King-In-Law, The Hidden God Of War!

011

Victor pulled out his phone, but before his thumb could touch the screen, Vera’s boot swept across. The phone shot through the air like a coin, smacking against the wall with a sharp metallic clang before spinning away into the corner of the hallway. A few on-duty nurses jumped, one nearly dropping a tray of patient files.

Victor lunged to retrieve it, but Vera seized his wrist and twisted it cleanly behind his back. c***k. The sound of a joint snapping was as dry as a breaking branch. His right arm went limp, beads of sweat breaking across his temple.

“Get out.” Her voice was low and firm, each word cutting into the air: “Make noise here one more time… and it won’t just be your arm.”

The hallway, noisy a moment ago, fell into a vacuum-like silence. Some patients and relatives peeked out from nearby rooms, and a few who recognized Victor whispered:

“That’s the eldest son of the Grant family… one of the richest in the city.”

“Heard they got thrown out of the Desert View banquet the other night, and now this humiliation…”

Victor ground his teeth, cold sweat running down his back from the sharp pain in his shoulder, but still forced himself upright: “Who the hell do you think you are, throwing your weight around here? What, the government’s taking over this hospital now? Since when has power been abused this blatantly?”

Vera’s face didn’t change. She simply released him and stepped back: “Those without power… often hate absolute power the most. Can’t say I blame you.”

The words cut like a blade. She didn’t raise her voice, but everyone heard them. Some gazes shifted from curiosity to caution.

Victor took a breath, swallowing the pain, and kept muttering curses about “the hospital becoming the military’s backyard” and “bullies picking on the weak.” But unlike earlier, no one in the crowd dared join in, there was something too heavy in the air, a sense that if anyone spoke out of turn, they might be her next target.

Near the patient’s room, Kiera and Laura stepped back a few paces, their faces still pale but lips moving in constant mutters. Laura tugged her mother’s sleeve, signaling to lower her voice: “Mom… don’t make trouble anymore.” Kiera only answered with a soft huff, eyes still shooting daggers toward Raymond.

Sophia stood against the wall, oblivious to the rest, her eyes fixed on the glass window into Anna’s room, her face a mix of worry and confusion. Her gaze flickered when it brushed past Raymond, silent since the start, but with eyes that hadn’t left their daughter.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached. A doctor in a white coat came with several nurses, clutching a folder of medical records. He scanned the crowd outside the patient’s door and spoke:

“Family of patient Anna Thompson? Everything is ready. Once you sign, we can take her for a thorough pre-op exam and proceed with surgery immediately.”

A murmur rose, but Vera stepped forward half a pace, her gaze still cold, her tone even yet decisive:

“Doctor, double-check the file. This case is under government-authorized benefits. The mother’s signature alone isn’t enough. The recipient of the benefit… is him.”

She inclined her head toward Raymond: “His signature is required to complete the paperwork.”

Her words made several eyes that had been fixed on Sophia shift to Raymond. Whispers began:

“Government authorization? What’s that supposed to mean…?”

“Could he… have connections that high up?”

Victor frowned from the side, his tone curt: “What kind of nonsense is this? Since when does the government care about someone like him?”

Kiera knit her brows, glancing between the doctor and Vera: “So… all it takes is his signature?”

“That’s right.” Vera replied without blinking.

Victor cradled his injured arm, smirking but with a glint of unease in his eyes: “Authorized or not, I want to see who can get that girl on the operating table if I say otherwise.”

Kiera and Laura instantly backed him up, voices sharp: “That’s right! Without someone capable like Young Master Victor, how can Anna be safe?”

The doctor’s expression tightened, about to speak, but Vera had already stepped forward, positioning herself between them and Raymond, her voice low but clear:

“Anyone who obstructs a patient’s emergency treatment here is directly defying the government, and will be held accountable under the law.”

The words “held accountable under the law” echoed through the narrow space, making a few onlookers step back instinctively. More than a few eyes began reassessing the young woman, guessing at her background.

From inside the room, Anna’s heart monitor beeped steadily, each beat feeling like a countdown. The doctor checked his watch, his tone urgent:

“We need to move the patient now.”

No one spoke, but the tension wrapped around the hallway like a tightened rope.

Victor’s mouth curled into a smirk as he rubbed his bruised wrist, raising his voice deliberately: “Hope the girl makes it through surgery. Sometimes… they don’t even make it to the table.”

A ripple of murmurs spread among the outer hallway crowd. Kiera’s eyes sharpened, seizing on the words: “You hear that, Raymond? What if something happens to Anna? Can you handle that?”

Laura joined in, arms crossed with a mocking smile: “Exactly. Depending on him for government help? That’s more laughable than the cheap drama the other day, what, are we doing another performance now?”

The onlookers buzzed, some nodding, others watching Raymond with curiosity. From inside the room, the heart monitor’s steady rhythm made Sophia’s fingertips tremble, afraid it might stop without warning. She didn’t know what to think, if this was all just an act, was Anna in danger?

Victor leaned back against the wall, letting his gaze brush over Sophia: “Do you really trust a man like this with your child’s life?”

Kiera, irritated, turned fully to Vera: “Tell me the truth, what kind of government would step in for him? If something happens to Anna, who’s responsible?”

Questions layered over each other, voices crowding the hallway. A nurse passing by had to hug the wall to squeeze past, her face tense.

Finally, Vera stepped forward, her combat boots clicking sharply against the tile. She swept her gaze over them all, her voice cold: “Anyone not signing the forms… out. Now. If you don’t, don’t blame me for showing no mercy, just like I didn’t with Victor Grant.”

The whispering died instantly. Some averted their eyes, backing toward the stairs. Remembering the fresh ache in his arm, Victor clenched his jaw, saying nothing and turning his head to hide the pain.

Vera turned to the doctor, her voice decisive: “Anna’s surgery is fully covered by the government. All costs are approved. No one here needs to worry about a thing.”

The doctor nodded in confirmation, gripping the file tightly before turning to Kiera and Sophia: “Then I’ll take the patient now, but I need the mother’s signature first.” He handed the pen toward Sophia, eyes urging her.

Kiera snatched at the pen, but Vera stopped her, her tone clearly colder: “Not you. This file needs both the mother’s signature and that of the special-benefit recipient, Raymond Wang. Who are you to interfere here?”

Then she turned to the doctor: “Do your job.”

The doctor nodded, moving to Sophia for her signature, then to Raymond. Raymond signed without hesitation, his bold strokes pressing deep into the paper. As soon as the form was complete, two nurses pushed the hospital bed out, the wheels hissing softly as they rolled toward the pre-op exam area.

Sophia walked beside her daughter, one hand gripping the rail of the bed, the other unconsciously brushing Raymond’s shoulder, as if to steady herself in the chaos. She had already chosen to sign the surgery consent; whether she regretted it or not, it was far too late to turn back.