Chapter 93: The Secret
After a brief pause, Wendy lifted her eyelids to look at the other person, her tone casual and indifferent. “What’s there to stop? Larry has no real ability in that area, and no connections either. Just let him go ahead. Even if he actually manages to pull something off, shouldn’t Henry be the one most worried? We don’t need to make a move. Henry will naturally clear all the obstacles himself.”
They hadn’t turned against Henry yet because they still hoped he would see the rest of the Harrison family as his biggest enemies—not them.
Sammy nodded and marked an option in the planner. “If that’s the case, I’ll have someone watch Larry, but we won’t interfere. That leaves Shanelle. No matter what, she just won’t speak. She refuses to tell us the secret she’s holding.”
Wendy wasn’t surprised. That was expected. Shanelle’s entire family went bankrupt, and she was the only one who managed to escape. If it weren’t for that secret, Henry would have killed her a long time ago. As Joy’s birth mother, Shanelle didn’t get much love from Joy either. In fact, every time Joy saw her, she acted cold and annoyed. This information came from Fiona.
Speaking of Fiona—once a top-level hacker, now a full-time nanny—she had lost her patience long ago. With so many things needing her help lately, Sammy had already helped her resign and arranged a new nanny for Henry.
“Surveillance over at Henry’s place is fully covered. There’s no way he’ll notice. The new tech Fiona developed with the tech department can’t even be picked up by infrared scans. It was originally set to launch next year, but to avoid raising Henry’s suspicion, we’ve delayed the release.”
For Henry, Quinn Group had paid a high price—manpower, money, even power itself. But it didn’t matter. Wendy thought it was worth it.
“Ms. Quinn came back from her business trip, and your sleep has improved,” Bernard said as he walked into the office. Seeing Chase looking sharp and alert, completely different from a few days ago, he set the personnel files on the desk. “Honestly, a few days ago, I figured I’d have to haul you to the ER myself after the operation.”
Chase gave a small laugh. “It wasn’t that bad.” But it was true he hadn’t been sleeping well.
“Mr. Fred checked the personnel files and confirmed that the guy I mentioned was one of the Zaches, Harrison Group’s former finance director. He was already at retirement age, came back for one more year, and just ended up dead. They said Harrison Group paid out a large compensation.”
Harrison Group wouldn’t do something that lost them money. That meant the funeral cost was much lower than the damage they’d suffer if someone found out what…
“So that means Madeline must be involved,” Chase said. “Tell Blanc to keep a closer eye on her. I’ll assign him a few extra night shifts. He’s young—he can handle it. I can’t.”
Bernard raised his hands in surrender. “Neither can I. My partner and I were planning a trip—we were supposed to take our year-end vacation. But if this thing isn’t handled before the holidays, I’m probably not going anywhere.”
It was surprising, talking about Bernard’s partner. But it was clear their relationship was solid.
“If you want to take the vacation, go ahead. I can handle things at the hospital,” Chase said. “Just do what you need to do.”
“We’ll see.”
Lately, Madeline always ran into Blanc during night shifts. The young guy was easy to like—sweet-talking everyone, pulling snacks out of his pocket and handing them around without hesitation. A guy who knew how to work people like that could do well anywhere. Blanc had been spending a lot of time around Madeline lately, mostly because he was always on night shift.
“Why are you always working nights?” Madeline asked. “Normally you can’t do more than three night shifts a week. It affects sensitivity during surgery. You just got hired full-time, didn’t you say anything to the chief?” Then she remembered that Blanc was in the chief’s department. So it must have been the chief who scheduled him.
Blanc sat at the nurses’ station, cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV with the others.
“Dr. Knox’s got family stuff going on,” Blanc said. “So I take the nights, and he works during the day. Said it’ll last about two weeks. I’m young; staying up late doesn’t bother me. I don’t sleep when I get home anyway.”
Madeline frowned. “That’s still not okay.”
“Madeline, you work in the pharmacy. Why are you always around during emergencies? Usually pharmacy staff stay inside and rest during night shifts. Why are you out here?”
Madeline gave a stiff smile and looked away. “It’s too cold in there. The AC’s always on. It’s warmer out here. Besides, the hospital feels cold and empty. I feel better where there are more people.”
“No way. You actually believe that stuff? We’re in medicine; you can’t go around believing in ghosts and spirits.”
“Right. I don’t believe it. It’s just really cold there.”
Blanc looked like he was staring at his phone, but he was actually watching Madeline’s profile from the corner of his eye. He noticed she kept glancing toward one specific room.
Blanc had secretly checked on the computer. The patient in that room had been in a car accident. Severe car accidents could cause damage all over the body, so long hospital stays were normal. It took a long time for internal organs and bones to fully heal.
The patient in room 316 had been there over half a year. It was a woman. And almost every day, someone came to visit her.