Chapter 1449
Chapter 1451:
Cade rushed toward the entrance of the emergency room, only to be halted by a nurse who stepped firmly into his path. He barely heard her explanation. The moment he learned that Dominic was still inside, undergoing emergency treatment, a heavy knot of dread pulled tight in his chest.
His mind refused to settle. Dominic’s condition was uncertain, but what tormented him even more was Maia. Despite relentless search efforts across the ruined banquet center, she had not been found. The rescue teams had already listed her as officially missing.
Damn it. How had everything fallen apart so quickly?
Cade paced the corridor like a trapped creature fighting for air, his footsteps echoing against the sterile tiles in an uneven, restless rhythm that betrayed the turmoil churning inside him. Around him, the soldiers from the guards regiment stood in gloomy silence, shoulders tense, faces drained by exhaustion and dread.
Then a sharp rhythm of hard, arrogant footsteps cut through the corridor like knives striking quiet stone.
Cade looked up. Several men strode down the hallway with the swagger of people who feared nothing and respected even less. Their expressions were vicious, their eyes scanning the environment with predatory indifference. One after another, they yanked open doors, peered into rooms, and surveyed patients with brazen familiarity — as though the hospital were their personal hunting ground.
These men belonged to Kolton.
He had failed to seize Claudius at the Cooper Estate or at the Cooper Group’s private hospital, but he knew the extent of his son’s injuries. Someone that badly wounded would need immediate medical care, and Kolton wanted him found fast. He had therefore sent dozens of his men into the city with orders to turn every hospital inside out.
These men were not refined operatives, but they were far from common street thugs. They carried the boldness of those who survived on muscle and intimidation — and there were many of them.
A nurse finally stepped into their path, her voice shaking but determined. “Who are you? What do you think you’re doing p>
𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻
“Move.” The tall man leading the group barely glanced at her. His hand shot out and shoved her aside. She hit the floor with a sharp cry, her tray flying from her grasp and clattering apart across the tiles.
The noise drew attention instantly. Cade and several nearby soldiers turned, brows drawing together in sharp, rising anger. At a time when the entire city was straining every last ounce of its strength to save lives — when doctors had not slept in hours and soldiers had been pushed to their limits — who dared bring this kind of chaos into a hospital?
Before Cade could fully process the situation, Kolton’s men escalated. Doors flew open under their force. Patients were yanked upright. Bedsheets were torn back as they inspected faces and bodies with rough invasiveness. Cries of pain, outrage, and fear filled the hallway, but no one dared resist. The unmistakable shapes bulging beneath their jackets made the threat plain. Weapons. Malice. And most of the people around them were injured, weakened, in no condition to fight back.
Cade had seen enough. His fists tightened until his knuckles went white, and he stepped forward, ready to confront them.
But just as he moved, the group reached Chris’s room.
A thunderous crash followed — the door of the intensive care unit flew inward and slammed against the wall. Inside, Chris lay in the bed, eyes closed, his body still in exhausted rest. The moment the racket erupted around him, he opened his eyes. Calm. Focused. Unafraid.
The tall leader strode to the bedside and loomed over him, pulling out his phone to compare Chris’s face against the image on the screen. Claudius. The patient’s head was wrapped in thick white bandages, leaving only his eyes and mouth visible. The brows and eyes bore a faint resemblance to the photograph, but the similarity ended there. Besides, Claudius reportedly could not move. This patient clearly could.
After a few seconds of scrutiny, the tall man shook his head with visible irritation. “This isn’t him.” He gestured toward the hallway. “Check the emergency room next. He might be in there p>
He turned to leave. But as he did, Chris caught a clearer look at the man’s face — and recognition struck like a spark. Alex Bates. Pumpkin Street’s notorious enforcer. A man who ruled the seedier corners of Wront with a pack of thugs at his back. Kolton’s loyal dog. The kind of muscle sent out when dirtier orders needed willing hands.
If Alex was here — tearing through a hospital with this kind of reckless urgency — this was no small matter. He was hunting someone.
And then a far more chilling thought struck Chris. Could they be looking for Maia? His wife?
A cold dread surged through him. Maia was in danger.