"What do you mean I'll never see you again?" Alex asked.
"Don't worry, I know when I'm not wanted," Rose said, bursting into tears. "I guess I deserved to be rejected. Goodbye, Alex." She turned and ran outside.
"Alex, why don't you talk to her and clear everything up?" Clark suggested, feeling sorry for Rose. She looked so desolate.
Alex shook his head. "Don't worry about it, please," he said.
I'm sorry, Rose, Alex thought, watching her go. But you're confused by your feelings for me, and I can't encourage you. If I didn't reject you, you would never move on.
Throughout history, there were many examples of unrequited love, and it often ended in misery. It was better to be cruel to be kind. By doing this, Alex hoped Rose would abandon her pursuit of him and find someone else to love. He had treated her badly, but she would recover quickly and go on to be happy without him.
Alex sighed and turned to look at Clark. "How did you find me?" he asked.
Clark shrugged. "I got a mysterious phone call saying you were here and that you were in trouble," he said. "The caller asked me to rescue you, so I grabbed my men and rushed over. I wasn't sure if the call was real, but I felt I should investigate. Just as well I did!"
"A mystery phone call?" Alex echoed. "Who could that have been?" He thought it over, but he couldn't come up with anything. He looked at Clark. "Could you help me with something?"
"Ask, and I'll do my best to be of assistance," Clark said, smiling at him.
"Find out all you can about the conspiracy against me," Alex said, his eyes flashing. "I want revenge."
**
By nine o'clock in the evening, the banquet at the Hill Hotel was well underway.
The room was warm, and the lights were blazing down on the guests, who were gathered in groups, chatting and drinking. The women were dressed in beautiful gowns, and the men looked sharp in their suits. Everyone here was rich and successful.
Michael and Louisa were right in the thick of things, talking with the other guests and enjoying themselves. A few of the men glanced at Louisa, appreciating her beauty.
Louisa had lost a lot of weight due to her illness, but she was still very attractive.
The men fell over each other to compliment her and get her attention.
"Miss Murdoch. I'm so glad you're feeling better."
"Yes, you're looking well."
"I was just going to say that. You're looking lovely."
"Thank you," Louisa said warmly, making sure to smile at each one of them. She took a sip of her wine. "And we should thank Edwin too," she added, gesturing to the director of Baltimore Central hospital.
Edwin was flattered. "You can always count on me," he said.
Several people nodded their agreement. "Yes," one of them said. "And you can depend on us too. No matter what happens, we are all members of the same family."
Louisa had extensive contacts in the medical field, and they were spread around the world. Combined with her father's power, she wielded a lot of influence, perhaps even more than her brother.
"And now that we have Louisa back, we can get back to business," one man said.
Louisa nodded with satisfaction. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll help in any way I can."
"Steven is on his way," Michael said. "He's bringing some of his friends to help us. With their assistance, I'm sure we'll do great things together." He was exceptionally confident. Although he had failed to deal with Alex earlier, he was still in a good mood due to his sister's recovery. Besides, there would be other opportunities to get rid of Alex.
"That's great!" Edwin said.
Everyone had heard of Steven Murdoch. He was an important man in the medical field, and he had many contacts. He also had a lot of students who did whatever he asked of them.
Once he got here, things would improve for both the Murdoch family and Edwin.
Michael smiled. When his phone vibrated within his pocket, he excused himself and found somewhere quiet to answer it.
A moment later, he returned, his expression gloomy.
"What's the matter?" Louisa asked.
Michael slipped his phone back into his pocket and took a sip of his wine. "That bastard Alex has poisoned Harvey," he said, scowling. "Harvey hasn't been able to cure himself yet, and he's still in danger."
"Alex?" Louisa asked.
"Who is Alex?" asked a woman standing next to Louisa. "I always seem to be hearing that name around Baltimore recently."
"It's very mysterious," another woman said. "I have no idea who he is."
Louisa flushed with embarrassment and couldn't meet their eyes. "I've seen some videos of him," she admitted. "I don't know whether they were real or if special effects had been added. He seems to be some kind of martial arts superstar."
"Do you know Alex?" Michael asked, remembering how she had called for him when she had been barely conscious.
"Why do you ask?" Louisa asked, avoiding giving him a direct answer.
Since watching the recording of Alex's fight with Tyson, she had spent a lot of money buying other videos featuring Alex. She even had a video of Alex rescuing Heidi Reels stored on her computer's hard drive, and she watched it whenever she had the time.
As far as she was concerned, no other man could possibly compare to Alex.
She wasn't aware of the conflict between Alex and Michael, and she didn't know Michael planned to destroy him.
Michael was a powerful man, and no one dared to argue with him. If he wanted Alex dead, then Alex would die.
It was Alex's fault that Harvey was dying, and Alex had walked freely out of the Hall family home, while Michael and Jonah had been humiliated. That was something Michael couldn't forgive. He didn't care how much his sister liked Alex. Michael wouldn't rest until Alex had paid for embarrassing him.
One young man could see how much Michael hated Alex. "Let me deal with him for you," he said. "Just say the word and he's dead."