"I've never met him," Lindsey said, shrugging. "He only ever contacted me by phone."
"How can you trust him if you've never seen him in person?" Alex asked.
"He sent all the information about Jeremiah by mail," Lindsay explained. "In order to save you, I took a gamble and trusted he was a friend. Now it seems I was right to do so. Jeremiah is gone, and you're free."
Alex struggled to work out who might have been secretly helping him. Who had the power to do so much?
He had many enemies and many friends, so he couldn't imagine who it might have been.
Lindsey smiled and said, "Without the information I was given, I don't think we would have been able to clear things up with the police so easily. It really did change everything."
"If I ever get the chance," Alex said, "I'll make sure to thank my mysterious friend."
He looked at the dashboard and frowned when he saw a small whistle.
"What's that?" he asked.
Lindsey glanced at it. "Oh. They were giving those out at the racecourse. Apparently, it can signal a horse to stop running. You can have it if you like."
"I don't ride," Alex said. "So it's not much use to me."
He stared at the whistle. What kind of racecourse gives away horse whistles? he wondered.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Woodside Clinic. Alex got out of the car and was immediately surrounded by Kendall and the others. They hugged him and yelled with joy, and then they went for dinner to celebrate his safe return.
"Kendall, thank you for all your hard work recently," Alex said over dinner. He already knew what had been going on at the clinic while he had been away.
In his absence, Kendall had become the backbone of the new wellness suite, rallying people and maintaining general operations.
Alex was grateful, but he also realized that sometimes, suffering was the best teacher of all. Kendall, the cold-blooded killer, had become a loyal manager. It was not what he had expected to happen.
"You've done an amazing job," he told her. "And I don't want you to worry. I'll help you and make you just as healthy as before."
Kendall smiled and said, "It's okay. I'm happy just to stay here and help you. I've done some terrible things in the past, but I've changed, thanks to you. You spared my life, and you took me in. I will be forever grateful for that, so don't worry about me. All I ask is that you treat Celeste when you have the time."
She looked at Alex anxiously and added, "She's in the prime of her life, and I can't bear the thought of her being left with long-term injuries."
Alex waved his hand. "You don't have to worry about that," he said. "I'll take good care of Celeste, but I'll also treat you." He frowned. "Celeste was seriously injured, and her treatment is going to be expensive. I'm just not sure how we're going to pay for it all."
Lindsey tapped her temple with a finger and said, "I know how we can get some money."
Alex's eyes brightened. "How?" he asked.
"By winning the Top Doctor Competition," she replied.
She held up her phone so Alex could clearly see the competition homepage and the words, "First prize—one million dollars."
Alex hadn't been interested in the competition at all when he had learned Dr. Isaiah Allbrook had signed him up, but now he decided it might be worth taking part after all. It was a lot of money, which meant he would be able to take care of Kendall and Celeste.
The competition was due to start in three days, so, after Alex had gotten some sleep, he started to read up on all the details.
The process was very simple. All the major districts and counties in the state carried out theoretical written tests and selected a hundred people to participate in the state competition.
The winner of the state competition would then be selected to participate in the national competition.
The winner of the national competition received not only the honor of being the country's top doctor but also the cash prize.
It had countless people rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Alex flipped through the pages and discovered that nearly a thousand people were taking part in every city in the country. No matter how many people actually got as far as the examination room, there was clearly a huge amount of enthusiasm for the contest.
Knowing he was going to have a theoretical examination, Alex began to study hard. He wanted to make sure he had as broad an understanding of traditional and alternative medicine as possible.
As for whether Brian would ask for help or not, and who the mysterious friend was, Alex put it all out of his mind for the time being.
Kendall and the others didn't disturb him. They even kept the hospital in order, so Alex could concentrate on his preparations.
Debbie had been very busy, and Alex had managed to conceal all the recent twists and turns from her. She had her studies and business matters to deal with, though they were less than before. But when she heard Alex was going to take part in the competition, she put aside all her work to help him.
She came to cook for Alex, providing him with three nutritious meals a day so he would have all the energy he needed to study.
On the third day, Alex got up early, had breakfast, and prepared to leave for the exam.
As soon as he got into the car, his phone started to buzz. He put on his headset and heard Timothy's voice saying, "Hi, Alex, I just wanted to wish you good luck for today."
"Thanks," Alex said. It certainly wasn't a secret, but he was curious about how Timothy had found out he was taking part.
"I'm sure you'll ace the state competition," Timothy said. "You could do it with one hand tied behind your back. The national level will be different, though. But as long as you don't underestimate your competition, the prize will be yours."
Alex appreciated the vote of confidence. "Thank you for your encouragement," he said. Then he changed the subject. "By the way, how's Haley?"
Timothy's tone changed. It was obviously hard for him to talk about his niece. "The doctors have worked together, and her condition has improved," he explained. "She's out of immediate danger, but she still hasn't woken up. I tried to convince Brian that you should come and treat her, but he just can't bring himself to ask you."
He sighed heavily and continued, "Dr. Fox will keep using a mixture of acupuncture and medication and will leave the operation until her condition has improved a bit. They're experienced men, and they're taking it step by step, but I think your treatment would be better.
In the past two days, he had tried to talk to Brian several times. Unfortunately, his older brother would not be swayed. He didn't want anything to do with Alex.