Chapter 529
Ken paused mid-contract review, covering his phone with one hand as he addressed the room. “I need to take this call. You all continue.”
With that, he set down his pen and strode out of the meeting room, leaving the group at the table exchanging puzzled looks.
Ken, though new to Swanson Universal Entertainment, was known for his unyielding seriousness. He had never left a meeting halfway through to answer a call.
During a previous meeting, a senior executive had forgotten to silence his phone. When it rang, Ken’s expression had left a lasting impression on everyone, making them uneasy to this day.
Now, they wondered who was on the other end of this call.
“What happened?” a bold executive whispered to the person next to them.
The other executive mumbled, “Could it be Zara…”
“Who?” Someone nearby, with keen ears, caught the name. “Zara?”
The first executive quickly faked a cough. “What? I was just saying how hot it is here. I need to turn on the AC.”
His colleague looked puzzled. He was sure he’d heard Zara’s name. Recently, there have been rumors within the company suggesting that Zara had caught Ken’s eye.
The room was filled with seasoned and keen professionals. They silently noted Zara’s name in their minds.
Meanwhile, outside the conference room. Although holding the phone close to keep his voice down, Ken couldn’t prevent Melody from hearing his words.
She quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, am I interrupting your meeting? I can call back later.”
This wasn’t the first time she’d accidentally disturbed Ken during a meeting, and it happened again this time.
But Ken’s voice came through the phone, calm and reassuring. “No problem, just a Monday briefing. It doesn’t matter if I’m there or not. Go ahead, what’s up?”
Hearing his relaxed tone, Melody hesitated for a moment, then decided not to be overly polite. She explained the situation with the couple who had previously tried to scam Herbathrive and how they had returned. She also mentioned Michael was now staying at the West Bridge Hotel.
Ken listened intently and then asked, “Do you want me to send someone to arrest him now, or would you prefer we keep a low profile and monitor them?”
“I was thinking we should monitor them first,” Melody replied. “Even though the operation to eliminate the malicious doctors was intense back then, many of them escaped capture, going underground and changing their identities. Michael wasn’t a prominent figure among them, and he stayed well-hidden, so he didn’t even bother changing his name.”
She continued, “There’s a chance that after leaving Herbathrive, he might reconnect with other remnants of the malicious doctors or attempt to rebuild their faction. I’d rather we keep an eye on them for now and see if we can catch something bigger.”
Ken responded, “I was thinking the same. Plus, there’s been a recent post on the black market forum from someone claiming to be a malicious doctor…”
Melody’s interest was piqued as she confirmed with Ken that the post he mentioned was the one she had seen earlier.
The post brazenly advertised the poster’s identity as a malicious doctor, inviting those in need of certain drugs to contact him.
No one would dare to impersonate a malicious doctor unless they were extremely well-connected or incredibly reckless. Melody believed it was the latter.
Pausing briefly, Melody said, “I used a new email address to contact them. I haven’t checked for a reply in the past two days. Give me a moment. I’ll log in and see.”
“Go ahead,” Ken replied, leaning against the wall with one leg slightly bent, exuding a patient demeanor.
Within ten seconds, Melody had logged into her email. Her eyes widened as she saw the response, gripping her phone tightly. “Ken, guess what I just found out?”
Ken smiled as he asked, “Don’t tell me. Michael is the one who posted that ad.”
“Exactly! And the address he provided is a cafe near the West Bridge Hotel,” Melody exclaimed, both surprised and amused. “He is an idiot! He’s practically inviting trouble.”
Ken raised an eyebrow and commented, “He might be reckless, but not entirely foolish. He’s using an overseas ID that I can’t trace, so he’s covered his tracks to some extent. I guess he’s desperate for money and trying to cash in on his status as a malicious doctor.”
“That makes sense.” Melody agreed. “The pay at Herbathrive isn’t great, and he’s been spending lavishly, plus supporting the group he took from the clinic. His expenses must be enormous, so he probably came up with this scheme.”
“I’ll send someone to the cafe to scout the area and gather evidence of his activities as a malicious doctor. We’ll have it on hand if we need to act sooner.”
“Good idea. I’ll deal with the couple here, then head over to Owen’s place. Tell me the update when I get back.”
“Alright.” Ken paused briefly before adding, “You handled things well today.”
Melody was momentarily confused. “What do you mean?”
He was referring to her decision to reach out to him for help, but instead, Ken said, “I meant the way you handled Michael. You didn’t act impulsively. That’s good.”
“Oh, I see… I’ll call you when I’m done. Talk to you later.” Melody didn’t dwell on his words, hanging up before dialing Colin.
Since Michael had come from Colin’s clinic, Melody felt it was her duty to inform him of the situation. Colin was livid upon hearing what had happened.
He snapped, “That bastard! How dare he openly declare himself a malicious doctor and sell their drugs! Does he think he can escape the law? And that incident with the scam… I’m not letting him get away with it!”
Despite his anger, Colin managed to keep his cool and said, “I understand. I’ll follow your and Mr. Swanson’s lead and won’t do anything rash.”
Melody said, “Good. How is Beverly’s recovery going? I haven’t had time to visit her lately, sorry…”
“Don’t apologize. You’ve been a tremendous help at Herbathrive. That’s more important than visiting. Don’t worry, Beverly is recovering well.
She’s still weak, so it’s slower than usual. But with the treatment plan you provided, she should be fully recovered and ready to leave the hospital in a couple of weeks.”
“That’s a relief. I’ll come by to check her pulse when I get the chance and see if the prescription needs any adjustments.”
“Sure thing!”
Melody gave Colin a few more reminders. He chuckled and said, “Melody, don’t forget, I am a doctor too.”
Melody finally stopped her nagging and ended the call. When she returned to the clinic’s main hall, it was just about opening time.
She gave David a look, signaling him to open the door. As soon as the door was slightly ajar, the couple from earlier squeezed through, eager to be first in line.