CHAPTER 264: THE MAN WITHOUT MICAH

Darcy stepped out of the hospital room, his brow furrowing. The door closed softly behind him, muting the distant voices inside. He exhaled and looked down the hallway.

Clyde. He needed to talk to Clyde, without Micah finding out. Darcy’s steps quickened as he retraced the direction Clyde had taken earlier. His footsteps echoed lightly against the polished floor. The hospital’s sterile white walls and muted lighting did nothing to calm his growing sense of unease. He felt something didn’t add up.

Clyde was connected to La Riviere Pharmaceutical, the place Micah had taken him last Wednesday, saying a friend helped him secure an appointment.

Now, Darcy knew that it was probably Clyde’s doing. And with what the man said in the car, it seemed he had a high position in that company.

He wasn’t just seeking Clyde for his mother’s treatment, but because of Micah’s strange interest in it.

Darcy frowned. He thought about Micah, how oddly invested he was in treatments for Multiple sclerosis. Not just interested, but knowledgeable. Too knowledgeable. He could rattle off symptoms, dosages, and treatment plans... almost like someone who had seen a patient up close go through it.

Even Nora was not that familiar with their mother’s treatment.

Was there someone with the same disease in his family? He never asked Micah. He feared it was a sensitive topic. Afraid it would be prying, that Micah would shut down or push him away.

But Clyde might talk. At least he would know the reason. Right?

He turned a corner, and then another, and came to a stop, realising he had gotten lost. A quiet groan skipped from his lips as he looked around. He was sure Clyde had gone to the higher-ups’ office in the hospital. No one could provide him with the progress of clinical trials except the directors.

Finally, after several wrong turns, he spotted a sign for the Director’s office and crept closer. His footsteps slowed to near silence as he rounded the corner. Then he stopped short.

There, standing just beyond the door, was Clyde.

He wasn’t alone. Darcy didn’t care, he was just going to call him when he heard a name. His mother’s family name. He halted in his tracks.

Darcy pressed himself against the wall, hidden from sight. A group of people surrounded Clyde, all standing stiffly, their heads slightly bowed. Their body language was clear, careful and submissive. Like employees around a powerful executive.

Clyde stood at the centre of the group, tall and commanding. The easy-going demeanour he had worn around Micah was gone. His posture was straighter, colder. His expression was unreadable. His jaw was clenched. There was no trace of the smirking man who teased Micah. No hint of warmth. He was all business now, intimidating, distant and slightly dangerous.

Darcy watched, baffled. The contrast was startling. The Clyde he saw here and the one at his place weren’t the same man.

The man with Micah and the one without him... felt like two completely different people.

******

Afew minutes earlier, inside the director’s office:

"President, was there a problem for you coming here in person?" the director asked nervously, his hands fidgeting with a pen that clicked under the strain of his thumb. Beads of sweat covered his forehead despite the room’s comfortable air conditioning.

The unexpected visit from the big boss gave them all a fright.

Clyde stood near the window, arms clasped behind his back. "No problem, I just needed a prescription," Clyde replied. "Some sleeping pills."

The director blinked. "Of course! Of course, I handled it myself," he said quickly, grabbing a paper and ready scribbled down.

Clyde turned slightly, his tone sharper this time. "I also want to ask about one of your patients."

The pen in the director’s hand froze on the paper. "President, you know... I can’t disclose medical information. Patient confidentiality..."

"I’m not asking about her medical status," Clyde interrupted smoothly. He stepped forward, his presence suddenly much more intimidating. "I want her financial report."

The director’s heart jumped. "May I ask the name of the patient?"

"I don’t know her name," Clyde said, his voice cool. "Only that the Ramsy family brought her here."

The director shifted nervously. His tongue darted over dry lips. Of all patients, why that one?

He knew doing this favour for his friend would be something he would regret later. Contrary to what most believe, true power in the medical world lies with pharmaceutical companies. They decided what treatment to get funds for, what information to release to the public, what they got to research, what vaccine they recommend, and everything was in their hands. So no one would carelessly go against them. He was indebted to Mr Hakimi, so he accepted this patient. Thinking Ramsy family could handle the Durant family.

He glanced toward a filing cabinet against the wall and walked over, unlocking the drawer with stiff fingers. He pulled out a thin folder and handed it to Clyde.

Clyde took the file and flipped through the contents quickly. He didn’t sit, just stood with the file half open, scanning numbers and names. His expression didn’t change, but his brow creased ever so slightly.

Clean. Legal. No large lump sums, no red flags.

He was just checking for any loopholes. He didn’t want Micah to be implicated later. The transaction appeared clean.

Still, he didn’t relax.

"How is she staying in the VIP ward meant for high-profile individuals? Even the Ramsy family has shares in this hospital; in the end, it’s more one of La Riviere’s properties, isn’t it? So what is this? charity?"

His voice dropped lower, colder. "Or are you pulling strings behind my back? How could you accept her without my consent? You know what that meant, right?"

The director went pale.

"No...no... of course not. Please believe me, President," he stammered. "You mean the Ms Tilden case, right? She was first admitted under the Ramsy family in the normal ward. Then AHPRA stepped in to extend the funding and asked to secure her safety. I would never make a move that would offend...."

Clyde raised an eyebrow. The corner of his mouth twitched, but it wasn’t a smile. So Albert Ramsy had dumped the case on the AHPRA after hooking Micah in. Just enough to leave a debt hanging over his head. What a sly old man. He gritted his teeth.

"And you accepted it out of kindness? What benefit did AHPRA offer? Don’t tell me you accepted such a high-risk case just like that?"

"You do realise," he said, voice low, "what it means to treat a patient that SAFA Pharmaceutical and the Durant family are trying to blacklist, right? Do you know the Francis family backs SAFA?! The Francis family that can destroy a hospital’s license with a phone call?"

The director staggered a little, hearing the name. The colour drained from his face. Francis... they were deeply connected to politics. There were many rumours about them. He had no idea...

Clyde glanced at him, realising the man was really in the dark about that. He shook his head. "Tell me what you got accepting the risk."

"They granted us the privilege to the first phase of new clinical drug trials for next year," the director replied hesitantly.

Clyde let out a soft huff through his nose. "Don’t mention it to anyone. Not even your assistant. The moment the Durant family gets wind of it, they will use it against you and the hospital."

"I...understand." The director’s voice was little more than a whisper.

Clyde sat down, pleased with the outcome. He had frightened the director into not disclosing the information to others. And be more cautious. The Francis family... they had brought the SAFA company back to life in an instant. They weren’t an opponent to underestimate.