Chapter 125: The Omen

"Hey babe, whatcha up to?" Emily's voice was all muffled, probably 'cause she was munching on some candy, sounding kinda flirty.

James, being the smartass he is, grinned and asked, "Why'd you think of calling me now? Wanna grab lunch?"

Emily giggled and said, "Nah, not really hungry today. Don't feel like eating."

James asked, "So, what do you wanna munch on then?"

Emily thought for a sec and then said, "There's that donut shop right across from the hospital, on the corner. How 'bout we hit that up for lunch?"

"Donuts?"

James was a bit taken aback, "Those are way too sweet for me. You dig 'em?"

Emily nodded on her end, "No clue why, but I've been craving sweet stuff lately. This morning, I even snagged a bag of milk candies from the hospital's convenience store."

Candy?

More candy?

James frowned.

He felt like he was forgetting something super important, but it just wasn't clicking.

"I got stuff to do at noon, can't make it."

Seeing that his meet-up with Aaron was coming up, James sped up his words, "How 'bout this! You go ahead and eat, and we'll chat about whatever tonight, cool?"

Emily wasn't thrilled and pouted, "Again with tonight. You're busier than the President. Fine! I'll let it slide this time. But, I'm scared of the dark at night and can't sleep alone, what should I do?"

Total tease.

Emily had grown from a girl to a woman, and she knew what she wanted now.

"Alright! I'll swing by after work."

Hearing James's response, Emily finally chilled and said her goodbyes before hanging up.

Isabella was sitting on the other side of the nurse's station, with a not-so-obvious bruise on the corner of her eye, covered with thick foundation.

She'd occasionally peek over at Emily, all timid-like.

Emily didn't wanna give her any attention and kept chomping on her candy like nothing happened.

The elevator dinged, and the chubby department head hustled out.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and hurriedly said to Emily and Isabella, "Emily, Isabella, looks like you two gotta work through lunch today."

Emily's eyes went wide, "Why?"

The department head strolled into the nurse's station, grabbed a paper cup, filled it to the brim at the water dispenser, and chugged it down in one go. Gasping for breath, he said, "We've got a ton of patients flooding the clinic, and staff from all departments are being pulled in to help. It's crazy busy. We need someone to stay in the ward, and I gotta head down to help now. Please handle the meds and give the injections at noon. Once someone comes to take over, you can grab a bite."

He was clearly swamped. After dropping those words, he spun around and headed back to the elevator.

Emily pouted and made a face.

That's just how it rolls in hospitals; chaos can hit anytime. When there's a patient surge, nurses and docs can't leave on time, and sometimes they don't even get to eat.

Medical Building, Underground Bunker.

Aaron opened the security door, flicked on the light, pulled a chair from the workbench, and sat down, giving Joseph a cold stare. "What do you mean?" he asked, all indifferent.

Joseph was in his usual security getup.

He'd followed Aaron all the way down without a peep. Once inside, he mimicked Aaron and found a chair to sit on. In moments like this, with no one else around, Joseph felt like he and Aaron were on the same level.

The question was weird, and Joseph mulled it over but couldn't come up with an answer. After a bit, he smiled and said, "Mr. Turner, I don't get what you're saying."

Aaron was clearly out of patience.

He picked up a scalpel from the white porcelain tray beside him and twirled it between his fingers like a toy, tapping the handle on the workbench with a dull thud.

"Don't get it? Fine, I'll spell it out."

Aaron's eyes were ice-cold, "Why'd you let those Sunflower Valley folks into my office?"

Joseph was shocked, but his face stayed neutral.

He flatly denied, "Mr. Turner, what are you talking about? Why would I do that? I didn't..."

"Don't tell me all the security staff are blind."

Aaron cut him off, "So many people barged in, and they walked straight into the admin building from the hospital entrance. What were you doing then? What were the security guards doing? You're the big boss in the hospital security department now, no one else can say a word. If you didn't set it up, how would those Sunflower Valley people know where the admin building is? Even if they knew, how would they know where my office is?"

Joseph's eyes went wide, looking all hurt, "Mr. Turner, I swear, I don't know! Maybe someone else tipped them off, but I had nothing to do with it."

Aaron didn't even flinch. He said calmly, "The Sunflower Valley folks are asking for a cool five million. Did you put that idea in their heads?"

Joseph was in agony, "No way! I'm just a hospital employee, why would I do something like that?"

Aaron stayed stone-cold, "Austin just went missing here, he didn't die. Even if his family wanted to make a fuss, how'd it blow up this big? Oh, right, as the mastermind, you get a cut of the cash, huh?"

"I... I really didn't!"

"Cut the crap, Joseph. Your acting sucks. With your skills, you wouldn't even land a role as an extra, you'd starve."

Aaron mocked him without mercy. Before Joseph could say anything, Aaron reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, holding it up for Joseph to see.

"Take a good look at this."

Joseph wasn't illiterate. He saw it was a hospital staffing application form, filled out with his own name. To be precise, it was the same one he'd seen in the director's office before.

Suddenly, Joseph had a very bad feeling.

Aaron wasn't just accusing him.

Everything was indeed Joseph's doing behind the scenes.

If he hadn't secretly called Austin's family, they wouldn't have thought to demand an explanation from the hospital.

Joseph needed to get a sum of money quickly to fill the gap on Joshua's side.

David was already dead. There was no hope from Hestia either. The last hope could only be placed on Aaron.

Unfortunately, Aaron wasn't easy to deal with.

Even though Joseph knew the secret of the basement and had witnessed Aaron killing David, Aaron's attitude towards him remained cold, without the expected warmth or attempts to win him over.

According to Joshua, he should secretly inform him of James's work schedule and routes?

Don't be ridiculous. That guy is fearless. Bobby, the deputy head of the finance department, a very powerful person who controls the salaries and benefits of all hospital staff, was beaten up by James in front of everyone. It's said that he's still bedridden at home, unable to get up.

Also, it's rumored that on the night Joshua's wife brought people to block him, James single-handedly took down everyone. Clearly, that young man has some serious fighting skills, so why would I want to provoke trouble?

After mulling it over, Joseph realized the only way out was to squeeze some cash out of Aaron, and fast.

As long as he helped the Sunflower Valley folks with their schemes and lent a hand at critical moments, pocketing tens of thousands shouldn't be a problem.

But Joseph never saw it coming that Aaron had already figured everything out.

Aaron sneered, picked up the scalpel, and sliced the application form in half. Then, he pinched the paper corners together with his left hand and made another cut down the middle.

He kept at it until the form was reduced to countless pieces scattered on the floor.

Anger and a flush of blood gradually appeared in Joseph's eyes.

"There's one more thing to tell you."

Aaron's voice was icy and cruel, "Forget about the head of security position. The hospital's got new plans. They might transfer someone from another department or hire someone new from outside. Either way, it won't be you."

If Joseph hadn't pulled those stunts, this application form should've been sent to the hospital admin office this morning, starting the normal process.

Since they weren't planning to give him a formal position, there was no way they'd let him be the head of security.

Aaron had always been like this. Respect is a two-way street. If you plot against me, I'll bury you in a pit and smash a big rock on top, making sure you're dead and turned into fertilizer.

Joseph's eyes began to fill with blood.

He got the message loud and clear.

He gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound.

He didn't beg for mercy, nor did he deny it like before.

Things had come to this point, and there was no use in saying anything.

It was clear that Aaron intended to kick him out without giving him any benefits.

You, how can you do this?

Joseph slowly stood up from his chair, like a bear on the edge of madness and rage. He took a few steps forward, looking down at Aaron from above, and said in a cold, vicious voice, "Fill out a new form, and I can pretend nothing happened."

Aaron had already thought of everything. He shook his head and said calmly, "Anyway, you know the secret here, and you saw what happened that night. You can call the cops and see what they say when they arrive."

This wasn't baseless arrogance. The reason he had arranged to meet James at this time was to deal with Joseph together.

Moreover, Aaron had already heard the familiar footsteps coming from the storage room above.