2026-06-15 16:40:13Mrs. Hayes slammed two crisp hundred dollar bills onto the wooden counter. She moved with the aggressive energy of a deeply humiliated woman seeking revenge.
"Here is your filthy money you greedy little street dog," Mrs. Hayes spat. Her eyes burned with intense arrogant fury.
"You act like a starving mutt begging for extra bones," Mrs. Hayes mocked. She glared at Ethan with pure unadulterated contempt.
"Let us leave this dirty doghouse right now," Mrs. Hayes urged. She pulled gently on Victoria sleeve.
"We almost died tonight collecting the White Dragon Root for the Old Master," Mrs. Hayes reminded her. Her voice shook with lingering fear and heavy exhaustion.
"We absolutely have no more time to waste on this arrogant stray puppy," Mrs. Hayes insisted. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
Victoria ignored the angry older woman completely and stepped much closer to the counter.
"The Harlow family will treat you incredibly well if you come with us," Victoria promised. Her beautiful face carried a deeply sincere and respectful expression.
"We can offer you a life far beyond your wildest dreams," Victoria added softly. She desperately wanted him to agree to her plea.
Ethan remained completely quiet for a very long moment. He finally looked up from the burning fire basin.
"I will save the Old Master," Ethan announced. His voice was completely flat and incredibly calm.
"But my absolute condition is the White Dragon Root," Ethan demanded. His dark eyes locked directly onto Victoria pale face.
"And I will never leave my mother vigil tonight," Ethan added. He pointed a steady finger at the cold floor.
"The patient must come to me right here," Ethan commanded. His posture remained totally relaxed and entirely immovable.
Mrs. Hayes erupted into sudden and violent raging fury.
"Bring the great Victor Harlow to this pathetic back alley doghouse?" Mrs. Hayes screamed. Her face turned an extremely ugly shade of bright purple.
"You are a completely delusional stray mutt barking at the moon," Mrs. Hayes insulted. She threw her hands up in absolute sheer disbelief.
"He is one of the four great magnates of Chicago," Mrs. Hayes yelled. Her loud voice echoed wildly against the white clinic walls.
"Bringing a critically ill titan here would utterly destroy our massive stock price," Mrs. Hayes sneered. She looked at Ethan like he was a disgusting insect.
"People would take photographs and laugh at us like we are stray dogs eating garbage," Mrs. Hayes finished. Her chest heaved heavily with total outrage.
Victoria shook her head slowly. Her eyes filled with genuine and very heavy regret.
She knew Mrs. Hayes was entirely correct about the terrible optics and absolute financial ruin.
Ethan calmly pocketed the two crumpled hundred dollar bills. He did not look angry or offended at all.
"A real doctor does not make house calls," Ethan stated. His voice carried massive undeniable authority.
"In my presence there are absolutely no great personages at all," Ethan explained. He walked slowly toward the dark wooden doorway.
"There is only the simple relationship between a doctor and a patient," Ethan concluded. He stepped out into the dark alley to buy cigarettes.
Mrs. Hayes watched him leave with a deeply suspicious and totally wicked glare.
"Leave that impossible stray dog completely alone," Mrs. Hayes warned. She clenched her fists tightly by her sides.
"He is clearly scheming like a rat to steal the rare herb," Mrs. Hayes accused. Her voice dripped with nasty paranoid venom.
"That White Dragon Root cost tens of millions at an overseas auction," Mrs. Hayes reminded. Her eyes narrowed into tiny threatening slits.
"He is just a greedy scavenger trying to rob us blind," Mrs. Hayes added. She sneered at the empty doorway in disgust.
Victoria did not listen to the bitter complaints at all. She immediately turned to her loyal guards.
"Investigate Ethan thoroughly and find out absolutely everything about him," Victoria ordered. Her tone was sharp and completely professional.
She rushed frantically out of the alley and headed straight toward the massive Harlow estate.
Loud and terrible wailing echoed through the massive hallways. Victoria heard the pathetic crying long before she reached the master bedroom.
Victor Harlow was already completely gone. His wrinkled hand felt incredibly cold when she took it gently into her own.
The entire wealthy family filled the large luxurious room in absolute tears.
Victoria rounded furiously on Doctor James. The white haired physician with a neat goatee stood near the large window.
He took sole charge of the medical treatment and kept every other doctor far away.
He confidently declared just yesterday that three more days were totally possible. He was completely and utterly wrong.
Now he stood in the grief filled room with an oddly calm and totally relaxed expression.
"Please process my massive consultation f*e immediately," Doctor James requested. His voice lacked any human sympathy or basic sorrow.
"I am leaving now because my busy schedule is booked solid through the New Year," Doctor James announced. He adjusted his expensive silk tie with absolute sickening arrogance.
Nathan Harlow stepped forward suddenly. The young cousin had extremely dark circles under his wet crying eyes.
His pale face flushed deeply with terrible heavy guilt and burning violent anger.
"You completely murdered him you greedy old dog," Nathan shouted. He pointed a shaking accusing finger directly at Doctor James.
"I tried desperately to bring in a totally different doctor from the very beginning," Nathan revealed. His voice cracked loudly under the immense emotional pressure.
"You blocked her at every single turn like a rabid guard dog," Nathan accused. He glared at the older physician with pure deadly hatred.
"You arrogantly insisted no one in Chicago could ever match your brilliant skills," Nathan sobbed. He clenched his fists tightly by his sides.
"Her name is Helen Cole," Nathan announced loudly to the entire weeping room.
"I found her through a close friend when I contracted a very embarrassing infection," Nathan explained. His face burned bright red with deep shame.
"She cured it completely in just a few simple prescriptions," Nathan insisted. His eyes widened with absolute total desperation.
"Her medical skills were absolutely extraordinary and truly magical," Nathan finished. He looked around the room begging for someone to believe him.
Doctor James let out a loud and incredibly harsh laugh.
"That old woman is a total fraud practicing cheap useless quackery," Doctor James mocked. His face twisted into a highly ugly and superior sneer.
"You wanted to trust a filthy stray dog from the slums over me?" Doctor James scoffed. His tone dripped with pure nasty elitist poison.
"I am a purebred medical genius and she is a worthless street mongrel," Doctor James insulted. He lifted his chin high into the air.
"You people should be grateful I even stepped foot into this house," Doctor James added. He crossed his arms with complete utter arrogance.
Victoria ignored the arrogant old man completely. She turned rapidly toward her young cousin.
"Call her phone right now and bring her here immediately," Victoria ordered. Her voice trembled with one final tiny shred of desperate hope.
Nathan pulled out his expensive phone with totally shaking hands. He dialed the number quickly.
"Her phone is completely off," Nathan cried. Fresh warm tears spilled down his pale cheeks.
"She has been entirely unreachable for several days now," Nathan whimpered. He dropped the useless phone onto the soft carpet.
The heavy dark shadow that fell over the silent room was absolutely complete. All hope vanished instantly.
Doctor James smirked widely behind his totally fake and formal polite salute.
"Pay my money right now you weeping pathetic dogs," Doctor James demanded again. His eyes gleamed with pure nasty greed and total cruelty.
"I have other rich patients waiting for my brilliant expertise," Doctor James sneered. He tapped his foot impatiently on the floor.
Victoria stood entirely speechless with blinding violent rage. Her chest heaved heavily up and down.
She watched the evil man who monopolized her beloved grandfather care prepare to leave.
He let the great titan die and now he wanted to collect his massive f*e without any single consequence.
Mrs. Hayes touched her arm gently. Her angry expression changed completely.
"The name Helen Cole," Mrs. Hayes said carefully.
"Does it not sound familiar?" Mrs. Hayes asked quietly.
She felt like they had heard it somewhere before.
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CHAPTER 143 PART 2
With a long, grinding crack, the lid slid sideways and thudded onto the grass. A dark hollow lay underneath, and in the hollow sat a small round urn wrapped in red silk.The flashlight beam trembled across the cloth. Jesse let out a low whistle."Got her," Shawn breathed. He reached down with both hands. "Let us go home.""Excuse me," a hoarse voice called behind them.Both men froze. Their hands hung in the air over the open grave, and a cold sweat broke out across their foreheads."Are you robbing a grave?" the voice asked. It was rough and cracked, and it dragged on the words like a rusty gate.Very slowly, Shawn and Jesse turned their heads. Standing between two crooked headstones in the pale moonlight was a hunched, filthy figure with a swollen face.Her hair stood out in greasy ropes. Her eyes were two black pits in a purple and yellow mask of bruises, and a trail of dark crumbs ran down her chin like dried blood."A ghost," Jesse whispered. His voice squeaked up an octave. "Sha
CHAPTER 143 PART 1
The wind on Oak Hill was cold and thin. It came down from the black sky and swept across the rows of pale stones with a sound like a long sigh.Under an old maple tree near the top, a bulky figure sat in the grass in front of a plain gray headstone. The name carved on it was Helen Cole.Diane Morgan hugged her knees and sobbed. In one hand she held a crumpled bag of cheap biscuits, and she stuffed one into her mouth between every sob."Three days," she mumbled with her mouth full. She wiped her nose on her filthy sleeve and glared at the stone. "Three days and three nights, on my knees, on this freezing ground.""Look at me," she wailed to nobody. "Look at what that ungrateful boy has done to me. I was a rich woman. I had a mansion."She had knelt for almost twenty minutes, and her knees had screamed at her the whole time. Then she had given up, flopped onto the grass, and cried herself to sleep.A cold gust woke her near midnight. Her teeth chattered, and her whole body shook under h
CHAPTER 142 PART 2
Ethan shook his head slowly. "I have too much to do. Another time.""Think of the glory," Doctor James pleaded. He trailed after Ethan across the room. "Think of the look on his face when you whisper the answers in my ear.""No," Ethan said flatly. He picked up a jar of crushed roots and tipped it into the furnace."The college is a fine school," Doctor James tried again. His voice grew thin and desperate."The best in the country. They say the students there are brilliant. Why, the Hale girl attends. Harper Hale. The granddaughter of that land tycoon."Ethan's hand stopped in midair. A single leaf drifted from his fingers and fell into the flame, and it burned with a bright green spark."Harper Hale studies there?" Ethan asked slowly. He turned around, and his eyes were sharp."Top of her class, I hear," Doctor James said. He blinked. "Why, do you know her?"Ethan did not answer. The Green Phoenix Vine grew in her private rooms in New York. A public lecture at her own school was the
CHAPTER 142 PART 1
The clinic was quiet after Mason left. A single lamp burned on the wall of the back room, and its yellow light fell across a framed portrait that hung above the old oak desk.It showed a gentle woman with soft eyes and a faint, tired smile. Her hair was pinned back, and she wore a plain white coat with a stethoscope around her neck.Ethan stood before it for a long time. He raised one hand and wiped a thin film of dust from the frame with his thumb."Mom," he whispered. His voice was low and rough. "I know you never wanted me to carry this. But I cannot put it down."He looked into her painted eyes and made a silent vow. He would go to New York, and he would stand in front of every family member who had driven her to her grave.Not a single one of them would be forgotten. Not a single debt would stay unpaid.He bowed once to the portrait. Then he turned away and walked to the back of the room, where a squat bronze furnace sat beneath a cloth.He pulled the cloth away and set to work.
CHAPTER 141 PART 2
"I knew it the moment I saw you at the conference. No one else fights like that.""Ethan Cole," Ethan repeated, and his face was hard. "That is who I am now. Go home, Mason. You have done enough for me.""I will not leave." Mason planted his feet and shook his head. His chin lifted. "Not unless you throw me out by force.""You have a post to return to," Ethan said. He frowned. "The Tiger Guard needs every man it has.""I am not a deserter, sir." Mason's voice cracked, and his fists clenched at his sides. "I walked out in protest. Do you know who runs the Guard now?""Tell me," Ethan said quietly."Charles Sherman." Mason spat the name as though it tasted of rot."That old hound took the command after you vanished. He threw out every loyal veteran who ever fought beside you. He gave the best posts to his own grandson, Ryan Ingram."Ethan did not move. A muscle jumped in his jaw."Evelyn Sherman's boy," Mason went on. His voice shook with anger."Edward Ingram's son. He has never fired
CHAPTER 141 PART 1
The black Bentley rolled back toward the city with its windows still open to the cold night. The smell of Diane Morgan clung to the leather like a bad memory.Mrs. Hayes kept one hand on the wheel and fanned her nose with the other. She glanced at Ethan in the rearview mirror, and her eyes were full of questions."Why did you not just leave that woman in the gutter?" Mrs. Hayes asked. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head."She treated your mother like garbage. Nobody would blame you.""Because she is useful," Ethan replied. He leaned back and watched the dark fields slide past."Tamara Watanabe is using Sophia to reach for the herb supply in the Southwest. Diane knows how that deal started.""So you keep her like a guard dog," Victoria said slowly. She turned to him with sharp, thoughtful eyes. "One that watches for the wolf.""A guard dog that I do not feed," Ethan said. A cold smile touched his lips. "I only need her to stay alive and stay close."Mrs. Hayes snorted a short laug
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