466 Mr. Bacon

Hillcrest Hospital—VIP Room

Examining Chris's expression, Damien could see how desperate he looked. However, it still didn't change the fact that he detested the man. 

In a low yet cold tone, he asked, "You know where your sister is?"

Chris did not respond. He sighed and seemed as though he was in deep thought. Damien could only guess that the other didn't know where his sister was.

Katherine shifted in her place and Damien carefully fixed the blanket on her, making sure she was covered with it to her neck. Then, he placed his arm over her, his hand gently stroking her arm as if coaxing her to continue sleeping. A moment later, he continued, "I guess not. So how exactly are you going to find her—and in that condition?" 

Chris glanced at him, his face was hard and his stare was intense, but he remained quiet while Damien added, "Let's say you do manage to find her. Then what? You show up and tell her about your existence? How do you think that's going to work out for you two?"

Katherine was slightly groggy as her sleep got interrupted. And when she noticed the voices around her, she could make out who was talking and what was happening. Realizing that Chris was already awake, she fluttered her eyes open. Her brain was still somewhat fuzzy as she tried to push herself up, the blanket fell around her waist as she did. 

Looking at the man on the hospital bed, she met his helpless gaze. Chris wasn't a fool, however, she knew and understood that because of his unstable emotions at the moment, he couldn't think straight which could lead to him acting on impulse—she knew this because she was the same.

"You'll only be endangering her if you go to her." She sighed. "I don't know much about what's really going on with you now. But you're smart, Chris. And Parker had already used her against you in the past, so I'm sure he already thought about the possibility of you looking for her. My guess is that he's just waiting for when you appear wherever your sister is."

Lowering his head, Chris closed his eyes, letting Katherine's words sink in. Somehow, he already knew that. But because he was running out of chances, that was the only thing he could think of. Everything else didn't matter anymore. Even going to Golden Phoenix Residences wasn't his first option but because of his situation, he didn't have any other choice at that moment. And the next thing he knew, he was already headed there.

While Chris was lost in his thoughts, the door opened, and in came Styles. The two exchanged looks, the latter offering a hesitant smile to the other as he made way to sit next to Katherine. "Styles…" he muttered.

Not long after, a woman in a white coat came inside, along with Jeffrey Evans. She had a chart in her hands as she walked towards the hospital bed and asked without looking up, "Alright, Mr. Bacon, is it?"

This time, the female doctor looked up and probed, "That's your name, isn't it?" She flipped through the papers on her hand and read the name on the form.

"Mister... Chris P. Bacon…" Her voice trailed off when the realization hit her.

Then, Styles and Katherine chortled—even Damien, Jeffrey, and Markus couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"Oh, this is gold…" added the female doctor, a smile brightening up her face. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to—I shouldn't…" And she chuckled.

Chris's face darkened as he glared at the two whom he thought was responsible for this ridiculous name—Styles and Katherine.

The information on the form wasn't recorded in the hospital officially as they couldn't risk having this incident on file, thinking that Shadow could check hospitals to look for Chris. However, Styles got bored earlier and thought he should fill one in while they waited for Chris to wake up.

Styles held his stomach as he laughed. "Hey, she had a say in this too, okay? Not only me." He jerked his thumb to Katherine. She shrugged, looking so nonchalant as she muttered, "Styles filled in the form. If you don't like your name, you should write the forms yourself." 

"Anyway…" the female doctor chimed in. "Mr. Chris—I'll just call you that. I'm Dr. Jessamine Roberts. I'm a neurosurgeon, but I was the one who stitched you up earlier." She went to check on the bandages and the regulation of the IV, ignoring the handcuffs on the patient. "Your wounds weren't very deep. I got the bullet out and was able to stop the bleeding on your leg and the laceration on your right lumbar region. Luckily, the cut wasn't deep. But you lost a lot of blood, so we did a transfusion. You should thank Mr. Park… He saved your life."

Chris turned his head towards Damien and his eyes immediately fell on the small bandage on the other's arm. He didn't know what to feel about what he just learned.

"Thanks, Jess." Damien slowly got up and shook hands with her then turned to Jeffrey. "Jeff, we need to discharge."

Jeffrey slightly creased his brow. "He needs to rest, bro. You can't move him."

"We can't stay here any longer. Besides, the procedure from earlier was unrecorded. So, it's best if we leave."

Jessamine nodded without hesitation. "I suggest you do."

"You're kicking my friends out?" Jeffrey raised a brow.

Sighing, Jessamine turned to face Jeffrey and as gently as she could, she reasoned with him. "I'm a brain surgeon, Jeff, and I'm not supposed to perform any unauthorized procedures like this. The longer they stay, the riskier it is—not just for me—for you and for everyone else in this room."

Getting up from the sofa, Katherine joined Damien and nodded. "It's okay, Jeff. We'll be okay."

"Fine." Jeffrey shook his head and reluctantly said, "I'll take care of the prescription."

Jessamine turned to Katherine and extended her hand. "I don't believe we've met yet, but I think I saw you at the auction last time. I'm Jessamine."

Katherine curled her mouth into a smile and shook hands with her. "Yes, it's nice to meet you. I'm Katherine." Then she glanced at Jeffrey. I like her already, Jeff. "You definitely owe her more than fancy dinners."

…

Several minutes past midnight...

Chris looked at Katherine and said, "I need to call someone."

"Who?" she asked.

"Director Hughes. She needs to know that I've been compromised."

Katherine and Damien exchanged looks and the latter nodded. Then, Styles handed her a burner cell phone, which she brought towards the hospital bed, and handed it over to Chris. He received the phone but before she let go of it, she questioned, "Is she… Your sister… Is she the reason why you felt the need to keep protecting me before?"

Chris held her gaze—curiosity was written all over her face as she waited for his answer. He clenched his jaw, refusing to respond to her question. So he looked away and took the phone from her, then immediately dialed a phone number.

While Chris was on the phone, Markus came inside the room and whispered something to Damien. The latter signaled his men and walked towards Katherine. Damien held her by the elbow and told her, "There's a suspicious activity going around the city. We're suspecting it's Shadow, looking for him." Damien nodded his head towards Chris.

Nodding, she became instantly alert and replied, "Then we need to leave now."