Chapter 116: Chapter 116: The abusive partner

The Mercedes screeched to a halt right under the white awning of the emergency room entrance.

Alexander threw the car into park and leaped out immediately flagging down two orderlies who were standing near the doors with a gurney.

Within seconds they had Jessica out of the backseat wheeling her rapidly through the automatic sliding doors with Ashley sprinting right beside them her knuckles white as she clutched the envelope of cash.

Alexander followed them into the bright sterile lobby but stopped just before the admissions desk.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his vibrating phone.

"Go fill out the forms" said Alexander, placing a reassuring hand on Ashley’s shoulder "I need to make a quick call, I’ll be right here, just give me a moment"

"Okay... please don’t leave" whispered Ashley, her eyes wide with fear as she checked in at the desk

Alexander stepped away into a quiet corner of the waiting room dialed Marcus’s encrypted number and held the phone to his ear.

The line connected instantly.

"What happened?" asked Marcus, his voice tense

"We have a situation" said Alexander, keeping his voice low "I took Ashley back to your house, your mother arrived right after, completely lost her mind, and blamed Ashley for everything, the stress was too much, your mother collapsed, and her pulse was dropping fast, we just arrived at the nearest public hospital"

A long heavy silence stretched over the line.

Alexander could hear the distant sound of wind rushing past Marcus’s car.

"Please help them, Alex" muttered Marcus, his voice sounding hollow and deeply strained "If I go there right now, it will only make things worse, my mother will completely lose it if she sees my face, and Ashley... Ashley hates me, just stay with them, don’t let anything happen to them"

"I understand" stated Alexander "I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the situation"

"Thank you, keep me updated" said Marcus

The call disconnected.

Alexander slid the phone back into his pocket and walked back over to the admissions area.

Ashley was sitting on a plastic chair her damp golden hair clinging to her cheeks as she stared blankly at the floor.

"They took her inside for a full evaluation" murmured Ashley, looking up as he approached "They told me we have to wait here"

"Then we wait" stated Alexander, sitting down in the chair right next to her

Nearly forty minutes passed in agonizing silence before the heavy double doors of the treatment area swung open.

A middle-aged doctor in green scrubs stepped out holding a clipboard.

He scanned the waiting room until his eyes locked onto Ashley’s bruised face.

"Miss Ashley Vane?" asked the doctor

Ashley jumped to her feet.

"Yes! That’s me! How is my mom?" asked Ashley

"She is currently stable, but we need to run a few more tests regarding her cardiac pressure" explained the doctor, his eyes narrowing significantly as he took in the dark purple bruise blooming across her cheekbone

He then flicked his gaze over to Alexander noting his expensive watch his cold demeanor and the slight redness on his knuckles.

"Miss Vane, could you please accompany us to the back office for a moment? We need to finalize some paperwork regarding her admission" asked the doctor

"Can he come with me?" asked Ashley, pointing slightly to Alexander

"No" stated the doctor, his voice turning noticeably colder "Only family members are allowed in the administrative section, sir, you need to remain right here"

Ashley looked nervously at Alexander but she followed the doctor through the doors.

The moment the doors swung shut the doctor turned to her his expression grim.

"Miss Vane, I need you to be completely honest with me, did that man outside do that to your face?" asked the doctor

"What? No! Alex saved me!" stammered Ashley, her jaw dropping

"You don’t have to protect him" said the doctor, raising his hands gently as two heavy-set hospital security guards stepped out from a side corridor, their hands resting near their utility belts "We see this all the time, a young girl from the district, an older man with money... he looks aggressive, and your mother collapsed from severe acute stress, did they get into an altercation over what he did to you?"

"No! You don’t understand! He didn’t do anything!" yelled Ashley, her voice rising in panic as she realized what they were thinking "The people at the bar did this to me! He got me out!"

Back in the waiting room the automatic doors slid open again.

The two burly security guards stepped out their faces completely rigid as they marched straight toward the armchair where Alexander was sitting.

"Sir, stand up slowly and place your hands where we can see them" commanded the lead guard, his hand tightening over his holster "You need to come with us right now"

Alexander didn’t flinch.

He slowly looked up from his blue Rolex his dark eyes locking onto the guards with an icy menacing calm that made the men instinctively take a half-step back.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Alexander, his voice perfectly smooth as he remained seated, completely unfazed by their presence

"We are placing you in custody until the police arrive" commanded the lead guard, his jaw tightening as he stepped closer "Stand up"

Alexander let out a quiet dry chuckle and settled deeper into the plastic armchair crossing one leg over the other.

"I’ll just stay right here and wait for them, don’t worry, you can take a seat too, if you’d like" said Alexander

The two guards exchanged a hesitant uneasy glance completely unsure of how to proceed.

The young man sitting in front of them didn’t look like the typical street thugs they usually dealt with.

His expensive clothes the unmistakable glint of his watch and the freezing absolute lack of fear in his eyes gave off an incredibly dangerous aura.

They could feel a suffocating tension radiating from him signaling that trying to force him into handcuffs would be a massive mistake.