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I punch the bag and start planning the topple of my father's empire. That bastard is going down soon, but I need more time and more answers.
I hit the bag again, but now that I'm thinking, I unwrap my hands, pack up my headphones, and grab my jacket. I need to start where things have changed.
The hospital.
Before I leave the gym, I toss my bag into my locker so I don't have to lug it with me. It wasn't a long workout, but I need to change and look more presentable. It sells the good ole boy routine better.
I keep clothes at the training center, and it doesn't take long to change into a well-worn pair of jeans, a long-sleeved gray Henley, and one of my favorite pairs of black combat boots. I put a black zip-up hoodie under my letter jacket and leave the center. My hair is wet, and it makes me colder as I walk, but it doesn't matter.
I call a ride app car when I reach the edge of campus before it unfolds into the small town that basically lives to support the school. The hospital isn't too far away, but it's too chilly to walk all the way there, and I don't want to head back to The Mill for my motorcycle if it means running into Seb or explaining what I'm doing to Lee. I'm not ready for either of their unending questions.
The driver only asks my name and doesn't say a word otherwise. Just the way I like them.
At the hospital, I head inside, hands tucked into my pockets, a slight smile playing on my lips. Unassuming is the goal, even if I rarely succeed. Women, though, usually succumb, and are always more helpful than men when it comes to information.
I cross to the section of the hospital my mother was being treated in. Thankfully, this is an exclusive area that usually requires a fat checkbook to use. The nurses and the doctors there remember me with one look. A nurse comes around the desk the second I cut into her line of sight.
"Mr. Marshall, what brings you back? Your mother was moved back to her home medical suite."
I give her a smile, all white flashing teeth and dimples. She immediately relaxes, leaning close.
"Yes, I know she was moved. I just saw her, but I wanted to speak to her doctor if I'm able."
Her forehead wrinkles slightly, and she looks around carefully. "Her doctor is one of ours. He should be there now. Your father requested someone new when he took her away."
"Oh." I sigh and smile and play the part of the forgetting jock. It seems to sell because once again, she relaxes. "I actually wanted to speak to her old doctor. He said he had some information for me the last time we spoke, and I just wanted to follow up with him. A Dr. Brooks, I believe."
She relaxes further as if she was anticipating having to tell me she couldn't help. Now that she can, her reason to live is restored.
She brushes away some stray hairs at her hairline and refreshes her smile. "Just head down this corridor. His office is on the left. If he's not in there, come back here, and I'll page him."
I nod once and head in the direction she's pointed me. The office has his name outside on a brass plate. I knock on the door, and when there's a muffled noise on the other side, I take it as a request to enter.
The second I shoulder the door open and the doctor catches sight of me, he jumps out of his chair and puts the length of the small room between us. His voice is all panic. "I told them I wouldn't say anything. I'm working like normal. Nothing has changed." Despite his tone, his back is straight, and he meets my eyes squarely. Scared but not going to run.
"Doctor." I mirror his position, holding my own hands up. "I'm not here to hurt you. I only want to ask you a few questions."
He shakes his head back and forth, trying to squeeze between the cabinet and the couch on the other side. "No, I'm not. I told them I wouldn't talk or they'd come back. I can't."
I enter the room and close the door behind me. This sets him practically shaking, but he still doesn’t make a move to hurt me or try to get past me. He’s got more balls than he thinks.
"Please, Doctor, it's important. You took an oath, didn't you? All I need is information, and no one will know it came from you. Besides, once it comes out that I even have this information, it won't matter anyway."
He looks like he wants to ask questions, but I shake my head gently, discouraging him as gently as I know how.
He still looks scared and hesitant. "What...what do you want to know?"
That tells me he wants to help. He doesn't like leaving my mom in her situation any more than I do.
I ease down on the end of the couch, putting myself a little lower than him. "I just want to know what you know. What did my father want to keep hidden?"
His eyes turn a little darker, a little calmer now, and he eases away from the wall to lock the door and take his desk chair again. "Your father is a monster." He waves at his face where it’s battered and bruised.
I chuckle. "Don't get it twisted, Doctor. I'm a monster too, but I love my mother. But yes, I’ve been on the receiving end of his handiwork as well."
The words threaten to stick tight in my throat. She's not my real mom, a tiny voice blasts in the back of my mind. But she's the only source of kindness, of love, I've had in my life until Bel, and I won't just walk away from her after that.
He gives me a long look and nods. "I think she's being poisoned. Or has been and is currently. It's a long, slow death he's building for her."
