Ian raised an eyebrow, feeling puzzled.
Ben nced over.
“What are you doing here?” Ian had never liked Stanley, so his tone was anything but friendly.
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“Wow, hasn’t it been ages since we hung out? I almost started missing you.” Stanley forced a grin, masking his disgust as he yed nice. “You heading in to see the patient? C’mon, let’s go together.”
Ian’s lip curled in faint annoyance,
‘Couldn’t even bother toe up with a halfway decent excuse?‘ Ian thought to himself.
Stanley pressed, “Why are you just standing there? Let’s move.”
“I’m here to see the patient, not to hang out with you.” Ian shoved Stanley’s hand off his shoulder with extra force. “Just get lost.”
“Not letting me in?” Stanley asked. <fn5637> ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? </fn5637>
Ian’s answer was crystal clear. “Nope.”
Stanley pressed, “You sure about that?”
Ian didn’t even blink. “Positive.”
Stanley clenched his jaw.
‘If Ian goes in first, he’ll definitely find a way to make Ben keep his mouth shut–threats, intimidation, even bribery. By then, even if I throw Jeffrey’s name around, Ben won’t dare spill a single word,‘ Stanley thought, anxiety gnawing at him.
“Name your price,” Stanley said, dropping the act. He knew there was no point in trying to trick Ian, so he justid it out. “What do I have to do to get in there with you?”
Ian didn’t even blink. “Call me Dad.”
Stanley was so mad he nearly exploded. “Are you freaking serious?!”
‘Where’s my damn knife when I need it?‘ Stanley fumed, grinding his teeth.
“Whatever, forget it,” Ian said without even looking back. He turned to his bodyguards. “Keep Mr. Garcia out- make sure he doesn’t get in and disturb the patient.”
“Wait a second,” Stanley called out.
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Jan turned back to give him a look.
Stanley sucked in several deep breaths, fists clenched tight by his sides, like he was bracing for something humiliating.
After struggling through a few breaths, he finally choked out the word, resentment thick in his voice. “Dad”
‘Seriously?!‘ Stanley fumed inwardly, barely stopping himself from screaming.
‘Because of Jeffrey, I’m really getting screwed over!‘ Stanley grumbled to himself.
Just wait, someday I’ll maken call me Grandpa, Stanley vowed, silently clenching his fists.
“You’re way too quiet. I can’t hear you,” Ian said, scratching his car in a deliberately provocative tone.
Stanley clenched his jaw again. After managing it once, he found it even harder to force out the word a second time. “Dad.”
Ian raised an eyebrow, ying dumb. “Come again? What was that?”
Stanley bit out, “Dad!”
Ian needled him, “That’s so quiet–did you eat breakfast or what? Say it like you mean it.”
“Ian!” Stanley was about to explode, eyeing him with utter contempt. He’d never seen anyone more shameless. “Don’t push your luck.”
“And what if I do? What are you gonna do about it?” Ian looked utterly unconcerned. “You’re the one who needs a favor from me, not the other way around. Don’t forget how you guys gave me a rough time before.”
Stanley finally gave in, practically yelling, “Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad!”
Stanley waspletely losing it. “Satisfied now?”
“I’m loving this! Good son,” Ian drawled, clearly basking in his own smug delight.
Stanley gritted his teeth, barely resisting the urge to deck Ian on the spot, already nning to get paybackter. “Can I go in now, or what?”
“Nope,” Ian said, soundingpletely carefree–no guilt, not a shred of remorse.
Stanley’s temper shot up in an instant.
Ian jumped in before Stanley could burst, reached over and messed up his hair like he was talking to a little kid. “A good son always listens to his dad. Stay outside like a good boy–I’ll go talk to Ben, and after that, I’ll treat you to some midnight snacks.”
“So you’re just gonna break your promise?” Stanley bit out, losing whatever chill he had left.
“Yeah, what are you gonna do about it? I’m not Jeffrey–I don’t have to keep every promise I make.” Ian tossed the words back with a touch of agitation. “Seriously, what made you think we’re close enough to be swapping
13:39 <b>Mon</b>, <b>Oct </b>6
info?”
Stanley paused, then it hit him.
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‘I should’ve seen thising,‘ Stanley thought, a wave of frustration washing over him.
Ian was always a shameless jerk–there was no way he’d just let Stanley get the info he wanted, no matter what Stanley said or did.
After spending so much time with Jeffrey, Stanley had gotten used to people actually keeping their word.
‘This is killing me!‘ Stanley thought, feeling utterly exasperated.
“Keep an eye on the door,” Ian called out to his bodyguards as he headed toward the patient room. “And don’t let anyone try sneaking around or listening in.”
The bodyguards replied together, “Got it!”
Stanley just stood there and watched Ian walk in, totally unable to do a thing about it. He tried to talk to Ben, but since Ian was the one paying all the hospital bills, Ben wasn’t about to let anyone else in without Ian’s say- <ol><li><b>SO</b>. </li></ol>
Realizing there was no way he could get in, Stanley pulled out his phone and called Jeffrey.
If Ben were working at one of the Hanson Group’s private hospitals, Stanley could’ve gotten any info he wanted. But Ian made sure Ben was somewhere he couldn’t pull strings.
“Looks like I won’t get the info untilter,” Stanley said, calling from a quiet pavilion in the hospital. “Ian’s got this ce locked down tight. I’ll wait until he’s gone and then try to get something out of Ben.”
Jeffrey had already expected this. “Okay.”
Stanley kept running his talk with Ian over and over in his mind, words on the tip of his tongue but not quite wanting to say them. “Jeffrey.”
“Shoot,” Jeffrey said, barely looking up from all his Hanson Group paperwork.
“You…” Stanley hesitated, almost blurting out something about Jeffrey and his stubborn sense of promise, but in the end, he just swallowed it down. “Forget it, it’s nothing.”
That was the scar buried deep in his heart.
He’d drawn his own prison walls–and he was choosing to stay inside.
No matter how much Stanley said, it wouldn’t make a difference to Jeffrey. If anything, it would just bring up old wounds.
Jeffrey didn’t ask further. He just told him, “If anythinges up tomorrow afternoon or evening, reach out to Gregory. I might not be able to answer my phone in time.”
“You have an event to attend?” Stanley asked.
<b>13:39 </b>Mon<b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>6 </b>
Jeffrey replied, “Yeah.”
Stanley frowned, concern written all over his face. “You haven’t recovered yet.”
Jeffrey replied quietly, “Don’t worry about it.”
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Tomorrow’s banquet was Reba’s major debut in Honn–Jeffrey made sure he’d be there to check out the results himself.
If the gifts from Liam and Mr. Guzman didn’t spark enough buzz, he’d be right there to make adjustments on the fly, ensuring Reba stood out and was remembered by everyone in the room.
Since Jeffrey was so adamant, Stanley didn’t bother to persuade him further. He knew Jeffrey wouldn’t budge once his mind was made up.
By the time Stanley was on the phone, Ian had already spent a while with Ben. The whole time, Ben was busy showering Ian with grateful words for saving him, barely letting Ian get a word in edgewise.
“Andrea didn’te to me for scar removal or anything like that,” Ben cut to the chase after they’d finished the small talk.
Ian asked, “Then what did she want?”
Ben hesitated, then admitted, “She asked me to give her a scar.”
Ian blinked, thrown off for a second. “What?”
‘Give someone a scar?‘ Ian couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“She brought me a photo and asked me to recreate the exact same scar on her body,” Ben said, still sounding a bit weak. “After asking her a few questions, I went ahead and did it.”
Normally, Ben couldn’t remember every patient who came through his clinic.
But Andrea’s request was just too weird to forget.
“Every piece of equipment gets logged at the hospital,” Ian pointed out. “Did the hospital even approve this?”
“I didn’t do it at the hospital,” Ben reluctantly admitted. “After she came back a second time and confirmed everything with me, I went ahead and performed the procedure at a private ce on my day off.”
Ian pressed, “Can you describe the scar for me? What exactly did it look like?”
‘No hospital in their right mind would ever agree to do something like that,‘ Ian thought, the realization finally hitting him.
‘So that’s the deal… Ian thought, the truth finally sinking in.
“It was about four millimeters wide and eight centimeters long, on the outside of her right thigh,” Ben said, rattling off the details from memory. “The original scar looked like she’d been cut with something sharp.”
<b>13:39 </b><b>Mon</b><b>, </b>Oct <b>6 </b>
Jan’s brow furrowed.
Why would it be there?‘n wondered, suspicion creeping in.
“Do you have a photo of the original scar?” Ian asked.
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“Yeah,” Ben replied. He’d been extra cautious from the start, knowing how weird the whole thing was, so he’d documented everything just in case. “It’s in my email.”
Ian logged into Ben’s email with the info he’d given him. There wasn’t much to go on from the photo–just smooth, pale skin, sliced by a nasty–looking scar.
Ifn hadn’t already known it was on the thigh, there’s no way he would’ve guessed. The shot was so tight, it could’ve been anywhere.
But…
‘Hold up, why does this scar look so familiar?‘ Ian thought, a strange sense of déjà vu creeping in.
‘Where have I seen this before?‘ The thought nagged at him, refusing to let go.
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