"Sir—" Archibald's voice cut off as the phone was taken from him.
The next voice was cold and imperious, and Alex immediately recognized it as belonging to his grandfather.
"Alex?"
When he heard his grandfather's voice, Alex felt himself choke up, and he almost burst into tears. Even worse, he had heard how breathless his grandfather had sounded, and now he was worried.
"Grandfather," he said. "Are you okay?"
After a moment's silence, Lincoln said, "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I'm no longer your grandfather." Then he paused before continuing in a softer tone, "But I'm fine. There's nothing to be concerned about."
Alex breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Lincoln asked.
Alex had always been able to count on his grandfather. Lincoln had often asked that question in the past, and he always expected Alex to answer truthfully. In return, Alex had known his grandfather would do anything he asked. He also knew it was unwise to refuse to answer the question.
"Grandfather, I've run into some trouble," Alex said. "I'm in Baltimore, and someone has arranged for an FBI agent to come to my medical clinic to cause trouble. We haven't done anything wrong, and they know that, but they're still closing our clinic. There are a lot of angry patients here, and I'm worried something will happen."
He paused, and then he admitted, "And I miss my grandfather."
"Why are you calling the Ambrose family?" Lincoln asked, his voice growing cold. "You should call the police."
"The Murdoch family is behind this," Alex said. "And now the situation is critical. I'm worried about—"
"Alex!" Lincoln interrupted him, clearly unhappy. "Stop. There's no point calling me to deal with such a matter. You know the rules. You were expelled from the family, and I cannot help you. Do you really expect me to fix your problems for you? Do you think I owe you something?"
Alex was stunned. "Grandfather, that's not what I meant."
"No? Then what did you mean?" Lincoln's voice grew hard. "If you're in trouble, then call the police and make a complaint. But you can't expect me to handle the matter for you. I'm a part of the Ambrose family, so I can't help you. Our rules are extremely important, and I cannot go around breaking them just for you. I will not indulge in favoritism and destabilize this family. Do you understand?"
He sighed.
"Don't think that just because you helped the family a while ago that I will support you now," he said. "You've been disowned, Alex, and there's no way back."
Alex felt his heart sink.
"And I know you've never studied medicine," Lincoln continued. "So, how did you become a qualified doctor? Whatever you do, don't use the Ambrose family name, or I'll be forced to take action against you. I won't have this reflecting badly on us."
"But—" Alex began.
"If you want to be a doctor, you need to get qualified," Lincoln said harshly. "If you go around cheating people, you have no one but yourself to blame when they get angry."
He sighed again. "I know you still have a strong bond with your mother, but I can't help you with anything." He paused. "And don't go to anyone else in the family for help, either. If any of them help you, they'll be tossed out of the family like you were. Take care, Alex, but don't call again."
With that, Lincoln ended the call.
Alex held the phone for a moment, too stunned to react, and then he smiled bitterly.
Grandfather is so stubborn, he thought. He cares more about his reputation than about his grandson.
Now that Alex had been expelled from the Ambrose family, it seemed like his grandfather no longer cared about his future.
But even though Lincoln had been angry, Alex had detected a little warmth bleeding into his tone.
Agent Johnson was directing his men, sending them off to different rooms. "Seal the clinic and arrest Alex for me," he said.
Several agents stepped forward, and some of the patients moved to block their path.
Three cars drew up outside, and then Clark Fairfax got out of one of them. He strode inside with six of his people.
Alex hadn't called Clark, but once again, the other man had arrived just at the critical moment.
Agent Johnson was stunned to see him. He stopped giving orders and walked forward to meet Clark. "Hello, Mr. Fairfax," he said, frowning, "What are you doing here?"
"Get out of here!" Clark said, his tone icy. "The Baltimore Martial Arts Association and the Rumble Club are outside."
Agent Johnson's jaw dropped. "Now, Mr. Fairfax, Alex—"
"Quiet!" Clark yelled. "Tell your men to start packing up, and then I want you all out of here."
Several of the agents immediately started moving everything back into place.
Before long, Agent Johnson and the others were escorted out of the clinic.
Agent Johnson was furious, but he didn't dare argue, so he simply stormed off.
Clark was a powerful man who was extremely skilled at getting things done and solving problems. Agent Johnson knew he couldn't afford to offend him, so he had to leave.
Clark didn't stay at the clinic for long after he had driven the FBI agents away. He didn't want to interfere with Alex's diagnosis and treatment of patients, so he simply exchanged a few words with Alex, and then he left.
Alex sent a brief message to Will, asking him to investigate Michael Murdoch's whereabouts and to find out what the man was up to. Then he went back to treating patients.
As dusk approached, the patients dispersed, feeling reassured that Alex could help them.
After everything that had happened, not only had the public not lost faith in the clinic, but the incident had improved the facility's reputation. Each patient left with a spring in their step, feeling better than they ever had before.
Alex left the building, followed by Kendall and Sophie. A moment later, a large truck careened down the street, striking a car and heading right at the clinic.
"Be careful!" Alex yelled, grabbing Sophie and Kendall, and pushing them out of the way.
The truck shot past the place they had just been standing and rammed through the clinic doors.
Alex ran to check out the damage, finding various pieces of broken furniture in his path. The truck hit the pharmacy counter, and as Alex watched, it wobbled and then collapsed with a loud bang.
The truck rushed forward, striking the wall, and coming to a sudden halt. Exposed pipes and wires could be seen through the hole the truck had left. The clinic was in a terrible state, and dust was flying everywhere, making everyone cough.