Chapter 97


    Unsecured


    I dodged the bullet, but this battle exhausted me beyond my limits. The only good thing about that


    meeting with the board of executives was that my hangover had been chased away by the rush of


    adrenalin. Nheless, I was aware that I could pull off this kind of stunt once. I was stalling for time,


    and it was the only thing I could do. I had given Aren an additional two weeks to wake up ande back


    to me, but I knew that those who had just walked out of Aren’s office would use those two weeks to


    sharpen their teeth and ws. I didn’t know what they would n next, but I needed to step up my game


    as well. It was time to get to know thepany so that I would be better prepared for another blow to


    come. I asked Neil to bring me reports on every single ongoing project and the most and least sessful


    ones in thepany’s history. I had assumed that there would be a lot of documents to read, but once


    Neil and a few other coworkers started bringing the boxes into Aren’s office, they quickly filled nearly


    ny percent of the space.


    “Oh, boy…” I mumbled, staring at the endless amount of work ahead of me.


    The worst part of it was that I couldn’t just take those boxes with me to the clinic. I was forced to stay in


    Lan Diamond Tower the entire time I was going through the documents. Of course, I wanted to see Aren;


    to sit by his bed and hold his hand, but I also didn’t want him to lose his position as a CEO. I was


    determined to find a way to prove that I could temporarily run thispany because that would also


    prove that Aren made the right call in appointing me as his temporary recement.


    Thankfully, Lan Diamond Corporation’s profit was based on digital technology. There were industries


    producing specialized hardware elements, but the biggest money went from gaming and app


    development. Unlike the legal contracts that I had spent the most time readingst week, these


    documents had been written in anguage that I could actually understand. I sighed in relief as I realized


    that I wouldn’t be forced to spend time with a dictionary, looking for certain phrases or abbreviations.


    That made me run through documents astonishingly fast. By the end of the day, I had full knowledge of


    more than fifteen percent of thepany’s most profitable projects.


    It was almost eight o’clock, and I decided that it was time to take a break and go back to my temporary


    home-Crawford’s Neurological Clinic. I didn’t feel real symptoms of being drained until I got up from


    Aren’s chair and my head started to spin. I did it again. I forgot that the croissant that Chris had baked


    was the only meal I had throughout the day. Once I crawled out of the office, I swayed to the nearest


    vending machine and bought myself a chocte bar. I knew that it wasn’t the type of dinner that my


    system would like to have, but at this hour, I could either buy a bar or a bag of chips.


    Despite munching down some carbonites, my stomach loudlyined all the way to the clinic. At one


    moment, Benjamin pulled over and jumped out of the car.


    “What are you doing?!” I called after him.


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Mrs. Lan!” He shouted, running toward some bistro.


    I stared at my watch impatiently and wondered what had gotten into him until I saw him running back


    with a bag of Chinese fried noodles.


    “Here you are, Mrs. Lan,” he said as he opened the door on my side of the car and handed me the take-


    out dinner.


    I instantly felt flustered. “Was my growling stomach that obvious?” I asked, my lips curving into a nervous


    smile.


    Benjamin sighed. “Mrs. Lan, you look like you are about to faint any second. Please, make sure that you


    eat some normal meals during the day.” “Thank you,” I muttered, putting the noodles beside me on the


    seat.


    I promised Benjamin that I would eat what he bought me once I got to the clinic, and then he made me


    swear that I would take better care of myself. Only then did he smile and wish me a pleasant evening


    and a good night’s rest. He truly was a kind person. The thought of him made me smile all the way up to


    the clinic’s top floor. As I walked out of the elevator, I froze. The whole corridor seemed empty, and all the


    lights were out, with only emergency lighting marking the fire exits. Aren’s room was on the corner of the


    corridor, which was currently the darkest ce on the entire floor. I swallowed hard and slowly stepped


    into the darkness. “Hello?” I called out, barely audibly.


    No one answered, nor did I hear any voices. I stepped closer to the wall, trying to find a light switch.


    Once I found it, I tried to press it, but nothing happened. It could have been some kind of power failure,


    but theck of power made the whole situation even more disturbing. I knew that there were only four


    patients currently on the VIP floor, and their states were stable. Nevertheless, there should always be at


    least two nurses to check on them. Aside from theck of nurses, there was another rming fact that I


    had noticed… I pulled out the phone from my purse and called Chris.


    “What’s up?” he asked cheerfully, as he answered the call.


    “Um… Chris, correct me if I’m wrong, but there should be at least three guards standing by Aren’s room,


    right?”


    “Yes. They are my men. Why do you ask? Do you have any problems with them?” he inquired.


    I pulled a shaky breath into my lungs. “They are not here, Chris… No one’s in the entire corridor. No


    nurses, no guards… and no light, as if something happened to the power circuits in the entire corridor.” I


    tried to soundposed, but my voice was shaking, and I could barely stabilize my breathing.


    His tone changed in an instant. “Cora, go to the emergency exit, get to the staircase, and try to get onto


    the lower floor. I will try to contact my men and I’ll get there as fast as I can,” he said firmly.


    “All right, I’m heading to the ex-”


    The sound of the opening door got my words stuck in my throat. I stared in the darkness and realized


    that it was Aren’s room door that had opened. Before I knew it, I took a few steps closer, disregarding


    Chris’smand. “Cora? Cora, what happened? Talk to me!” Chris’s voice sounded through the phone,


    but I ignored it and restlessly stared at the darkness.


    Suddenly, I saw a faint shadow rushing out of Aren’s room, heading to the staircase. I froze. Someone


    had been there.


    “Aren!” I shrieked in panic, lurching toward his door.


    “Cora?! What the fuck is going on there?!” Chris thundered over the phone.


    I heard him, but I didn’t say a word. I had to know that whoever was in Aren’s room didn’t hurt him. The


    relief I felt as I heard the stable beeping sound of the monitoring equipment, powered by the emergency


    aggregator. I locked the door behind me and rushed to his bed, feeling the wide streams of tears flooding


    my face.


    “Thank God…” I mumbled, stroking his face. Less than a minuteter, all the lights were back on. Only


    then did I pull the phone up to my ear and tell Chris what had just happened.


    “What if there was someone else in Aren’s room?! You could have walked straight into the hands of an


    assassin!” he yelled.


    “You are exaggerating… The one person who was in his room escaped. And maybe this power failure


    was just circumstantial?” I tried to calm him down, but he remained persistent.


    “Make sure you keep the door locked. Stay there and don’t go anywhere until I get there. Do you


    understand?” he grunted. “Yes, I understand,” I said, brushing off my tears and keeping my eyes locked


    on Aren’s sleeping face. About twenty minutester, I heard someone knocking on the door. “It’s me,


    Cora. Open the door.” Chris’s voice sounded even more nervous than I expected. As I opened the door, I


    saw his men apanied by several police officers. “What’s going on? “I muttered, leaning out into the


    corridor.


    Chris frowned and took a deep breath. “You are probably the luckiest reckless idiot on this.”


    I wasn’t certain if I should take it as an insult or apliment. I stepped outside and instantly noticed a


    few people from the coroner’s office. I swallowed before shifting my eyes to Chris.” Who died…?” I


    mumbled as my body started to shiver.


    Chris gritted his teeth in anger. “All three of our men that were supposed to be protecting Aren, two


    nurses, and a young doctor got shot in the head.”


    I gasped, mping my mouth with my hand. It sounded horrifying, yet it made me wonder even more


    why nothing had happened to Aren. If someone hade here for him, then what was his purpose? I


    nced at Chris in a frantic realization.


    “Grandma…” I muttered, stepping toward her room.


    Chris grabbed my arm. “Rx. She is OK. Other patients are fine as well.”


    That was relieving, but my frustration rose as I wondered who might have done son horrible, but before I


    asked the question, Chris said, “We checked the surveince footage, but it seemed that all the cameras


    around the floor were shut down for more than half an hour when it happened. All except one…” he


    paused and grabbed my hand. “That one camera captured someone running out of the emergency


    staircase on the ground floor. It was a woman.”


    “A woman?” I repeated numbly, remembering that the one who ran out of Aren’s room was heading to


    the stairs.


    “Yes.” Chris nodded with a wry smile. “A pretty brte… Asian… If I were to guess, Chinese.