Chapter 91

The city was learning how to whisper.

Despite repeated police interventions urging restraint, the affair had slipped through the cracks of silence and into the bloodstream of public opinion. It was too delicate, too explosive to contain. Dr. Niran Williams was not just a doctor. She was an institution. And Esther Dara was not just a victim. She was the daughter of a man whose name alone made ministers return calls at dawn.

The screens glowed in the dim office.

INTERVIEW. LIVE

“It is deeply tragic. Who could have imagined such news concerning Doctor Niran Williams? From the brilliant surgeon who once saved a child from a fatal crash, to being shot by a journalist, and now this. The police are investigating, and we do not wish to interfere. but Dr. Williams’ case will likely become embroiled in a major legal battle to determine responsibility, particularly regarding her mental health. We can only hope for a peaceful resolution to this chaos.”

Miss Kai slammed a trembling hand onto the remote, silencing the news.

It had been days since Williams had been internally confined. Evelyn remained hospitalized, suffering serious brain trauma, and the prognosis of her unborn baby was still undisclosed.

Miss Kai stood alone in the office she had sworn never to enter again.

The oval table greeted her like a ghost.

She rested her fingers on its polished surface, and memory struck her without warning. Laughter. Ambition. Late-night victories. The pride she had once felt watching her daughter command the world from this very seat.

Her breath caught.

Did I help her… or did I break her?

A tear escaped her eye, and she wiped it away quickly.

Stepping back into this hospital, facing the stares of old friends, former colleagues, and allies, even as they sent messages of support and offered help, was agonizing. At least no one dared say Williams’s name aloud.

Speaking of her daughter had always been dangerous territory.

Now it was radioactive.

A sharp rap on the door broke the silence. Malaya entered.

“Miss Kai.”

“You are Williams’s secretary, right?”

“Yes, Madam. I am Malaya.”

“Please summon a meeting urgently. I need all the Board of Directors present.”

“Of course, Madam.” Malaya hesitated. “Anything else?”

“Call for…” Miss Kai began, but Polo entered before she could finish.

“Thank you,” Miss Kai said, dismissing Malaya.

Malaya nodded and stepped out. She crossed paths with Polo; her eyes filled with tears she barely held back. Miss Kai looked so desperate and exhausted. Malaya could not stop herself from feeling a painful guilt, knowing she had been one of the first to set Williams’s downfall in motion. Back in her office, she finally allowed herself to cry.

While in the quiet, cavernous space of Williams’s office, Miss Kai sat with Polo.

“What should I do?” she asked, her voice thin.

Polo breathed slowly. “First, we must appoint a temporary CEO. At least someone to stabilize the structure.”

“But we always had someone taking care of it, right?”

“Yes, but…” he replied carefully.

“Williams was doing everything,” Kai finished for him, the terrifying extent of her daughter’s control dawning on her.

Polo nodded. “We will discuss with the board redistributing responsibilities as they used to be.”

After a heavy silence, Polo added, his voice thick with emotion, “I feel I failed to keep the boat afloat, and I think it is time for me to retire.”

Miss Kai stared at him, her eyes blurring with fresh tears. She remembered their early days in this office, strategizing together. Now they were facing a drama beyond their control.

“Polo, it is not your fault. Williams was ill. I am grateful for everything you did for me and for this hospital.” She paused, then added, “I will respect your choice to retire. But please, do not let me down now.” She wept openly.

“Miss Kai,” Polo said, standing and placing his hands on her shoulders. “It will be alright,” he said, though his voice trembled.

“I am so sorry,” she whispered, wiping her tears.

“No,” he replied gently. “Do not apologize for loving your child.”

But love had consequences.

Poor Miss Kai.

She had fought all her life for her only daughter. Now she faced catastrophe.

Evelyn’s parents were suing.

Reckless driving.
Endangerment of pedestrians.
Attempted murder.
Shooting a bodyguard.
and Shooting at the police.

No fatalities. Only devastation.

Makizal’s condition remained unspoken.
Romaric had vanished.
And Oswald’s case still loomed.

More than ever, she needed Polo.

Before he left, she asked quietly, “Why did you not tell me everything? What did she do to you?”

He smiled faintly, a painful, private smile. “Do you remember the crucial rule I taught you?”

“What was it?”

“We never mix professional and personal matters.”

“You are a lawyer,” she said, a flicker of their old dynamic returning.

“And Emilio?” she asked. “I heard what happened.”

“He is alive but held accountable,” Polo replied. “He will be imprisoned for a long time with others involved. I have not yet informed the board that he is fired. That was Williams’s responsibility.”

Miss Kai nodded, absorbing the scope of the conspiracy.

“And Romaric, have you heard from him lately?”

“No,” Polo replied, his gaze worried.

Before the day ended, Miss Kai convened the Board of Directors. She appointed a temporary CEO, addressed the coming legal battle, and prepared them for inevitable police investigations. Polo stood by her side, fighting his last case for Niran Kai.

Once the meeting ended, Miss Kai drove straight to Williams’s private facility. She walked directly into Adeline’s office, struck by a dizzying sense of déjà vu. Years ago, she had stepped into an office to help her teenage daughter. Now she was doing the same for the woman Williams had become.

Adeline stood when she saw her. “Madam.”

“How is Williams?” Kai asked immediately

“Unchanged. She is not speaking,” Adeline replied gently. “Please, sit.”

Miss Kai sat. “What is to be done for my daughter?”

Adeline placed a document on the table. “Before proceeding, I need your permission to consult my professor. because this case goes beyond standard therapy.”

“Do whatever you need,” Miss Kai replied flatly.

Adeline studied her closely. “Miss Kai, have you been sleeping?”

Miss Kai raised her head, her gaze cold and hollow. “Could you sleep if you were in my place?”

“I promise you, it will be alright.”

“Miss Roger said the same years ago,” Miss Kai said, rising abruptly. “Now I am lost. And they dare to sue me.”

“Sue?” Adeline prompted softly.

“My daughter was molested, and they protected those children through Corruption and cowardice. I struggled and paid for the best education.” She hit the desk, “All they did was to ruin me financially, destroy my daughter’s sanity, and move on with their life, while mine collapsed.”

Her voice broke.

“And now this girl,” she continued, trembling, “I do not hate her. But I do not understand why she came back to ruin my daughter again, suing me on top of that.” Tears streamed down her face. “Everything I built, wasted.”

Adeline listened in silence, recognizing the same internalized rage that had shattered Williams.

This time, she did not let it turn inward. She stood and walked toward Miss Kai.

“Miss Kai, look at me,” Adeline said firmly.

But Miss Kai refused at first. Adeline insisted, knowing retreat would be dangerous.

“You are not alone,” Adeline said. “You have Ralph, Polo, friends, and colleagues. And I promise you, I will bring Williams back.”

Their gazes finally locked.

“This is what I have been struggling with all these years,” Kai admitted.

“Then it is time to fight the last battle,” Adeline said gently. “Maybe it is time to tell the truth. Let the world know what was done to your daughter. Niran Kai exists because you transformed rage into something meaningful. Look at the lives you saved.”

Miss Kai collapsed onto the couch, absorbing the words.

“Use that same rage,” Adeline pressed. “But this time, use it to enact justice.”

“Williams would never forgive me if I exposed her,” Miss Kai whispered.

That was the turning point.

They could preserve the myth of Doctor Niran Williams, or bring back Niran Williams herself, even if it meant destroying the legacy built on silence.

As Miss Kai struggled with the choice, her phone rang.

It was Ralph.

His voice was tight.

She needed to come home immediately.

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