"My father was honest and hardworking all his life," the man cried, wiping his eyes on his sleeves.
Sophie's heart softened.
But Kendall's face remained stony as she continued staring at the wailing man. Her gaze was filled with nothing but disdain.
The man continued to howl. "Dad, you died too miserably. It's all my fault! I shouldn't have brought you to this black-hearted hospital."
Some of the onlookers nodded in agreement because the old man had seemed to be in good condition when he had arrived.
The man rounded on Alex and his team, knowing he had to strike while the iron was hot. "I'd better get compensated handsomely for what you did to my father. Otherwise, I'll sue you for everything you have—there has to be some punishment for your careless disregard for human life. They'll tear down your clinic, and you'll go to prison."
The crowd murmured their agreement, looking at Alex with grief and indignation.
"Shut up!" Alex yelled at the man. "You can't blackmail me here."
Then he squatted down to look at the thin old man. He studied the man's tall, gaunt frame. He was truly skin and bone, and his eyes were sunken and rimmed in shadows.
If Alex didn't have a trained eye, he would have thought the man was dead, but he could tell there was still a spark of life in him.
"He's not dead yet," Alex said, taking out a silver acupuncture needle. "I will bring him back to life."
The crowd buzzed in wonder.
"What?"
"Not dead yet?"
"Is there any hope?"
"How could that be possible?"
"Nonsense, there's no way he can still be alive."
"I think this guy's just dilly-dallying and trying to find a way out of all this."
Alex ignored them all. He carefully placed the needle into the man, putting it where he thought it would do the most good. Everyone held their breath. They didn't believe Alex could raise someone from the dead, but they were curious enough to keep watching.
Sophie whispered, "Alex, I've already called the police. You don't have to do this."
"Go mix up some medicine for a gastric lavage." Alex turned his head slightly toward Sophie and she nodded. He picked up another needle and placed it near the first. His movements were deft, and he displayed a complicated needling technique.
Sophie quietly left to mix up the medicine Alex had requested, while Kendall stayed behind and watched him work.
Alex checked the old man's pulse and cracked open one of his eyelids. Then, he opened the man's mouth, looked around within it, and reached in and pulled out a tooth, setting it aside.
"Here you go," Sophie whispered, handing Alex the cup of medicine. He nodded his thanks to her, and then opened the old man's mouth and poured it in.
The response was almost instantaneous.
The old man's body shook violently, and he sat up. Before anyone could react, he threw up explosively, all over his son.
The crowd began to murmur again.
"He's alive?"
"I thought he was dead."
"It's amazing. The doctor is amazing."
The skinny old man glanced around the room, looking lost.
"I've saved your father," Alex said as he got up and stood over the younger man. "Now, it's time for you to tell me the truth."
The man remained silent.
"Fine," Alex said, folding his arms. "I'll tell you what happened. You brought us an old man with advanced liver cancer, bilateral kidney necrosis, and only a couple of weeks left to live. You made him bite through the tooth with poison in it, making it look like we had killed him." Alex paused for effect as he stared down at the man. "Who sent you?"
The skinny old man was only a pawn. Others had used what was left of his short life to try to doom the clinic. Fortunately, the old man had hesitated at the moment between life and death and hadn't completely bitten down on the tooth, so he hadn't gotten the full dose of poison. If he had, he would have died, and the clinic would have been finished.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the man retorted. "I brought my father here for treatment. That's all. It's not my fault you're not good at your job. You're a terrible doctor. Don't blame your failure on poison."
However, his refutation was weak. Anyone could see the man cared nothing for the older man's health.
Alex turned to look at the thin old man and asked, "What did he offer you? Did he promise you a lot of money if you helped him? Thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars, perhaps?"
"Not so much," the thin old man said, still looking a little confused. "Only a thousand."
"Don't talk nonsense, old man," warned the younger man.
"It's no use denying it," Alex said. "When the police come, they'll investigate your identity, and then we'll all know what's going on." He paused and held up the tooth. "Besides, they'll want to see this tooth. When they do, and they see the poison, you'll be going to jail for a long time."
The man and his comrades squirmed, beginning to get worried.
The old man trembled. "I don't want to go to jail. It's not my fault. They told me they'd give me money if I helped them out. I didn't know I was dying. At least not so quickly. Please, I don't want to die in jail."
The crowd around them started to gossip again.
"These guys are so bad that even a good doctor like this one is at risk of their evil. It's immoral."
"If it wasn't for Dr. Ambrose, the hospital would be finished today."
"It's disgusting what these men did here today!"
Alex looked at the younger man and asked, "Are you ready to talk? Want to tell me who sent you here today?"
The man bit his lip and said, "I don't know what you're talking—"
"What did you say?" Alex interrupted, grabbing a needle and walking toward him threateningly. "Perhaps I should try to convince you to tell the truth."
"No!" the man cried. He looked at his comrades, who all glanced at each other. Then, before anyone could react, they all crunched down on their teeth.
With groans of agony, they fell to the floor, spasming. They all had poisoned teeth and had just poisoned themselves.
Alex was totally confused. He hadn't expected this.
Kendall cried, "Alex, what do we do?"
Alex sprang into action and said, "Call for an ambulance."
He didn't feel flustered, but this had certainly been unexpected. A poison that killed people so quickly was unusual. He tried to think about what to do. He wished he had strengthening supplements because they would help, but he didn't have any, and he didn't have time to make them.
If these people died at the clinic, the police would certainly investigate. Of course, Alex was not afraid of anything, but if they conducted an investigation, it would have a great impact on the reputation of the Woodside Clinic.
Therefore, Alex decided to try to stop the spread of the toxin. In the end, he succeeded in slowing the spread of the poison until the ambulance arrived and took the men away.