“So, what do you think?” Waylon asked Chase.

When outside his professional realm, Chase's opinions tended to be more objective. Waylon, bound by professional instinct, couldn't afford to let go of any suspect—which often led to messy conclusions.

Chase began discussing his and Wendy's deductions from the previous night. “I thought it was Larry, too. Wendy and I both did. After all, he's the only one currently in pharmaceuticals. But after hearing Madeline's account, I don't think it's him anymore. Honestly, Larry isn't that smart. There's no way he could have pulled off something this complex.”

Waylon exhaled smoke and nodded. “Yeah, I agree. If it's not Larry, then it has to be Henry. Aimee once exposed one of Moses Group's overseas scams. Her hard drive might contain secrets about Moses Group.”

Over 24 hours had passed. Police were stationed at Aimee's home, fully on guard, awaiting the next message from the kidnappers.

All intelligence from Madeline pointed to one thing: Cloud Hospital's web had grown massive. Luckily, Chase hadn't spooked anyone.

“So you’re saying there are a lot of people like Madeline and Sean. Trying to take them down one by one could take forever.”

By noon, Waylon had already gone to Aimee's house. Bernard and Blanc were eating lunch in Chase's office; Melody had ordered for them.

“I saw the new shift schedule. Starting next week, I've got three straight night shifts with Sean. I don’t actually know much about him,” Blanc said, meticulously picking onions from his meal.

Bernard watched Blanc's fussy movements. Several years older, he viewed Blanc more like a younger brother. Seeing Blanc's pickiness, Bernard sighed. “Dr. Blanc, how did you even survive med school? What kind of doctor is picky with food?”

“Class is class. Eating things I dislike goes against my nature. Anyway, I’ve got surgery this afternoon,” Blanc replied.

The group quickly finished. Blanc rushed off. Seeing Chase deep in thought, Bernard offered him a cigarette.

Chase hesitated, then took it. He did smoke, though rarely—mostly due to professional discipline. Plus, he always stopped Wendy, so he felt he should set an example at home. He barely smoked at all. But today had been mentally exhausting.

Chase smoked slowly, a bit awkwardly. He paused before shaking his head. “She won’t. Her son is the most important person to her. Mr. Fred promised to protect her child. If she leaves, the killer definitely won’t let her go.”

Madeline had done so much for the killer; she had become a liability. They wouldn't let her live. If she wanted to stay safe, she couldn't leave Cloud Hospital. That was exactly why Madeline kept helping, again and again, and never resigned.

“What do you think now? Mr. Fred didn’t look too happy when he left. Seems like he doesn’t agree with your take. So it’s not Larry?”

As someone involved, Bernard naturally knew everything. Chase didn't hide anything from him when he and Wendy discussed the case.

“Based on intelligence, it doesn’t seem like him,” Chase said, stubbing out his cigarette. “If we’re going by brainpower, it fits Henry more. The connections were built layer by layer. Larry doesn’t think that carefully. Henry’s different.”

They were cousins, but Larry had been spoiled. Henry, on the other hand, had learned to endure.

“Henry pretty much suffered in silence overseas. He didn’t marry Shanelle out of love—it was for her family background. He gave up Wendy, the beautiful girl he’d dated for years, to marry someone he didn’t even like. If it were me, I couldn’t do that.”

Chase snapped out of it when he noticed Bernard texting. Thinking of Bernard's partner, Chase laughed. “You’d be one of those ancient kings who gave up the throne for a woman.”

“I’m not arguing with you. I have joint surgery this afternoon. What about you? Not doing any surgery lately?”

“I’ve got one next week. It’s a collaborative consult out of state. I’ll loop you in. Ortho’s going to help too. I’ve been trying to rest up for it.”

Bernard nodded and put away his phone. “I’m out.”

Ever since Fiona left the Harrison family, Wendy could only check on Henry through surveillance. After returning, Henry had carefully maintained his image as the devoted, loyal man—as if no other woman could get close to him except Wendy. But what she saw on camera told a different story. The Harrison parents had put Henry in charge of their entertainment company—as good as tossing a fish back into the sea. Just this month, he’d brought home more women than she could count on one hand. Every time that happened, the nanny would take Joy and leave.