Chapter 8
8 Rising Stakes
“Two and a half minutes left.”
Her hand stayed firm on the wheelchair’s handle.
Deep down, she already regretted stepping into this chaos.
If she’d known how messy it’d get, she might’ve chosen another avenue.
Eric watched the frantic medical team inside, then finally broke the silence.
“How confident are you?”
Alice answered without hesitation, steady as ever.
“Pretty confident. If all goes well, he’ll be back on his feet within a month.”
The room froze.
That was a bold statement.
If it weren’t such a dire situation, Melanie might have laughed out loud.
“Even Professor Hoffman’won’t promise that, and you say it like it’s a sure thing…”
Before she could finish, Alice lifted one hand slowly, as if ready to concede.
Melanie snorted.
“So you want to back out now?”
But before the words left her mouth, Alice lowered her hand again.
Everyone blinked, confused.
It wasn’t surrender–Alice was counting.
In the moment everyone lost focus, her fingers dropped once more.
Only four fingers remained.
Melanie froze , her face paling as realization set in.
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12:24 am
8 Rising Stakes
As Alice folded her last finger, the monitors blared a sudden, piercing alarm.
Every face went pale.
Professor Hoffman and Melanie rushed inside.
Urgent commands cut through the chaos.
“Get the pacemaker, now!”
“Defibrillator ready!”
“Professor, his oxygen’s dropping fast!”
“Heartbeat-!”
The medical staff spiraled into panic.
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But outside, amidst the rising anxiety, Alice stayed eerily composed–as if time itself slowed around her.
Eric clenched his fists and motioned to Stanley.
“Clear the room.”
Stanley glanced toward Alice, then swiftly ordered the bodyguards in.
In an instant, the courtyard was sealed off. No one dared move.
Before anyone could protest, Eric’s piercing glare swept the crowd.
“Quiet.”
His presence crushed every whisper.
Silence fell instantly, heavy and absolute–like a graveyard.
Eric’s voice cut through the tension again, sharp and unwavering.
“You’re going to operate on my father.”
4/8
12:24 am DDD.
8 Rising Stakes
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Alice fired back instantly, no hesitation in her tone. “Can you really call the shots here?”
Eric’s gaze hardened, cold and merciless.
“Anyone standing in your way is standing against me. Against us, the Nolans.”
Irene opened her mouth to retort but froze, trembling with barely contained rage.
Alice gave a single, firm nod.
“Fine.”
She moved straight toward the door,
At the entrance, Ruby stepped up to block her, but Eric’s eyes sliced through her like a blade -cold enough to cut deep into the soul.
Her heart skipped, and she stopped moving at once.
Alice approached the bedside and glanced into the small adjacent room.
“Wheel him into this operating room.”
Melanie, burning with jealousy and anger, had been watching Alice closely, suspicious of
every move.
Now, hearing that, she was even more taken aback.
If she did not have the skills, she would never have taken on this task.
This could be a stroke of bravery or sheer stupidity.
Melanie felt no pity for Alice at all.
Oscar’s condition was beyond saving–for both her and Professor Hoffman.
If they could pin Oscar’s death on Alice, she’d make a convenient scapegoat.
“Move Mr. Oscar into the operating room!”
Before Professor Hoffman could speak, Melanie snapped the order, fully committed.
5/8
12:24 am DDD
8 Rising Stakes
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Alice caught the underlying meaning behind the command and gave her a sharp, mocking smile.
Then she stepped inside.
Suddenly, she paused and looked back at Melanie, eyes gleaming with a sudden thought.
“Perfect timing. I need an assistant. You’re up.”
Melanie clenched her jaw, fury boiling inside her.
She wanted to slap Alice–more than once.
But she couldn’t.
She had to play along completely.
Otherwise, everyone would say the surgery failed because she didn’t cooperate with Alice.
So she swallowed her pride and followed Alice into the operating room.
The procedure started quickly.
Alice grabbed the surgical tools and began preparing the skull incision.
From the very first move, Melanie recognized the skill behind Alice’s hands.
Especially when she started clearing the blood clots along the nerves.
Suddenly, everything clicked for Melanie–why Oscar’s condition had worsened again and why he was now barely clinging to life.
Those clots were pressing directly on the nerves.
The nerve system was intricate, and every clot squeezing a nerve disrupted different bodily functions.
Because of this, Oscar’s bodily functions had almost completely shut down.
But removing clots from nerves–that was a task even top experts feared.
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12:24 am DDD
9 Bruised Pride