We’ll address this matter another occasion. My father has requested your presence.”

“The mayor? Mayor Hart?” Marcus stammered, struggling to comprehend.

“Precisely. He’s waiting for you.”

“What does he want?” Marcus pressed.

“We don’t have time for questions. You’ll understand once we arrive.” Everyone watched speechlessly as Marcus was released from custody. He departed alongside Victoria.

During the automobile journey to the mayor’s residence, an uneasy silence prevailed between them, neither initiated conversation, though Victoria continuously stole glances in his direction.

Approximately forty minutes later, they pulled up to City Hall’s grounds. They exited near the estate’s manicured gardens.

“Remain here momentarily. I need to inform Father of your arrival, he may be occupied with appointments.” Victoria departed, leaving Marcus alone.

While waiting at the entrance, Marcus decided to explore the immediate surroundings briefly. That’s when he detected something peculiar, a faint cry, splashing liquid. The commotion originated from his right. He observed an enormous swimming pool perhaps fifty feet away.

Recognizing the distressed tone as someone calling for rescue, Marcus navigated through the intricate, winding pathways. By the time he reached the pool’s edge, the man had already submerged beneath the surface.

Without hesitation, Marcus plunged into the water. The pool’s depth, approximately twenty-six feet, momentarily disoriented him. There, at the bottom, lay the mayor.

Anxiety flooded through him. “Surely the mayor wouldn’t perish like this? Why was he here unattended?” These questions tormented him, yet he pushed them aside and propelled himself upward.

He hauled the mayor’s limp body onto the surrounding pavement. That’s when he heard shouting.

“Marcus!”

“Marcus!!”

“Marcus!!!”

Victoria’s voice pierced the air repeatedly. He signaled back to her. She spotted him, and her expression transformed.

“I can’t locate my father,” she screamed desperately. “His security detail also reports no sightings!” Tears threatened to spill, but then her gaze dropped to the unconscious figure sprawled before Marcus, and she bolted forward frantically.

“Is that him?”

“Is that him?”

Her entire body shook uncontrollably. Standing before her apparently drowned father, tremors wracked her frame.

“What transpired?” Her voice fractured.

“I detected muffled cries for assistance and traced the sound here, but he was submerged by the time I arrived…”

“What?!”

“Summon medical professionals immediately,” Marcus commanded, bypassing emotional reactions as he initiated chest compressions. The mayor remained unresponsive. Terror gripped Marcus momentarily, but he channeled his fear into determination, praying silently throughout.

Within moments, the State House’s senior physicians materialized with an ambulance and stretcher. They transferred the mayor onto the gurney. Marcus attempted to follow, but they obstructed his path, gesturing insistently for Victoria to accompany them instead.

“Who exactly are you? Did you perhaps shove him into the pool?”

“You should be thanking him for rescuing your governor when your entire security apparatus failed to locate him!”

Victoria’s indignation silenced them, and Marcus climbed into the ambulance for the brief hospital transport.

Throughout the ride, the physicians administered CPR, yet the mayor’s pre-existing cardiac complications created significant obstacles. The standard resuscitation technique proved insufficient.

Marcus recalled the specialized instruction he’d undergone years earlier, an advanced medical degree concentrated on cardiology and cardiac intervention.

Unlike basic CPR, genuine cardiac revival demanded expertise. Ordinary physicians couldn’t execute the procedure; attempting unsuccessfully might prove fatal. Those lacking proficiency defaulted to conventional methods.

Examining Mayor Hart’s condition, standard CPR wouldn’t suffice.

“I possess the capability to restore him. Delay will produce catastrophic outcomes,” Marcus announced. However, the contemptuous expressions the doctors directed at him nearly persuaded him to retreat, had he possessed less inner resolve.

He persisted regardless. “I completed advanced study in cardiology through graduate-level certification…”

“Kindly remain silent!” they commanded harshly. Victoria erupted with fury.

“Why won’t you permit him to attempt?” she protested, disgusted by their treatment of Marcus.

“Should your father expire, who accepts accountability?” one physician responded.

Another declared, “He manipulates naive women, not educated professionals.”

The third addressed Marcus directly with contempt. “What educational institution produced you? Did you abandon your studies? Or are you simply unemployed?”

Marcus remained mute, unwilling to reveal his background. His silence, however, confirmed their presumptions of his defeat.

They arrived at Ashford Central Medical, a state-of-the-art facility. Emergency interventions commenced immediately. Each senior physician deployed their accumulated knowledge, yet fifteen minutes produced no results.

With every passing moment, Mayor Hart’s deterioration accelerated. Genuine sorrow overwhelmed Victoria, accompanied by rising frustration.

“What exactly are you accomplishing?”

“Do you wish for my father’s death?”

One physician stammered nervously, “His condition is becoming terminal…”

“Absolutely not. Not under my supervision,” Marcus declared, suddenly mounting the bed beside the mayor. No resistance would deter him this time.

He had to revive the mayor. Perhaps divine providence had positioned him here for precisely this moment.

“What are you attempting?” the physicians objected, trying to forcibly remove him. Marcus refused to yield.

“Should anything compromise the mayor’s stability, you’ll answer for it…”

This threat was designed to intimidate Marcus, yet instead it galvanized him, transforming into motivation. He operated as though mechanically programmed, executing flawless cardiac interventions with unwavering precision that astonished the attending physicians.

They wouldn’t acknowledge defeat. “Where did you obtain your credentials?” they challenged.

“Yet he demonstrates greater skill and courage than physicians with decades of experience who’ve already surrendered,” Victoria countered forcefully.

As if this weren’t sufficient, Victoria made an extraordinary declaration: “I will marry this man if he successfully restores my father to life at this critical juncture,” she stated with absolute conviction.

Marcus momentarily froze upon hearing her pronouncement, his hands pausing mid-motion. Yet he quickly refocused his attention, preserving Mayor Hart’s existence took absolute precedence.

“How can Victoria Hart, the mayor’s sole heir, commit herself to marrying an impoverished, anonymous man like myself?” he questioned himself silently, attempting to maintain concentration despite his bewilderment. Yet if this materialized, it represented precisely what he required to assume command from Grandfather.

“This seems almost impossible,” he reflected internally, yet her declaration supplied additional motivation. He channeled every ounce of remaining strength into the resuscitation attempt.

He resumed his work immediately.