Humiliation
Chapter Fourteen
Adrian turned to look at Isabella “You don’t need to come with us,” Adrian said quietly. “You’ve done enough for tonight. I’ll handle the rest.”
Her brow arched ever so slightly. “Are you certain?”
He nodded once. “Yes. Leave this to me.”
For a heartbeat, Isabella hesitated, then inclined her head. “Very well then, Just make sure you’re choosing the right path, and take good care of yourself”
She turned, her heels clicking softly against the stone, walking towards her sport car, she glance at Adrian once again and smiled before finally driving away.
Catherine exhaled, her chest tight with unease. “You didn’t have to send her away. Having Isabella Reyes on your side could make anyone untouchable.”
Adrian’s lips curved into the faintest smile. “I don’t need to be untouchable, Catherine. I just need to be myself.”
His words carried a weight she couldn’t quite name, but she found herself nodding anyway. Together, they slid into her car, and the engine roared to life, carrying them through the city’s restless streets toward the hospital.
****
The Moretti family occupied an entire private floor. The moment they arrived, Catherine rushed ahead, heels striking the polished marble like urgent drumbeats. Adrian followed calmly, his sharp eyes sweeping the ward.
Doctors in white coats clustered near the bed, murmuring among themselves. Their faces bore the frustration of men who had tried every method they knew and failed each time. Nurses hurried past with trays of medicine that did nothing but prolong the inevitable.
Catherine’s mother, pale and exhausted, clutched her father in–law arm. “The doctors said his condition has worsened again… Catherine, what do we do? Father can’t go on like this.”
Her voice cracked, and despair clung to every syllable.
Before Catherine could answer, one of the older physicians stepped forward, adjusting his glasses with a sigh. ” Miss Moretti, I’m sorry. We’ve done all we can. Your grandfather’s illness is… beyond us. At this stage, I suggest you prepare yourselves for the worst.” 1
The words landed like stones.
“No,” Catherine said fiercely, her voice rising above the hum of despair. “We’re not giving up. Not when he’s still fighting to breathe.”
She turned to Adrian, her eyes blazing with desperate hope. “Adrian. Take a look. Please.”
The room went still. Every head turned toward him.
Her uncle, a tall man in his fifties, frowned deeply. “Catherine, what are you saying? This… boy? You want to let him near Father?”
Catherine stood firm. “Yes. I trust him.”
A ripple of disbelief passed through the family.
Her cousin Marco, lounging in the corner with a smug smile, let out a bark of laughter. “You trust him? Catherine, are you out of your mind? This man looks like he can barely afford to walk into a hospital lobby, let
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alone treat Grandfather. What is he going to do wave his hands and cure him?”
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His words drew a few chuckles from the more distant relatives. Even the doctors looked uneasy.
Catherine’s temper flared. “Shut your mouth, Marco. You’ve been useless since this began. If you can’t help, then stay out of the way.”
Marco’s smile twisted into a sneer. “Useless? At least I’m not dragging con men off the street to play doctor.”
Adrian finally stepped forward. His gaze swept the room once, then fixed on Marco with a calm so sharp it cut. “If you think I’m a con man, then perhaps you’d like me to prove otherwise.”
Marco smirked. “Oh? And how would you do that?”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, just enough to pierce. “By diagnosing you.”
The smirk faltered. “What?”
“You hide it well,” Adrian continued evenly, “but years of indulgence don’t escape the body’s punishment. Too much drink, too many women. Your liver’s weak, your kidneys worse. And now, your body’s failing you in the one area you prize most.”
His gaze dropped deliberately, then lifted again with a hint of disdain. “Tell me, Marco. When was the last time you were able to perform like a man?”
The words cracked through the air like thunder.
Gasps filled the ward. A nurse dropped her clipboard. Catherine’s uncle’s jaw fell open.
Marco’s face drained of color, then flushed a violent red. “Y–you–what nonsense are you spouting?!”
But Adrian didn’t flinch. His tone cut like a blade. “Your condition is advanced. If you don’t change, you’ll be impotent for life within a year.”
A silence fell so heavy it pressed against the walls. Every eye turned to Marco, waiting for his denial, for his fury.
Instead, he stammered, his lips trembling. “T–that’s… that’s impossible…”
But the way his eyes flickered away, the way his fists clenched–every detail screamed the truth.
Whispers surged through the family.
“He knew?”
“But Marco never told anyone…”
“Could it really be true?”
Marco’s humiliation twisted into rage. He lunged forward, pointing a shaking finger at Adrian. “You bastard! You dare humiliate me like this-”
“Enough!” Catherine’s voice snapped like a whip. She stepped between them, her glare pinning Marco in place. ” Adrian just proved he isn’t a fraud. If he can diagnose you with a glance, then I’ll trust him with Grandfather.” Her words echoed with steel.
Adrian’s gaze never wavered as he turned back toward the bed. The frail old man lay motionless, his chest rising shallowly, each breath a battle. Adrian stepped closer, brusing his fingers against the old man’s wrist, feeling the pulse.
Immediately, his expression hardened.
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The rhythm was wrong–disrupted by something foreign, something that didn’t belong. This wasn’t illness. It was deliberate, malicious.
His jaw clenched, but he kept his tone even. “Your grandfather isn’t sick.”
The doctors bristled at once. “Impossible! We’ve examined him countless times.”
“Don’t be absurd–his condition matches advanced organ failure.”
Adrian’s eyes sharpened. “Organ failure doesn’t move like this. It doesn’t eat away at the core of a man this way. What he suffers from is poison–slow, hidden, designed to mimic disease until it’s too late.”
Gasps tore through the room.
“Poison?”
“Who would dare –?”
Catherine staggered back, her hand over her mouth. “Poison…?”
Adrian straightened, his gaze cold and cutting as it swept over the stunned faces of the Moretti family. “Your grandfather was targeted. And if you want him to survive, you’ll let me treat him. Now.”
Silence fell, deep and trembling. For the first time since her grandfather had fallen ill, Catherine felt something stir inside her chest–hope.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
