[Hospital Room]
The room slowly emptied.
Margaret was the first to rise, tapping her cane once against the floor. "That’s enough excitent for one day," she said briskly. "He needs rest, not an audience."
Pauline nodded imdiately. "She is right. We all should go ho and co back later.."
Gregory helped lissa to her feet while Benjamin paused at the doorway, casting one last look at Alexander before turning away without a word.
Olivia followed, her heels clicking softly and her face composed once more.
Evelyn lingered.
She stood near the bed, fingers brushing the back of the chair she had been sitting on, reluctant in a way that felt almost physical.
"I will co back," she said quietly, more to herself than anyone else.
Pauline stopped in front of her and took both her hands gently. "Go ho for a bit," she said. "Change, rest, eat sothing properly."
Before Evelyn could protest, she added, "You can co back later."
"But—"
"Who will take care of Alexander if you fall sick?" Pauline said firmly but kindly. "You will be back. Until then, Lucas will stay."
Lucas, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened. "Yeah," he said easily. "I have got him."
Evelyn looked at him, hesitation flickering in her eyes.
"He won’t be alone," Lucas added, softer now. "I promise."
That did it.
Evelyn nodded. She leaned down once more, brushing her fingers lightly over Alexander’s hair. "I will be back soon," she whispered.
He didn’t respond as he was already asleep but she stayed a second longer anyway.
When she finally turned toward the door, Pauline squeezed her shoulder once in reassurance.
"Don’t worry too much, Evie," she said. "He will be fine."
As the door closed behind Evelyn and the rest of the family moved down the corridor, the hallway fell quiet again.
Lucas took the chair beside the bed and sat down, exhaling slowly.
"Looks like it’s just you and for now," he murmured, glancing at Alexander. "You really don’t know how to do things halfway, do you?"
He leaned back, folding his arms, eyes never leaving his friend.
And for the first ti since the accident, the room felt steady with only the steady beep of the monitor filling the space.
After a few minutes, Alexander slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
"Where is Evelyn?" he asked.
"She went ho to change," Lucas answered. "She will be back soon."
Alexander didn’t say anything. He tried to sit straight but hissed in pain.
"Let help you."
After helping him up, Lucas asked, "You are not sleepy?"
Alexander exhaled through his nose. "No."
"Okay." After a while, Lucas asked again, "You thinking what I am thinking?"
Alexander stared at the ceiling. "If you are thinking this wasn’t an accident—yes."
Lucas stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Modern braking systems don’t just fail. Not completely and definitely not like that."
"I know," Alexander said. "I felt it the second I pressed down. There was no resistance, no delay. Nothing."
Lucas’s jaw tightened. "And the timing is too neat."
Alexander turned his head slightly, his eyes sharp despite the fatigue. "First Heinberg and then this."
Lucas nodded. "Soone tried to slow the company down. When that didn’t work fast enough—"
"They escalated," Alexander finished.
Silence stretched.
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. "The police will call it chanical failure unless we push. And pushing right now will attract attention you don’t need."
"I am aware," Alexander said quietly.
Lucas studied him. "You are not going to let this go."
Alexander’s lips curved into sothing humorless. "No."
Lucas huffed softly. "Good. Because neither am I."
He leaned against the chair beside the bed. "Whoever did this underestimated you."
"They usually do," Alexander replied.
Lucas’s eyes darkened. "This wasn’t ant to scare you. It was ant to remove you."
Alexander went still.
Lucas continued, voice firm. "That ans whoever is behind this doesn’t just want leverage. They want control."
Alexander closed his eyes briefly. Images flashed—Heinberg, the boardroom, Jack’s silence, Olivia’s eyes.
When he opened them again, his voice was steady. "We move carefully."
Lucas nodded. "Quietly."
"And thoroughly."
Lucas smirked faintly. "You heal first."
Alexander glanced at the door Evelyn had exited through. "I will. Then we find out who thought they could touch my life and walk away."
Lucas straightened. "I will start pulling records, maintenance logs, vendor access. No one moves without a shadow, they must have left sothing."
Alexander t his gaze. "Thank you."
Lucas shrugged. "You don’t get rid of that easily. Especially not before I beco godfather."
A faint smile tugged at Alexander’s lips.
"Get so rest," Lucas said, softer now. "I will be here."
As Lucas settled back into the chair, Alexander stared at the ceiling again but this ti, his mind was clear.
This wasn’t over. It had only just begun.
....
[Outside the Private Room]
It had been almost thirty minutes since everybody left the hospital but Benjamin stood near the window at the far end with hands clasped behind his back, staring at nothing.
Alexander had survived and that should have been enough to steady him but it wasn’t.
Behind him, Olivia adjusted her coat and stepped closer. "You should co ho," she said carefully. "You haven’t slept. The doctors said he is stable now, he will be fine."
Benjamin didn’t turn.
"Ho?" he repeated, voice low.
Olivia hesitated. "You have been under stress for days. Heinberg, the board, now this—"
He then turned, slowly.
The look on his face made her instinctively take a step back.
"My son was nearly killed," Benjamin said quietly. "And you want to rest?"
"That’s not what I ant—"
"This was not an accident," he cut in, every word sharpened by certainty. "Brakes do not fail like that. And have you seen the car drives? It’s impossible."
Olivia’s fingers curled into her handbag strap. "Benjamin—"
"No," he snapped. "You don’t get to calm right now."
The corridor felt colder.
"I have spent my life understanding patterns," he continued, pacing once before stopping. "First Heinberg. Then a staged confession that wrapped itself too neatly. And now this?" He laughed once, without humor. "Soone thinks I am stupid."
His eyes landed on Jack, who was standing not too far away from him.
....
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