The Return of the Desired Heir

Chapter 8

Everyone was stunned. The security, the nurses. How was that possible? 

Neal was speechless as he looked from the man who had just made the shocking announcement to the woman.

Once again, the question probed him. Who is she?

Eyes wide, everyone stared at the man, who was bent forward as he panted. But the woman remained expressionless, almost as if she already saw everything happen.

Finally, the director and head nurse found their voices. Before they spoke, they met each other's gaze, confusion evident in their eyes.

“What do you mean by that rubbish?” The director exploded, his face red with rage. "How dare you blurt out such lies?" 

“Lies!" The head nurse piped up, her voice shaky and movements jittery. “This hospital belongs to the Nelson family. How can it go bankrupt like that?”

“That's just impossible. The Nelson family owns this hospital. It can never go bankrupt,” the director boasted.

The woman sneered, her eyebrows shot up in an elegant arch. “The Nelson family? Who are they?" 

"You don't know the Nelson family!" The director reiterated, irritated and at the same time, panicked. 

The woman scoffed and said dismissively. “Never heard of them. Any family with less than a billion dollars in assets is like an ant to me. I'll crush them with graceful ease.”

The director and head nurse seemed to freeze. In fact, everyone did. Neal stared at the side of the woman's face. The director and head nurse gaped at her.

It wasn't only her confidence that shut them up. It was her words. Who says a billion dollars with so much abandon? Who dares to deny that they didn't know the Nelson family? Could this woman be more than what they thought she was?

They began to tremble. Their lips quivered. They tried to speak but the words fell off their tongues, incoherent.

Suddenly, several uniformed officers barged into the building. Heavily armed, they marched in unison, united by an unspoken goal. But their eyes were set on that goal…the director.

They stopped beside the director whose eyes had grown as wide as saucers. 

“Due to tax fraud,” one of the officers began, “the director of this hospital is under arrest.”

The director's gaze scanned the room. He opened his mouth, eyes wide, ready to lie his way out.

“There is no need for any explanation, sir,” another of the officers stepped forward with handcuffs. "We’ve identified the director to be you. You're under arrest, sir.”

The director took staggering steps back, disbelief in his eyes. “What? How?" He spluttered. “This can't be," he fumbled for his phone but he was restrained and cuffed.

The first officer turned to the head nurse who had shrunk into herself as much as she could. 

“We've also gotten reports of how the head nurse of this hospital abused her power. On several occasions, this has led to the deaths of innocent patients. You're under arrest too.”

The nurse trembled. Her eyes widened even more. She gulped. She began to sputter out words. Her words tumbled over one another making absolutely no sense. Eventually, she fell to her knees, and the director followed immediately.

“Please, I don't even own this place,” the manager began. “I just work here, please, let me go. This must have been an oversight.” He rushed out. "Let's take things easy. Let me reach out to the owners of the hospital, the Nelson family. They'd take care of this immediately. Please-”

“We'll surely reach out to the owners but before then, you need to come with us.”

“It was never my intention to cause anyone's death," the nurse cried. “Please, they died because it was their time to die. I beg you.” She shook her head left and right. “I don't want to go to jail. I can't lose my licence." 

“Please, tamper mercy with justice, officers…” the director was still pleading with desperation. 

The officers paid them a deaf ear as they made them rise to their feet. The nurse was also handcuffed.

Then the first officer turned to the woman. He stood at attention, hands firmly by his side.

“Does this arrangement meet your satisfaction, ma'am?" 

The arrogance and command in the officer's voice were gone. His voice was quiet and humble. It was almost as if he were speaking to his superior.

Beside Neal, the woman snorted. Her eyes were devoid of the soft warmth she had in them when she gazed at Neal. “Make sure they spend at least twenty years behind bars.”

The nurse and director looked petrified anew. They both looked at the woman, completely speechless, their eyes reflected their thoughts and the horror of their situation. So the woman really was that powerful.

They hurried forward, towards the woman, with a pleading expression on their faces but the armed men pulled them back before they could reach the woman.

With a go-ahead from the woman, the officers took the pleading head nurse and director away.

Neal felt like he was in a show. How could so much happen in such a short time? 

The nurses at the reception area and the security were mute, they cast their gazes down, terrified to utter even a word.

Neal heard a groan. He immediately could tell that it was Beverly. “Beverly!" He called from where he stood and might have gone to meet him if it wasn't for the woman's hold on him.

The woman ordered, “What are you waiting for? Move Beverly into the VIP ward right now!” 

The nurses swung into action immediately. No one wants to end up like the director and the head nurse. So, several nurses moved forward to help and they soon wheeled Beverly into one of the VIP rooms.

She scanned the room, making sure she met everyone's gaze with her intimidating one, “From this moment on, this hospital belongs to the Beckman family.” 

Loud gasps accompanied by wide eyes filled the room. 

The Beckman family? The legendary empire that controls 40% of the nation's wealth?

How was this possible?