The Marshal Unleashed at Midnight

Chapter 005

Julian's words left a bitter taste in Natalie's mouth, something close to nausea curling in her stomach.

But she drew a slow breath, steadying herself, and finally forced out the words. "I agree."

"Excellent! Leave it to me!"

Julian's voice turned syrupy. "Well then, my dear fiancee, I'll see you soon."

The moment he ended the call and set down his phone, two women, naked and curved in all the right places, threw themselves at him, draping over his chest and shoulders like they couldn't wait another second.

"Who called at a time like this? Such a mood killer."

One of them pouted, pressing her generous curves against his arm. "You made us wait so long."

"That's right, Mr. Roarke," the other cooed, batting her eyelashes. "You really do owe us for this."

"Look at you two little vixens, so impatient."

Julian settled back with one woman on each side, already losing interest in whatever happened to Gordon. Let the old man wait. Business could come after pleasure.

Meanwhile, back in the ER, the Sinclair family members waiting outside let out a collective sigh of relief the moment they learned Julian had connections to the hospital director.

"He really is a son of the Four Great Houses. No wonder he gets things done."

"Hmph. Compare him to that useless Adrian. That man's less use than a pile of crap. All he does is get in the way."

"Natalie, you'd better thank Mr. Roarke properly this time. Your father's promotion to department head will depend on him too, you know."

Natalie listened to the chatter around her, her eyes stinging, her nails digging crescents into her palms where no one could see.

She hadn't imagined it. During that call, she'd heard it clearly: a woman's giggle in the background, and the soft catch of her breath.

While the Sinclairs praised Julian and tore down Adrian, the man himself was in the operating room, working with calm, unhurried focus. With practiced precision, two fingers of his right hand drew out a silver needle the length of his palm and sank it into the solar plexus of the unconscious Gordon.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. An elderly man in a white coat, silver-haired but smooth-faced, hurried past the door, fresh from his own surgery.

He was Dr. Finch, the hospital's former director.

"Hm? Why is there someone in here?"

He noticed the light beneath the door and frowned. No procedure had been scheduled in this room today.

Curious, he crossed the hall and eased the door open. What he saw made his jaw drop.

"Heavens... is this the Nine Needles of Umbra? I never imagined that in my lifetime I would witness Marshal Vance's legendary technique with my own eyes. What incredible fortune."

His pulse raced, but he swallowed the urge to speak and stayed rooted at the doorway, watching in reverent silence.

The minutes stretched on. At last Gordon, unconscious for hours, let out a low groan. His eyelids fluttered open.

"Don't move."

Adrian kept a steady hand on Gordon's shoulder. "Two needles left to go."

"You... who are you? What are you doing to me?"

Gordon had never laid eyes on Adrian, and had no idea this quiet young man was the person whose humiliation had sent him into cardiac arrest.

A strange warmth spread through his chest. He glanced down, and his breath caught. "Could this be the Nine Needles of Umbra?"

Adrian gave a flat, indifferent nod, his fingers moving with swift, practiced grace as he finished the final placements.

Gordon stared, transfixed, as the young man packed away his needles. Then he pushed himself upright, marveling at how light his body felt, better than before his collapse.

"Young man, you are truly something else."

Dr. Finch, waiting at the door all this time, stepped forward and bowed deeply. "I never would have guessed someone so young could possess such mastery of acupuncture. Would you do this old man the honor of taking me as your student?"

"Yes, yes, me too!"

Gordon, forgetting he had just recovered from a near-fatal collapse, bent in an equally deep bow. "Young man, your needlework is beyond extraordinary. Even if you only taught me the basics, it would be the greatest honor of my life."

"My apologies. I don't take students."

Adrian's expression never shifted. He gathered his things and walked out without a second glance.

"Master, wait, please!"

Dr. Finch and Gordon exchanged a startled glance before hurrying after him, their footsteps quick against the tile.

Out in the ER lobby, the rest of the Sinclair family sat on edge.

"They're out! They're coming out!"

Uncle Walter spotted the three figures first and shot to his feet, his voice booming across the waiting room.

The others scrambled up as one and surged forward.

What greeted them next left the whole family stunned. Walking at the front, calm as ever, was the same Adrian who had supposedly fled the hospital after causing all that trouble.

"Why is he still here?" Lorraine hissed, glaring daggers at him like she wanted to peel the skin off his face.

"Lorraine, forget about him." Uncle Bernard waved a dismissive hand. "Look who's behind him. Gordon's walking on his own two feet! Dr. Finch really does live up to his reputation in thoracic surgery."

"Gordon!"

The moment Lorraine saw her husband, color back in his cheeks, her eyes welled up. "Thank god, thank god. This is all thanks to my son-in-law, Julian. He got it sorted out so fast."

"Dr. Finch, thank you for saving him!"

"You're the savior of this entire family!"

Dr. Finch tried to push past toward Adrian, only to be swallowed by a wall of grateful relatives. He let out a laugh that was half exasperation, half disbelief. "You've got it backwards, everyone. I didn't save Gordon. It was my master. His skill is something else entirely. That's the only reason your brother pulled through."

Master? What Master are they talking about?

The Sinclairs froze, then glanced around in confusion. Whoever taught the head of thoracic surgery had to be someone extraordinary. But there was no distinguished elder standing nearby, just the same freeloading son-in-law they had been glaring at a moment ago.

"That's right. If not for my master, I wouldn't have made it through this time." Gordon walked straight up beside Adrian and turned to face his family. "This is the man both Dr. Finch and I just bowed to and called Master. I opened my eyes in the middle of my collapse and saw him with needles in his hands, working on me. I'm not exaggerating when I say his skill is master class, the real thing."

Then he bowed deeply to Adrian, his voice thick with sincerity. "Master, I owe you my life. You're the father who gave me a second life."

Adrian said nothing. His expression gave away little, but inside, his thoughts were a tangle of things he had no intention of voicing.

The rest of the Sinclair family, on the other hand, couldn't hide a thing. Their faces cycled through confusion, disbelief, and something close to horror.

The man both Gordon and Dr. Finch had just bowed to as their master couldn't possibly be him, could it?

He was a kept man who lived off his wife. What on earth gave him the right to be anyone's master, let alone theirs?

"Gordon, are you... are you feeling alright?" Lorraine studied her husband like he'd lost his mind. "Are you sure that wasn't some fever dream while you were unconscious? That useless freeloader has never done an honest day's work in his life. Does he look like someone who heals people? He looks like someone who needs looking after. Wasn't it Julian who rushed to call Dr. Finch and arrange the surgery?"

"What's wrong with you people?" Gordon frowned, baffled by the reaction rippling through his own relatives. None of it made sense to him.

"I already told you, I'm not the one who saved him." Dr. Finch looked just as lost as Gordon, shaking his head. "And who is this Julian you keep mentioning? Nobody contacted me before I walked in."

Natalie frowned, a prickle of unease creeping up her spine. Something about this didn't add up, and she wasn't willing to let it slide. Without another word, she pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and switched it to speaker. "Fine. Let's just ask Julian directly and see what he has to say for himself."