Chapter 290

Chapter 290

Colt was pacing back and forth anxiously.

When he worked with Simon on the rescue operation, he'd been trying to keep it from Kieran the whole time. Back then, Benjamin's fate was uncertain, and he feared Kieran, given his advanced age, wouldn't be able to handle the blow.

But the Brown family's network of informants was everywhere, and the worst-case scenario still happened.

A convoy of black Rolls-Royces pulled up at the private entrance of Ares Hospital.

The door of the lead car opened.

An elderly man with graying hair and a thin frame, but sharp and alert, stepped out. Following behind Kieran was Nathan, who had rushed back from abroad upon hearing the news.

Kieran's deep-set eyes swept across this completely sealed-off area, his authority natural and commanding.

"Where's Benjamin?"

Colt's throat went dry. He quickly stepped forward, bowing his head as he led the way. "Mr. Kieran Brown, Mr. Benjamin Brown... is in the ICU."

Kieran paused, then followed Colt's guidance to the ICU.

Outside that massive glass wall stood a tall figure.

Simon and Kieran's eyes met.

One was the king of vengeance who had lain low for five years and returned with hatred.

The other was a legendary titan who had stood unshaken in the business world for half a lifetime.

Even the air seemed to thicken and slow.

Colt's heart leaped to his throat, almost anticipating the thunderous rage that would erupt the next second.

However, Kieran pushed away the servant supporting him.

He walked forward alone to stand before Simon.

The distance between Kieran and Simon was less than an arm's length.

He didn't speak, just looked at Simon. In those eyes that had weathered so many storms, there was only an indescribable heaviness—heavy enough to crush everyone present.

After a long while, his gaze slowly moved from Simon to Sophie's face.

That mountain-like authority transformed into an extremely complex mixture of pain and guilt.

"Mr. Scott, Sophie."

"Thank you."

Kieran didn't bow or make any extra gestures.

But these words, coming from Kieran's mouth, carried more weight than any grand gesture.

"Thank you for being willing to save him."

"The Brown family will remember this debt."

Sophie's body stiffened. She instinctively wanted to step back, but was stopped by a look from Simon beside her.

Simon accepted the gratitude with an expressionless face.

He neither made polite remarks nor avoided them.

Only after Kieran finished speaking did he respond, his tone so indifferent it felt cold.

"Kieran, you're giving us too much credit."

"I saved my brother."

With one sentence, Simon precisely drew a line between "debt" and "fact."

We saved him for our own sake, nothing to do with your Brown family.

A trace of bitterness flashed through Kieran's cloudy eyes. He nodded without arguing.

"I understand."

He said nothing more. Leaning on his cane, he walked to that massive glass wall.

Looking at the weakened Benjamin inside, Kieran's eyes showed unstoppable heartache, but more than that, anger at his failure to meet expectations.

"Whatever medical resources Ares needs, whatever specialists—the Brown family will provide unlimited support." He looked at Simon, his tone firm. "First, we present a united front and drag that snake Alfonso out of the gutter!"

"After that... what Benjamin owes the Scott family, I'll make sure he spends the rest of his life paying back, bit by bit!"

...

Forty-eight hours later.

On Benjamin's heart monitor, the line that had flatlined several times finally stabilized.

For these two days and nights, Sophie hadn't closed her eyes, keeping watch at one side of his bed.

On the other side of the bed, Kieran sat upright in a chair, leaning on his cane, also without sleep.

Steve stood silently behind Sophie, not saying a word.

The atmosphere in the room was as heavy as ice.

Suddenly, Benjamin's eyelashes trembled ever so slightly.

Sophie's heartbeat stopped for a moment.

Benjamin used every ounce of strength to lift his heavy eyelids.

His vision went from blurry to focused.

The first thing he saw was Sophie's face, written with exhaustion and coldness. His heart clenched painfully.

Then his gaze shifted with difficulty to the other side. When he saw that stern familiar face, his eyes were instantly flooded with deep guilt and shame.

He opened his cracked lips, and the first syllable that came out was hoarse and weak.

"Grandpa."

A flicker passed through Kieran's cloudy eyes, but his tone remained cold and hard as iron, without a trace of warmth.

"Awake?" He snorted coldly. "I thought you'd be too ashamed to wake up."

Benjamin had no strength to refute this rebuke.

He could only turn his gaze back to Sophie, his throat producing a dry sound: "...Don't be like this."

He wanted to say, don't be so exhausted, it's not worth it.

Sophie understood.

The high wall she'd built with coldness and hatred crumbled instantly before his weak but deeply concerned words.

Her two days and nights of sleepless vigil seemed to find their answer in this moment.

Sophie finally admitted to herself, deep in her heart, in defeat... she had never truly let go of Benjamin.

Her eyes instantly reddened. She quickly turned her head away, not letting him see her vulnerability at being broken down.

On the other side, seeing her silence, Benjamin looked at Steve and asked softly, "Steve, how... are you?"

Steve glanced at Sophie from the corner of his eye, slowly stepped forward, his gaze as cold as ever.

"Still alive."

Doctors and nurses soon rushed in, conducting a series of detailed examinations on Benjamin. After confirming his vital signs were stable and giving some instructions, they left.

The door to the room was pushed open again.

Simon walked in.

He glanced at Benjamin, now awake in the bed, then at his own pale-faced Sophie, and said nothing.

Behind him, Nathan poked his head in, too.

Looking at Benjamin wrapped in bandages, he dramatically gasped.

"Benjamin, I just went home to handle some things, less than a month, right?"

"How did you manage to mess yourself up into this half-dead state again? Seriously... sure enough, without me watching over you, you just can't manage!"

Benjamin weakly rolled his eyes, glaring at Nathan, squeezing out a sentence from his throat.

"You... talk too much."

Just then, Colt hurried over, stopping beside Kieran and reporting in a low, serious voice.

"Mr. Kieran Brown, latest intel."

"Our people have confirmed the whereabouts of the ship Alfonso escaped on."