Married To My Step Brother

Chapter26

CHAPTER 26

The next morning, Rufus came to meet Adam at the hospital, Belle was still unconscious.

He couldn't enter the ICU so Adam had to come meet him at the visitors’ waiting area.

“Good morning boss, I got your text but was surprised it came from an unknown number.” Rufus greeted, immediately Adam got to him.

“Yeah, I was in a hurry so I left it.” He continued. “Belle will be staying in the hospital for a while and I'll be staying with her – I need you to get things like clothes and toiletries from the house for the both of us.”

“I think this will be the right time to think of a new plan and take action, before Belle fully recovers.”

Adam looked at Rufus confused. “I don't understand.”

Rufus summoned courage and continued. “Your initial plan has obviously collapsed, we need to think of a new plan and we need to do it fast.”

Adam stayed quiet, trying to process what Rufus was talking about.

“To take down Bailison group I mean.” Rufus added.

“What? Are you okay? Are you deaf? Why are we talking about two different things here?”

Rufus took a deep breath. “I'm talking about something more important sir, and I'll appreciate it if you can also focus on it. I assure you, now is the best time to stri..”

Adam didn't let him finish. He grabbed him by the collar, and pushed him straight to a wall close by.

Other visitors were shocked by the sudden outburst and they tried calling for the security.

“My wife almost died Rufus,” Adam choked him against the wall. “Nothing is more important than she gaining full recovery. Do you un..der.stand?”

Rufus struggles for air but Adam doesn't let him.

“Answer the damn question fool, do you understand what I said!!?”

“Ye…ss,”

That was the response Adam needed to release him before the security could come in. Rufus coughed incessantly, grasping for air.

Adam continued. “Never forget your place Rufus, now go get what I asked for. Don't forget to bring my phone, and Belle's own too.”

Rufus was silent.

“Also, try reaching Belle's assistant – Emma, to inform her of Belle's condition. You are dismissed.” Adam turned to leave.

“There's one more thing sir,” Rufus spoke, trying to regain his composure.

Adam paused, a vein throbbing in his temple as he faced Rufus again. “What now?”

Rufus kept his voice low. “The East Warehouse was hit last night. Someone tried to break in; looks like they were after the new shipment. Our guys caught one of the thieves, but a few packages are missing. Security thinks it was an inside job.”

Adam’s jaw clenched. “Who else knows about this?”

“Just the warehouse crew and me. I contained it for now, but it could get messy if word gets out, especially with the police sniffing around lately.”

Adam let out a slow breath, for a second, he looked back toward where Belle was. “I’ll deal with it,” he muttered. “Handle the hospital errands first. Then meet me at the warehouse – don’t call anyone else.”

Rufus nodded, fixing his shirt. Adam didn’t look back as he walked away, but the weight of two worlds pressed harder than ever on his shoulders.

He waited in the quiet hospital corridor, pacing. Every so often, he checked his watch or peered through the glass towards Belle’s ICU room.

The morning crowd in the waiting area was thinning, but his nerves only grew tighter. Just as he was about to check his watch for the twentieth time, the doors swung open and Emma rushed in, out of breath and clutching her purse. Her hair was a mess, eyes puffy and wide with worry.

“Mr Hamilton!” she called, scanning the hallway until she spotted him.

He walked quickly to intercept her, steadying her by the shoulders before she could barrel toward the ICU.

“Emma calm down, she's stable now.”

Emma’s face crumpled. “What happened? I’ve been trying to reach Belle since last night!” She shoved a piece of hair behind her ear and looked at Adam, anger and fear swirling together in her gaze.

Adam nodded, trying to keep his own voice calm. “Everything happened fast. She suddenly went weak at home, and became unconscious before we reached the hospital. She’s in the ICU now, but the doctor said she’ll be okay. It was a ruptured cyst – they operated, she’s resting now.”

Emma let out a sigh of relief that quickly turned to tears. She braced herself against the wall, covering her face with her hands, sniffling.

“Mr Rufus asked me to bring these along,” she handed him a bag. “He said everything you need is inside.”

Adam collected the bag.

“Ohh,” she opened her purse “lest I forget, here are your phones too.”

“I was about to ask for it, thank you.”

She gave a faint smile.

“You can see her, but keep it brief. She’s sleeping, and they said no visitors, but I was able to convince the nurse.”

Emma nodded gratefully, dabbing her eyes, already crossing the hall toward Belle’s room. Adam watched her poke her head in, the nurse giving a quick nod before letting her through.

Inside the ICU, Emma’s voice was a hushed murmur as she rushed to Belle’s bedside. She squeezed Belle’s hand gently, careful not to disturb the IV. “Hey, it’s me. God, you scared the hell out of all of us. You know I can’t function without your crazy ass, right?”

She sat down, pulling Belle’s blanket up around her shoulders, brushing a strand of hair off Belle’s forehead just as Adam had done before. “You have to get better soon,” Emma whispered, voice trembling, “because I’m not letting you leave me with those board members – they actually make me miss your bossy self.”

Emma looked back at Adam, who hovered by the door, shifting from foot to foot. His jaw was tight, eyes betraying how much he cared but tried to hide.

“I have to be somewhere now, I'll need you to look after her till I get back.”

“Can’t you stay till she wakes up?” Emma asked quietly.

Adam flinched. “I can’t… I have something urgent to handle. I’ll be back before she wakes.” He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking every bit as exhausted as he felt.

Emma eyed him, reading more in his face than he would ever admit.

Adam’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Call me if her condition changes. I’ll send Rufus here soon.”

He took one last look inside the ICU, then with a final nod to Emma, he turned and strode down the hallway – already preparing himself to step back into the shadows of his other life.

___

Adam stepped out of his car, Rufus met him at the door and led him straight through stacks of crates to a small office at the back, where two guards stood with a bruised, tied-up guy slumped in a chair.

Adam just stared at him for a second, then dumped his jacket on the table, not saying anything. He didn’t need to shout. Everyone there already knew when Adam was pissed.

“You broke in here last night?” Adam’s voice was low. The guy tried to look tough but his hands were shaking. “I… I just— I don’t want any trouble, man. I was told to get the packages—”

Adam cut him off with a wave of his hand, turning slowly toward Rufus. “Who gave him access? There’s no way he did this alone.” Rufus shook his head, just as confused. “We’re checking the cameras, but some footage is missing.”

Adam turned back, walked up closer to the thief, and knelt so they were eye to eye. “You’ve got ten seconds to tell me who sent you. If you’re lucky, I might let you walk out of here.”

The guy swallowed hard, eyes darting between Adam and the silent guards. “It was… it was Niko from South Street. He said your boys aren’t watching the place anymore. He gave me money—just wanted two boxes, that’s all, I swear.”

Adam stared at him, cool and unreadable, then stood and told the guards, “Lock him up, and make sure he doesn’t talk to anyone, not even the rats. I want every single person who worked last night brought in. No one leaves till I say.”

He grabbed his jacket, moved past Rufus. “Sort out the rest. If there’s a rat in my crew, I want a name by sundown.”

Adam was running through the list of his men in his head, about to call in the next suspect, when a call came into his phone.

He picked it up and placed it on his left ear. “Mr Hamilton, you need to come here. Now. The hospital— Belle’s awake, but… something’s wrong. She can’t breathe, come back to the hospital as fast as possible.” That was all he could hear from Emma and the call got disconnected.

For a second, time seemed to freeze – the chaos of the warehouse, the thief cowering in the corner, the weight of unfinished business all faded into the background. Adam’s grip tightened on the phone, the screen still lit with an urgent message from the hospital, but all he saw was Belle’s face in his mind.

He didn’t say a word. He was already moving, pushing past Rufus and the guards, heart pounding. The last thing he heard before the doors swung shut was the thief’s desperate, muffled pleading, lost behind the slam of Adam’s boots as he sped towards the hospital, racing back to the one person he couldn’t afford to lose.