Dr. Reeves arrived twenty minutes later.
The room exhaled the moment he walked in. Grey haired. Calm. The kind of man you trusted the moment he walked through the door. He set his bag down and examined Robert carefully. Checked his pulse. His breathing. His eyes. Asked quiet questions while he worked. His hands steady. His face giving nothing away.
Then he straightened up.
He looked at William.
And shook his head slowly.
The room went cold.
"Doctor." William's voice was careful. "Explain to us. Please."
Dr. Reeves spoke clearly and directly.
"Mr. Carter's blood has thickened significantly. The vessels carrying blood to his heart and his brain are becoming severely blocked. His heart is already showing signs of strain and his brain is not receiving the oxygen it needs." He paused. "I do not have what is needed here to address this. He needs specialist care immediately."
"So you are saying —" William stopped.
"Without specialist intervention very soon the outcome will be very difficult." He looked at William directly. "I am sorry. This is beyond what I can do here."
Margaret had not moved from her husband's side.
"Beyond you, Dr. Reeves " she said quietly.
"Yes ma'am. I am sorry."
The door closed behind him.
The weight of what Dr. Reeves had just said sitting over everyone in that room.
William turned away and pressed one hand against the wall. His head dropped slightly.
Mark stepped forward and put one hand briefly on his brother's shoulder. Said nothing. Just stood there with him for a moment.
"Is there anything we can do right now to stabilize him." Clara's voice was soft. "Until we find the right specialist?"
Nobody had an answer.
Elena was still on the floor at the foot of the bed.
She looked at her grandfather's hand resting in Margaret's. At the rise and fall of his chest. Shallow and slow.
"It's all my fault," she whispered.
The coughing had slowed down after the injection Dr. Reeves gave him. Robert back against the pillows. Breathing shallow but present. Margaret's hand in his. His eyes closed.
It was in that quiet that Veronica spoke.
She looked at William. Her voice soft. Full of concern.
"Robert must still be very upset with Elena even in his condition. You know how much this company means to him." She paused. "For the sake of his health. Just for now. Why not let Harlan take over the position. Give things time to settle."
Robert coughed.
Sharp. Sudden. A single hard cough that shook his whole thin frame and brought his hand up to his mouth.
"Easy. Easy my love." Margaret's hand went to his back immediately.
"Sorry Dad. Sorry." William was already at the bedside table reaching for the cup of water. He brought it to his father's lips. "Here. Small sips."
"Should I call Dr. Reeves back." Clara stepped forward.
"Give him a moment." Mark said quietly.
Robert managed to take the water slowly. Everyone watching him. Waiting. The room completely still until gradually his breathing steadied and he lay back against the pillows again.
"Grandpa, are you okay?" Sophia cried, tears streaming down her face as she held his hand. But he didn't answer.
William set the cup down and turned to Veronica.
"You cannot bring up something like that here," he said firmly. "Not now. Not in this room."
"I am only thinking about his health William."
"Veronica." His voice dropped lower. "I said not now."
"Did I say anything wrong." She looked at him directly. "After all Harlan is a man. This has never happened before in this company. Not once. Not in all the years Robert built it." She looked briefly at Elena then back at William. "Have you thought about it. Maybe it is because Elena is a woman that the person who stole that document felt she was weak enough to be handled. I am just saying what everyone in this room is already thinking."
"Veronica that is enough." Mark's voice came from across the room. "This is not the time for this conversation."
"Not the place either," Clara said. "Please."
Veronica looked at them both. Then she stepped back and positioned herself quietly near the door. Said nothing more. Just let everything she had already said sit in the room.
William looked at his wife. What was in his face was not agreement.
Elena held herself together because of her grandfather condition.
Harlan moved to his mother's side. Close enough that only she could hear.
"Drake is coming," he said under his breath.
Veronica did not turn. She just smiled. Cold and small.
Harlan stepped to the side and spoke quietly to the housekeeper near the door.
"Wait at the sitting room. Someone is coming. His name is Young Master Drake. When he arrives bring him in."
She nodded and left without a sound.
Nobody noticed. Every eye was on Robert.
The black car moved up the Carter driveway slowly.
The guard at the gate stepped forward as it stopped. He moved to the driver's window. It came down.
The man inside said the name simply.
"Drake Voss."
The guard stepped back at once and pulled the gate open with both hands. His colleague on the other side was already moving, and the gates swung open without a word. News of his arrival spread quickly through the house keeper to the security team.
Drake stepped out and adjusted his jacket. Behind him Dr. Zhou Fen stepped out carrying a medical bag. Calm. Distinguished.
At the entrance another guard stepped forward.
"May I know who you are sir."
"This is Young Master Drake. Step aside."
They moved without another word.
Inside the house the housekeeper was waiting in the sitting room. She stepped forward the moment she saw him.
"Young Master Drake. This way please."
She led him through the house. Down the hallway. To the bedroom door. She knocked softly and stepped in.
Every eye turned to her.
"Sir." She looked at Harlan. "The visitor is here. Young Master Voss."
"Bring him in," Harlan said immediately.
The housekeeper stepped back out. The door opened again.
"Please Young Master Drake. You may go in."
Drake walked into the bedroom.
Perfectly dressed. Completely composed. His eyes moved around the room quickly. Robert in the bed. Margaret at his side. William near the wall. Mark and Clara. Harlan by the window.
Then his eyes found Elena.
She looked at him.
What is he doing here.
They held each other's eyes for a brief moment. Then Drake turned to William without missing a beat.
"I heard what happened," he said. "I came as soon as I could." He stepped to the side and Dr. Zhou Fen came forward with his bag. "I brought someone who can help. This man is one of the top doctors in all of San Francisco."
Shoulders dropped around the room. Breath released.
Dr. Zhou Fen looked at the room steadily. "That is correct," he said simply.
William looked at the doctor. Then at Drake.
"Young Master Drake." Harlan was already moving toward him from the window. His smile wide and warm. "You did not have to come all this way."
"Why wouldn't I come." Drake's eyes moved briefly to Robert lying in the bed. Then back to the room. "After all." A small pause. "Robert Carter is the father of my future in-law."
The room went silent.
Elena became more furious
Every eye turned to Elena.
Clara was the first to speak. Her voice was warm and genuinely surprised.
"So Elena has a man all this time and nobody mentioned it." She looked around the room with a small wondering smile. "All this time."
Elena's mouth opened to defend herself.
"No need." Veronica's voice came in before a single word could form. Calm. Final. "Young Master Drake is a God sent. He has come here to save Grandpa." She looked at Elena directly. "Stop being stubborn."
The room went quiet.
William looked at his wife. But didn't answer her.
Drake stood exactly where he was. He said nothing. He did not need to. Everything in that room was moving exactly the way he had planned it and all he had to do was stand there and let it.
Elena's eyes locked on him. She pointed a finger at him, she wanted to respond to Drake, but held back.
Not because she had nothing to say. But because everything in that room at that moment came down on her at once. And she just have to be quiet for now.
William looked at Drake. Something moving through his face that had not yet settled.
Margaret's eyes came up slowly from her husband's face.
Robert lay still against the pillows. His eyes were closed. His breathing shallow. But his hand in Margaret's tightened. Just once. Just enough.
Elena had not moved from the floor. Had not flinched. She only looked at Drake with his warm smile and his carefully placed words and his doctor standing ready beside him.
Then her phone buzzed.
Grace.
She answered without thinking.
"Elena." Grace's voice was tight. Urgent. "Young Master Ryan could not wait. He said he's coming to find you."
Elena opened her mouth, but froze before a word could come out.
"Tell him am not around"
"I did but he won't listen."
There was silent from her ends.
"Hello. Hello." Grace's voice came through the phone. No answer.
Her hand already dropped slowly to her side. The phone still in her grip. Grace's voice still coming through faintly.
She did not know the right words. Not here. Not now. Not with Drake standing three feet away and her grandfather's hand still tightening in Margaret's and a room full of people watching her.
What mattered most right now was her grandfather getting better.