SON-IN-LAW BY DAY, UNDERGROUND KING BY NIGHT

8

Chapter Seven: The Weight of Responsibility (Rewritten)

The emergency room felt very strange and cold, a huge contrast to the warm, fancy McPherson Bar. The air smelled strongly of hospital soap and sadness. Mikael stood still by the main desk, wearing his simple dark T-shirt and jeans, with Miss Helen Charles still held safely in his arms. Mr. Thompson and two of the security men stood back, quietly watching everything.

The nurse at the desk was surprised by the sudden, important-looking group, but she quickly got back to work and pushed a hospital bed on wheels forward. Mikael gently placed Miss Charles down on the bed. As he did, her eyes opened a little.

“Where… what happened, Drayson?” she whispered, her voice tight with pain. She looked at Mikael, confusion replacing the panic in her eyes.

“You took a bad fall, Miss Charles,” Mikael explained, his face calm and showing no emotion. “You’re at the hospital. Don’t try to move. We need to check you completely to make sure you are okay.”

A doctor and two nurses quickly rushed her toward the examination area. Mikael watched until the doors swung shut, then turned sharply to the receptionist.

“I need a private room right now,” he stated clearly. “The very best one you have. I want a full check of her brain and her bones done right away. Every doctor who specializes in these areas needs to be here. I will pay everything instantly.”

The receptionist, who was used to rich people but not this type of immediate, strong order, stumbled over her words. “Sir, I must know your relationship to the patient and get her name for the hospital papers—”

Mr. Thompson stepped forward quickly. He pulled a gold-plated card from his pocket. It was not a normal bank card; it was a private key for accessing a special account. “The patient’s name is not your business right now,” Thompson said smoothly, placing the key on the desk. “I suggest you check the massive deposit the hospital’s main account just received. It covers all expenses ten times over. Now, go and make those room arrangements.”

The receptionist’s eyes went wide as a message flashed on her computer screen. She immediately picked up the phone.

Mikael walked away from the desk, running a hand over his face. He felt exposed. He was still the betrayed Mikael Dray, the man who had supposedly died in prison. He was not yet Marcus Valen, the untouchable new leader. The strong emotion that made him stop the fight in the bar was a weakness he could not afford to show right now.

Thompson followed him to a quiet corner. “Sir, you took a very big risk,” he said quietly. “If that man at the bar had called the news or the police, if you had touched him harder, Arthur would have been able to prove his old charges against you. Your freedom is too new and fragile right now.”

“I know,” Mikael admitted, his voice heavy. “But I just died, Thompson. I just signed away all my life’s work and spent four years in a prison cell for a crime I did not do. I am not going to stand there and watch a man use force against Miss Charles when I had the power to stop it. That is simply not the kind of man I am.”

Thompson sighed. “I understand, sir. But now what is the plan? The hospital will still need her name eventually to treat her properly.”

“She knows I am here, so don’t let that worry you,” Mikael instructed. “For now, find out everything about the man who was in the bar,” he ordered. “Search for all his details. I want to know everything about him, his father, and any connection they have to the Charles Group. Anyone who thinks they have the right to hurt people is now my enemy.” He paused. “As for Miss Charles… she’s my responsibility until she is completely well and safe.”

A doctor approached them then, a middle-aged woman in scrubs. “Mr. Kael? The patient is stable. She has a bad muscle injury in her lower back, but no broken bones. She is in a lot of pain, but she will get completely better with rest and therapy. We have moved her to the best private room.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Mikael said. “She will not be leaving this hospital until I personally say she can. She gets the best care and someone watching her twenty-four hours a day. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. We understand completely.”

Mikael looked at Thompson. “I need to go now. I need to start becoming Marcus Valen. You stay here. Make sure she is safe and no one bothers her.”

Thompson looked puzzled, needing to know why Mikael was acting this way. “But why are you treating Miss Charles like an ordinary person, sir? She is very powerful and rich. The nurses must have realized who she is already, so why are you still trying so hard to protect her after you just said no to her marriage deal?”

“That is exactly why I am protecting her,” Mikael replied, his voice firm with quiet determination. “I don’t want her good name ruined by the news—the powerful heiress getting into a fight with a drunk man. Even if the nurses know her, they won’t dare say a single word because they are afraid of the money we just paid. They will keep her secret. Also, if it wasn't for her, I would still be in prison right now. I owe her this much.”