It was a quiet afternoon in Morrison''s Hospital, Macaulay Branch — the kind of lull that comes right before visiting hours. The usual hum of voices was low, the corridors mildly echoing with footsteps and intercom buzzes.

    Nurse Helen stood near the reception desk, reading a file of patients and the medicine she was to hand to them at departure. Her eyes were half-lidded with boredom, barely registering the world around her.

    Then the automatic glass doors slid open.

    She glanced up, and her hands suddenly froze. The file fell from her grasp and time seemed to stutter.

    A man she thought she recognized walked into the lobby like a phantom from another life. Tall, composed, draped in a tailored dark coat over a steel-gray shirt, and eyes so unreadable they might''ve been carved from obsidian. His shoes didn''t squeak. His steps didn''t rush. He moved as if the entire hospital was his, and somehow, it felt true.

    "Hello there, sir! Welcome to Morrison''s Hospitals. How can I help you tod—"

    He walked closer and she finally saw the resemblance in his face. The same color of eyes, poise of lips as that boy had all those months ago.

    Her eyes widened. "It''s... y— you..."

    She flinched.

    "It really is you," she stuttered, trying to gather herself, summoning that same patronizing voice she used months ago — only now, it shook. "I... I saw you on the news — wha... what are you doing here?"

    Darren didn''t respond immediately. Instead, he let his gaze wander across the room — the same walls he''d once leaned against in despair, the same tiled floor where his knees had scraped as he bowed and begged. His expression didn''t change, but the air thickened around him.

    "I came to see how the hospital was doing," he said flatly. "After the change in ownership."

    Helen blinked. "Ownership?"

    He began walking again. This time, toward the doctors'' area. Her instinct was to stay out of his way, but pride led her to chase after him.

    "Hey, hey! Not this again. Where do you think you''re going?!" Her heels clicked as she hurried after him. "Look, if you''re here to cause trouble, I suggest you rethink—"

    "Trouble?" he said, tone dangerously calm as he looked over his shoulder. "Is that how you remember it?"

    "I didn''t mean—"

    "No. I''m sure you didn''t," he said, continuing forward.

    Nurse Helen''s voice cracked. "Wait, what do you mean ''change in ownership''?"

    Just then, a man in a pressed navy suit approached Darren, holding a leather folder.

    "Authorization papers," he said, opening the folder. "Filed and confirmed by the State Health Regulatory Board. This branch of Morrison''s Hospitals is now under the executive holding company Steele Health, a registered private subsidiary of Steele Investments."

    He handed the sealed document to Darren, who took with him as he continued forward.

    Helen stared. Then followed after Darren, horror slowly dawning.

    "No... that can''t be. You— you bought the hospital?"

    Darren turned, gaze hard. "I bought the branch, the building, the patents, the equipment contracts, and the debt portfolio your former management left behind. I bought everything."

    Helen gasped.

    "No, that''s impossible!" She said, eyes wide. "You were just—"

    "If you''ve seen me in the news as you said, then you should know this isn''t at all impossible," Darren said. "You''re my property now, Nurse Helen."

    With terrified eyes, Helen''s lips quivered.

    Darren leaned in slightly, whispering to her. "Do you remember when you made me kneel, right on this ground. I can still hear the echoes of your laughter, and you can too if you listen hard enough."

    She turned pale.

    "I remember," Darren whispered. "I remember every damn second."

    Then came the voice behind them.

    "What''s the disturbance here? Helen? What''s going on? Who''s this ma—?"

    Doctor Gerald, the man with the practiced authority of someone used to control, approached. His shoes clicked against the tile as he spotted Darren.

    Recognition hit him a beat later.

    "You."

    "Me," Darren confirmed. "Still alive. And, inconveniently for you, in possession of this entire establishment."

    The man in the suit stepped forward again, referring to Gerald. "Sir, as outlined in the acquisition agreement, you no longer retain practicing privileges at this institution. Your employment is effectively terminated."

    "What?" Gerald barked, then he chuckled. "This is... absurd! I mean you can''t be serious. I demand to see legal documentation—"

    "You''ll get your copy in the mail," Darren said. "For now, you''re being escorted off the premises."

    "Security!" Gerald shouted, but it wasn''t the same commanding voice he used to carry. This one cracked.

    Two uniformed security guards entered the lobby from the side hallway. "Take this lost young man out of the hospital''s premises this instant!"

    The guards remained still.

    Gerald frowned, his eyes started to quiver. Even Helen looked worried.

    "Didn''t you hear me?!" Gerald snapped.

    "Oh. They heard you alright?" Darren said, one hand in his pocket. "Now let''s see who they listen to."

    Silence. Thick and heavy.

    Gerald stared at Darren, and then at the guards. Helen''s heart pounded.

    "Take him away," Darren uttered.

    Instantly, the men began to march toward Gerald, whose eyes widened as Helen gasped.

    "You can''t do this," Gerald snapped, backing up. "I''ve been here for fifteen years. You think some money lets you—"

    Darren stepped forward. "Money lets me end people like you legally."

    Gerald clenched his fists. "You''re nothing but a kid with a vendetta."

    "No," Darren said softly. "I was a kid. Now, I''m the man writing your severance."

    He narrowed his eyes, speaking to the guards. "Remove him."

    "No! How dare you ridicule me this way! I''m Dr. Gerald Martins! I''m one of the best doctors in this entire state! You can''t do this to me."

    The guards grabbed him and began to pull him out of the building, his feet dragging on the hospital tiles.

    Darren stood tall, watching him being dragged away. "And don''t think this is the end of it, Dr. Gerald Martins. Because of all you''ve been doing here, you have been suspended for investigation, reported to the Medical Ethics Board for overcharging and manipulation of vulnerable patients. And you''ve been blacklisted across private hospital networks via my allies."

    "Hell would freeze over before you ever work again as a medical practitioner."

    Helen stood paralyzed, watching the doctor get dragged away.

    Then Darren turned back to her.

    "I haven''t forgotten you."

    She jolted. Then nervously stepped forward with fake politeness. "Mr. Steele...! I mean, Darren. I didn''t know you''d be—"

    "Shut up," Darren ordered coldly. "Your voice still annoys me."

    Helen fell silent for a while, then, all of a sudden, she exploded into tears and latched onto his hand. "Please! Please! I''m so sorry! I was wrong! I was so wrong! Please, I''m not the same person I was in the past! I didn''t mean to treat you so awfully."

    Darren looked down at her with disgust. Then, with a gentle voice, he said; "It''s okay. I understand."

    Helen paused. "Hmm?" She dried the tears in her eyes and glanced up at him. "You''ll forgive me?"

    "Yes," he replied. "I''ll be generous."

    Helen smiled instantly. The tears were all gone. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

    Darren''s face remained expressionless. "You''re fired," he said. "Effective immediately."

    Helen''s smile vanished. "What?"

    "Meet the door."

    "No! No! Wait, Darren please! I didn''t know, I just followed orders—"

    She sank to her knees instinctively. "Please, just give me one more chance!"

    "Oh, you''ll have your chance." Darren replied. "Right now, your medical license has been revoked, alongside some others in this hospital. But in your case, I''ve blacklisted you from mainstream hospitals."

    Helen stared at him, shocked and terrified. "How?! How can you be so heartless!!!"

    "Don''t worry. I''ve prepared a new job for you at the cleaning agency we just outsourced. They need night-shift janitors."

    "That should be easy for someone who''s used to looking down on people. Now you''ll just have to look down to clean their shit."

    The crowd gasped and murmurs erupted.

    Helen broke down, screaming with all the air in her lungs. "You bastard!"

    Darren half-chuckled, amused by her words. "Bastard? You made me kiss your shoes. I''d say I''m being generous."

    He waved to the guards again.

    As she was being escorted out, Darren raised his voice to the gathered onlookers, staff and nurses who had paused to witness the scene.

    "Let this be your welcome to the new administration of this hospital. Where dignity is mandatory. And discrimination gets you thrown out faster than an expired drug."

    He adjusted his cuff. "The purge is just beginning. Every single one of you who was corrupt is going to be jobless by the end of the day."

    Then, without another word, he turned away from the lobby and headed to the office of the head doctor.

    That motherfucker was getting fired as well.

    ---------

    "So you did it then?" Leonard asked, reclining slightly on his chair. "You bought Morrison''s Hospital Branch? That''s practically impossible. Richard Morrison doesn''t sell. Ever."

    Darren''s lips curled faintly. He took a slow step, drawing the blinds closed behind him. "Well I didn''t give much of a choice, did I?"

    Leonard watched closely as Darren sat, folded his hands, and began.

    "The first thing I needed was silence. No boardroom shakeups, no PR war. I wanted to get ownership... but I wanted to be invisible as well, until I wasn''t."

    In a shadowed office high above the city, Rachel sat across from a broker, stacks of acquisition contracts before her. One document after another slid across the table— each representing a 0.7%, 1.1%, 3.5% stake in a string of hospital-adjacent firms.

    Some were shell holding entities, others silent minority partners. The names didn''t say "Morrison" outright. But they all fed into a parent trust that owned 42% of the branch.

    "Rachel traced the ownership web to a holding trust called Aegis Blue. Morrison''s name wasn''t listed, but undeniably, it was his engine."

    "Soon, I owned over 45% of the hospital, and Morrison had no clue."

    Leonard stared, impressed. "Still not enough to own it. You''d need fifty-one."

    Darren smiled faintly.

    "After I submitted my evidence against the Holloway branch for fraud, they were placed under review."

    "Leonard tried to reclaim it, but it was too late. That week, four major silent investors pulled out. My shells bought all four."

    "Then... with a final bid, I secured the remaining 9.2%, tipping me past the threshold."

    Leonard exhaled. "You used fraud to take the hospital?"

    "I exposed fraud," Darren corrected. "They committed it. I used it."

    There was silence for a beat.

    "And Morrison?" Leonard asked.

    "He signed a non-disclosure and retirement agreement three days ago. Keeps his other branches. But the Macaulay one? That''s mine now."

    "What are you going to do with it?"

    Darren turned to him. "Nothing. I''m giving it to you."

    "What?"

    "Morrison will lose sleep knowing that a hospital branch that was once his is now yours. So... Take it, I''ll reduce my shares to 35%, selling the rest to you."

    Holloway blinked, not believing what he had just heard. "You just bought a billion dollar hospital and you''re handing it over to me?"

    Darren smiled. "We''re allies. Would be weird if I started competing with you."

    Holloway sighed, raising his brows. "Yeah, it would, wouldn''t it? Heck, kid. Not a day goes by that you fail to blow my mind."