Chapter 38 WHEN HOPE RETURNED
Chapter 38 WHEN HOPE RETURNED
“What are you doing there?” Xavier asked as he drove to the gate to see Isabella leaning against the stone pillar of his estate gate. She had a bottle of champagne in one hand and a cake package in the other.
The sun was harsh, throwing long shadows across the driveway. Xavier pulled up in his Bentley, turned off the engine, and got out of the car with his body hurting from a very long day at the hospital.
He loosened his tie the moment he stepped out, rubbing his eyes with one hand while the other rested briefly on the roof of the car. His shoulders felt heavy from hours of stress, arguments, and pressure inside the hospital boardroom. Even his voice felt rough from talking all day.
“You don’t even need to tell me what happened,” she smiled, walking towards him as the gates opened. “I can tell just by looking at you and the way you’re standing that you did very well at the hearing today.”
“Well,” Xavier chuckled, “I did,” he said, meeting her halfway.
She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. At first, Xavier was a little hesitant, but then he relaxed and hugged her back. He could feel how happy she was for him. He then pulled away from her and smiled.
“How about we go inside? The sun is too harsh for us to be standing out here, and besides, I am very exhausted.”
She nodded as they got into his car and drove her in.
He parked and then got out with her as they walked up the driveway and into the house.
Xavier put his briefcase on the kitchen counter, leaned against the island as Isabella put the champagne down while looking at him with excited eyes.
“What?” he asked as she squealed a bit.
“Well, tell me everything that happened. How bad was it? Did the enemies try to make things hard for you?”
Xavier let out a soft chuckle.
“I don’t know why you’re calling them enemies. They are just people who just want to make my life hard in the place.”
“Aren’t they your enemies?”
He nodded.
“Okay, fine. I guess they are my enemies.”
He laughed a bit.
“And if I’m going to be honest, it was worse than I thought. Aris Thorne did not just ask questions. He asked things that were not even fully answered yet by doctors around the world. He tried to trick me with a hard question and something about a heart disease that was still in its experimental phase.”
“Well, did you answer it? Because these things you’re saying, they seem pretty difficult for someone of your level.”
Xavier laughed quietly.
“It was hard.”
“But did you know the answer?”
“I did,” Xavier assured her. “I told him the answer and, of course, the board couldn’t believe it because it seemed like they didn’t know the answers too. And he said I was cheating.”
“Oh my God,” she sighed, rolling her eyes as Xavier nodded.
“Yeah, it was really terrible. But Dr. Craig, one of the doctors there, had to search me for earpiece just in case someone was giving me the answers through some sort of earpiece.”
“This is terrible,” Isabella sighed, her eyes flashing in anger. “How dare they treat you like that? That is uncalled for.”
“It did not work out the way he expected and Dr. Craig told Aris he was being a bit stubborn. And when it came time for them to vote for me, everyone voted for me except…”
“Dr. Aris.” She said at the same time with Xavier as Xavier continued.
“Well, Dr. Aris reminded him that 60% of the rest of the board beats his 40%. And now I have control of the lab, I can be able to do my research and I don’t have to answer to anyone but Dr. Craig because we are both in the same line.”
She let out a small breath and nodded.
“Thank God you passed,” she took a breath in relief. “I was so worried that they would use their money to stop you.”
“They tried,” Xavier stated, “but they failed.”
He wanted to tell her about Blaine but he was too tired to start that topic, so he left it.
“So what happens now?” she asked, leaning against the counter. “Now that you have this power, what’s the first thing you’re going to do?”
Xavier gave her a serious look.
“I talked to Dr. Craig after the hearing and I asked him a few questions about your mother’s case.”
“You did?”
“Yes, I did. And I told him that I needed the lab to work on a cure and I asked him if we could move her to our hospital.”
Isabella froze with her eyes getting wide. She looked pale.
“Oh my God, are you serious, Alex?”
“Yes, I am,” he said with a nod. “The doctor agreed and he wants us to bring her in as soon as possible. And he said that if we can find a cure for something that everyone in the world thinks is impossible, it would make the hospital famous and it would really, really help me with my rep in the hospital.”
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered as tears started to burn in her eyes.
She jumped up and down, her exhaustion vanishing as she rushed around to hug Xavier before pulling away.
“Are we really doing this with my mom? Is she finally going to be under your care?”
“Yes. If we bring her in tomorrow,” Xavier promised, squeezing her hands gently, “I will start my rounds as a full-fledged doctor, and I will be her personal doctor. Of course, you will need to transfer her first thing tomorrow morning. You don’t have to worry about the administration or the bureaucracy. I will make sure Dr. Craig handles all the paperwork on our end, and all you need to do is get the ambulance ready for your mom.”
“Thank you,” she sobbed happily, burying her face in Xavier’s chest for a second. “For the first time in a long while… I feel like my mother might actually survive.”
\[HOST EMOTIONAL STABILITY RESTORED\]
\[STRESS LEVELS DECREASING\]
In that moment, the atmosphere started to get tense as he smiled and then nodded to the door.
“I need to go and sleep. I’ve had a very long day.”
She nodded.
“Yes, yes, I will drop all these things for you, and whenever you want to eat it, they will be in the fridge.”
He nodded as she started walking out. She got to the main door, then stopped just as he was climbing up the grand stairs.
“And one more thing, Alex.”
He turned to her as she smiled.
“Thank you so much.”
He gave her a short nod before she twisted the door handle and walked out.