Page 71 of Billionaire’s Ruin

An emergency case conference was in order, so I called for one immediately.

Within the hour, seven of us gathered in a small meeting room that smelled faintly of antiseptic and stale coffee. The table was cluttered with laptops, patient files, and Dannie’s charts spread like a jigsaw puzzle waiting to be solved.

Dr. Chan sat stiffly at the far end, arms folded. I ignored the scowl he didn’t bother to hide.

“Thank you all for coming,” I began, skipping the introductions. “We’re here to discuss patient, Dannie Wu—he’s losing blood fast. There’s no sign of external bleeding. No blood in urine or stool. No vomiting. Which means it’s internal.”

A murmur rippled through the group.

“We’ll start with a CT scan,” I continued, “and if it fails to locate the bleed, we’ll proceed with an MRI. Broad-spectrum antibiotics have already been administered. We need to get his temperature down before we can safely transfuse two, possibly three bags of blood by the end of the day.”

I paused, scanning the room. “If his fever doesn’t drop, we’ll have to risk it anyway. He won’t survive another drop in his red cell count.”

Nurse Anu’s pen scratched furiously against her notepad. Every word landed with her, absorbed with the quiet focus of someone who genuinely cared.

I had personally requested her to take charge of Dannie’s ward. Of everyone I’d met, she alone seemed genuinely happy to work with me—not because of my title, but because she believed in what I was trying to do.

And right now, I needed allies more than ever.

Dr. Chan sat through the meeting like a begrudging teenager forced into a parent-teacher conference. His arms were crossed, his expression carved in stone, offering the occasional huff but no useful input. Fine by me. The less he said, the fewer interruptions I’d have to deal with. For now, I was personally in charge of Dannie’s case—overseeing every decision, every test, every chart—until…

Until when?

My phone buzzed on the table. I unlocked it immediately.

Liam: Lincoln is in China.

My stomach dropped. The words blurred for a moment before I could even process them. Lincoln. China. The thought alone made my pulse quicken.

When? Why? Did you tell him about me?

I fired off my questions so quickly I almost hit send twice.

Three dots appeared. Then disappeared. Reappeared. Gone again.

A hard swallow scraped my throat. You can tell me, I typed, hoping to coax the truth out of him.

Still nothing.

A hollow ache spread in my chest. Lincoln leaving home terrified me.

My brother hadn’t been the same since Chloe. Marriage, fatherhood… finding out he had a daughter after a decade of searching for the woman he loved—it had changed him. He used to be at every event, every board meeting, every deal that crossed our family’s radar. Now, his world revolved around them. Chloe and the kids.

Link never went anywhere.

Not unless it meant losing millions.

Or saving a life.

Liam hadn’t mentioned Lincoln’s whereabouts during our call earlier. He must have just found out. Otherwise, he’d have told me. The uncertainty gnawed at me like acid. I just needed one text, one sign that everything was fine.

But the screen stayed silent.

A freezing touch on my arm made me jump. Behind me sat Dannie, pale and frail in a wheelchair, being wheeled down the hall by Nurse Anu.

She wasn’t supposed to be doing porter’s work, but she’d taken this case so personally that I didn’t have the heart to stop her. Still, I’d need to speak with her later—make sure her dedication to him wasn’t compromising her other patients.

“Everything okay?” Dannie’s voice was weak, but his eyes searched mine.