Yera contemplated if she should inform Xander about the dinner that her team had arranged for her, as her welcoming party this evening.
In the end, she decided to tell him because she felt a strong urge to do it and she couldn't fight it.
Xander was in a meeting for their hospital's annual fundraising event when his mobile phone beeped.
His eyes widened when he saw whom the message was from, and he naturally broke into a smile.
[ From: My Darling.
Will have dinner with the team as a welcoming party later. Please inform Father-in-law that I won't make it to dinner. Thanks. ]
'Did she just make me a messenger to relay her message to Dad?' He complained. But that simple text message from Yera had managed to make his day. The fact that she told him about the dinner party meant that Yera had thought of him somehow. It was a good progress.
As soon as the meeting ended and everyone was dismissed, Xander looked at assistant Ron and said, "They will have a welcoming party for Yera tonight. Find out where it is."
In all actuality, Xander was worried. It wouldn't be much of a welcoming party if there was no alcohol involved. And having been introduced to his wife's other personality when she transformed into the drunken version of herself, he was afraid. Very afraid...
"Sir, I actually received a message from Dr. Gong earlier. He has invited you to the dinner party as well… But you were still in the meeting, so I didn't…" Assistant Ron tried to explain, but got nervous when he saw his boss staring at him with a crumpled face.
"Ron… My wife always comes first… Do you want your yearly bonus to be cut by half?" Xander asked in a threatening voice.
Assistant Ron quickly shook his head and said, "No. Sorry, Sir. I will definitely keep it in mind. The young mistress must always come first. No matter what…"
"Good. Make sure you don't forget that. Now, please inform my dad that my wife and I won't be having dinner with him at home," instructed Xander.
"Yes, Sir. One more thing, Sir. Ralf and his team arrived a few minutes ago. Dr. Rui has already made the arrangements, and they are now on basement six."
"Alright. Where's my wife? I'll go to her."
....
Yera was in the middle of performing her first major surgery after her long absence from the operating room.
Every surgeon had their own unique routine when they performed a surgical procedure. Hers was to play a piece of soft music as she hummed along with it. That was what she did this time as well.
Dr. Gong, several other doctors, and a few medical students were observing her performance, from an adjacent room that was separated by a wide glass window, through which they could look. There was also a widescreen TV in that room where they could watch the live streaming of the surgery.
The operation Yera was currently performing was that of an acutely inflamed gallbladder that needed immediate surgical removal.
"She's fast and very precise. I can sense another Hand of Midas in our surgical team..." marveled Dr. Scott, the Chief of Neurosurgery, who also came to watch the surgery upon hearing that the much anticipated new general surgeon would perform it.
Dr. Gong smiled and nodded in agreement. As he witnessed Dr. Song's skilled performance, his suspicion grew stronger. As a seasoned surgeon, young surgeons generally didn't impress him. But there was one young surgeon that he had always admired. And that was the one they called the 'Witch Doctor.' The former and deceased CEO of the Life Hospitals group, Dr. Yera Han. He had watched many videos of Dr. Yera Han's surgeries, and the similarities that Dr. Deyna Song shared with her were just too striking to be ignored. Including the soft music and the humming.
He felt a sudden chill run down his spine but quickly brushed it off. These were affairs that should not concern him at all.
At that very instant, Xander entered the room. Everyone greeted him by slightly bowing their heads as a sign of respect.
Xander sat beside Dr. Gong and asked, "How is she?"
"She's doing great, Dr. Yang. Very impressive, indeed," answered Dr. Gong.
"By the way, I'll come to my wife's welcoming party later. But I'll need to borrow her for a bit after this operation. Don't worry, it won't be long," whispered Xander.
After the surgery, Yera checked her phone and read Xander's text message, asking her to come to his private elevator as soon as she was done. She immediately excused herself.
Her heart was racing hard as she walked toward the private elevator, where Xander was already waiting. As soon as they stepped inside the elevator Xander instructed, "Have Yera's identity added to the system, so she could use this elevator anytime she wants."
"Noted, Sir," replied assistant Ron.
Xander looked at Yera and explained, "The only people authorized to use this elevator are Ron, Rui, Ralf, the hospital's head of security, and me."
He then informed Yera about the situation on basement six.
"It's a private ward…" said Xander as they walked along the corridor.
"You have to confirm if he is one of the culprits from that night," Xander told Yera as they entered the room. Rui and another man were already inside. The other man slightly bowed his head to Xander and her.
"This is Ralf, the head of my personal security team," introduced Xander.
Yera greeted him back before her eyes landed on the man lying unconscious on the bed, with a lot of tubes attached to him. Obviously, the machine was the only thing supporting his life.
Yera drew in a long breath as she saw his familiar face. He was the man who had accompanied her to the restroom.
"He's one of them…" She confirmed. Her eyes were still fixed on the motionless man who was as good as dead as she asked, "What happened to him?"
"He was shot to the head. And his body had drifted in the river, just like you. But unfortunately, the bullet hit a vital nerve in his head, causing him to be comatose," Rui answered.
"We suspect the leader was the perpetrator. He is the only one left missing now. He must have shot the other three to kill them. The two dead culprits had a bullet in their heads as well," explained Ralf.
Yera felt a bit anxious. She could not remember the leader's face, but she remembered seeing a red dragon tattoo on his arm when he abducted her from the yacht. She had heard his voice before she totally lost consciousness, and Yera was sure he was the leader because she had recognized his voice again when he gave the other three his instructions.
Xander moved closer to her and put his arm on her shoulders as he whispered, "Don't worry… We'll find the last man soon…"
Rui tried his best not to laugh when he saw Yera subtly squirm her body out of Xander's hold while she countered, "I'm not worried at all…"
It looked like his buddy still had a long way to go before he could reach that finish line.
Xander noticed the teasing grin on Rui's face, so he provoked as he flashed him a charming smile, "Dr. Rui… We'll soon have our fundraising event, so I'm counting on your hard work to make it successful..."
Rui gave Xander an astonished look… 'What the hell?' He complained silently as he wondered what his buddy was planning to make him suffer again.